Pages: 129
Released: July 12, 2016
Publisher: Disney Editions
Received: Finished copy from publisher
Rating: a very generous 3 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Oh, villains. What is it about villains, and Disney villains in particular, that is just so fascinating? I'm not sure the reason, but I can't deny that I do love all things Disney villain, and this book is no exception.
The book is arranged by category of villain, which automatically gets points and interest from me because I'm a categorizing kind of person and so I liked to see which categories Disney chose to create and then which categories they chose to sort their villains into. So, right off the bat I was hooked.
Peppered throughout the book were sub-categories, focusing on everything from villain sidekicks, villain pets, and villain cars. This was an unexpected and wholly delightful addition that added an extra layer of engagement. More points.
Then they added pictures. Bright, big, bold pictures that further grabbed my attention in a very positive way. This is a coffee table book, so the pages are big, glossy, and thick. Points for visuals!
And yet, only three stars, so the points must come off somewhere, right? Sadly, it's because of the content. Each featured villain gets a blurb, and I was so hoping these blurbs would provide thoughtful commentary about the development, personality, and "type" of villain. And, to be fair, some did.
But most didn't.
Most came with very shallow, blandly written blurbs that offered nothing beyond a very, very surface-level, very minimal description of the villain. I could have written a more in-depth description! I could have provided more thoughtful commentary or personality analysis or description of the villain's unique importance in their story. Surely Disney, the keeper of the character secrets and origin stories and knowledge of all the "whys" behind the characters' creation and development would be able to provide more?
I was very disappointed. It felt like the blurbs were phoned in by a low-level intern who couldn't care less about Disney. There was no magic, no love, no care.
Bottom line
Ok, but I expect better from Disney.
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Aw, it's too bad that the blurbs for these villains weren't written better. Otherwise, I can see this being so awesome to look at and share. I expect better from Disney too!
ReplyDeleteDisney has set a high expectations bar! :D
DeleteBummer. I was hoping it would be as equally insightful as it was visually appealing.
ReplyDeleteMe too :(
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