The Art of Disney's Dragons

Book excerpt: Throughout time and across cultures, dragons have existed as part of our collective imagination, breathing fire, guarding treasure, and embodying magic. Some are evil, some are kind, and all are fascinating. The Walt Disney Company has had a long-standing fascination with dragons, and this book, conceived as a sketchbook handed down through generations of Disney artists, chronicles the impact that dragons have had on Disney films, parks, and resorts. Inside these pages are the bold storyboards of Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent, color concepts of Epcot's Figment (who was green before he became purple!), and playful studies of Mulan's Mushu. The illustrators are a wide variety of animators, live-action studio artists, and Imagineers, including Tim Burton, Rolly Crump, Marc Davis, Eric Goldberg, Bill Justice, John Hench, Joe Rohde, Chuck Ballew, and more. Tom Bancroft, who has worked in animation for more than twenty-five years, offers memories and insights from his tenure as Mushu's lead animator, during which he character designed, and later refined, the look of Mulan's feisty little dragon.