© Disney/Pixar.

If you have any doubts about Pixar's status as America's top animation studio, with The Art Of Finding Nemo author Mark Cotta Vaz has assembled a new book filled with ample evidence certainly supporting that claim. This new volume profusely illustrates where today's top animation talent has migrated. Pixar may be the leading creator of computer-generated motion pictures, and its staff of character designers, storyboard cartoonists, production painters and inspirational artists are clearly the best in the field.

And this book celebrates them all in a visually delightful package that entertains and educates its readers with a behind the scenes look at Andrew Stanton's excellent new movie. Now, not one image in this book is actually from the finished motion picture, which will be released in the U.S. on May 30, as this is about how a story visually comes to the screen. Told mainly through first person interviews with key personnel, the book explores the visual development of the film's major sequences — with fantastic production artwork of all varieties.

Marlin (left), a frantic father whose son Nemo has been unexpectedly taken from his home, enlists the aid of a friendly-but-forgetful fish named Dory (right) in his rescue mission. © Disney/Pixar.

If you're a fan of underwater cartoon settings and characters (as I am) — be it SpongeBob SquarePants or The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Disney's Merbabies or Fleischer's Educated Fish — you know that the amazing world under-the-sea has always stimulated animators' imaginations. Amazing acrylic paintings, pastel sketches, pencil studies and charcoal renderings fill this book, accompanied by the artists' words explaining the thought that went into the story, settings and visual tone.

Ralph Eggleston's superb color keys and Bruce Zick's amazing pencil designs take center stage, but outstanding contributions by Geefwee Boedoe, Peter Sohn, Ricky Nierva, Peter de Seve and Carter Goodrich will dazzle your eyes. Producer John Lasseter and writer-director Stanton contribute forewards and they are quoted throughout the book, along with staffers Ronnie Del Carmen, Sharon Calahan, Lee Unkrich, Dan Lee, Eggleston and others, shedding insight on the artistic process.