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The Making of The Rugrats Movie: Behind the Scenes

Eric Lurio takes a spin through this graphically stylish, chatty and witty Klasky Csupo coming of age story.

This book is self-published. That means that no self-respecting publisher would touch it. The reason why is pretty understandable. No one in the movie industry would think that someone could make money on a movie tie-in book for a movie nobody in the industry expected to make any money. Well, guess again. The Rugrats Movie has grossed over ninety million bucks to date, and author Jan Breslauer and designer Gyorgy Bp. Szabo have produced a chatty and visually arresting volume celebrating the Klasky Csupo company's coming of age. As the title implies, this is a "making of," not an "art of" book, which means we get to meet all the nifty people from Arlene Klasky and Gabor Csupo (once married, they are now probably the most successful divorce in Hollywood), to the drudges of the computer ink-and-paint staff. We follow the project from the initial proposal through the final test screenings. The chapters of the book are mostly a different group of people schmoozing with the author, in a not too pompous way, so it's actually readable. As much as this is about the making of the movie, it's also about graphic design. Szabo and his dancing computer give the book a genuinely punky and post-modern feel, which does get annoying at times because it's hard to read in spots. However, it is okay, because there is so much to look at here. The pictures are cool too. It's a worthy counterpoint to all those hyper-expensive Disney art books -- and half the price, too!

The Making of `The Rugrats Movie:' Behind the Scenes at Klasky Csupo by Jan Breslauer; designed by Gyorgy Bp. Szabo. Hollywood, California: Klasky Csupo Publishing, 1998. 144 pages. ISBN: 0-6710-2809-X (U.S. $25.00 hardcover) may be purchased in the Animation World Store. Eric Lurio is a New York-based cartoonist and writer who has written extensively on animation for several years. His articles have appeared in Animation Magazine, Animation Blast, Animation Planet and Animefantastique. He also has a regular column in Animato! Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.

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