The Art of Hercules: The Chaos of Creation
The Disney studio returns to form with its take on that ancient superhero, Hercules. No Quasimodo (hero of last year's tepidly receivedHunchback of Notre Dame), the Greek demigod is in the Disney mold: young, good lookin', a bit naive. Furthermore, his mythic story provides fantasy elements like those in Disney's most memorable films. Like the book tie-ins to other recent Disney animated features, this handsome coffee-tabler traces the new film's history and production with hundreds of color and black-and-white illustrations and commentary from its creators. The volume's highlight is a section of drawings by production designer Gerald Scarfe, best known for his work on the film of the rock group Pink Floyd's albumThe Wall. Scarfe's loopy, chaotic style is quite a departure from the usual, homogenized Disney approach, and if his distinctive character designs survive in the finished film,Herculesmay go down in Disney annals for something other than truckloads of box-office proceeds.Gordon Flagg