Animation Now! (Taschen 25th Anniversary)
Multilingual Edition: English, French, German
ISBN 978-3-8228-3789-4
In its favour, Animation Now! (2007) offers an interesting look at a diverse range of 80 animation studios across the globe. With a brief introduction to the history and works of each studio, the alphabetised listing specifies their name, contact information, techniques, selected filmography and awards up to 2004. Each entry is accompanied by a number of glossy images showcasing concept art, storyboards, animation cels, film stills and CGI.
Typical of Taschen art books, Animation Now! is a valuable introduction to its subject but far from an exhaustive resource. It is not intended as instruction in the production or artistry of animation but instead offers an overview of the format. For those aspiring to the animation industry, it gives a fascinating glimpse into an array of studios in and beyond the mainstream. Studios like Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks are presented in tandem with Studio Ghibli, Aardman, Folimage and dozens of others, hailing from France to Uruguay, Brazil to Estonia and many other countries in between.
However its multilingual presentation, with each studio description written in English, French and German, gives a deceptive first impression. The 351 pages are dominated primarily by pictures and of each section of text, only one third is in English, giving this edition bulk disproportionate to its relatively limited written content. Although ultimately well structured and laid out, with attractive design and conveniently alphabetised contents page, it could be enhanced with the inclusion of an index to reference specific techniques and media common to different studios. As it stands, readers have to search through each entry individually to see which studios utilise cel animation, CGI, Stop Motion etc.
Ideal as a coffee table book for animation or art enthusiasts or as a resource for students and aspiring animators, Animation Now! is a good beginners guide to the industry.