A coffee-table book that will reward any fan of the show.
More than everything you always wanted to know about Family Guy, in vivid color.
In this illustrated history, which includes all the sketches, storyboards, and character drawings readers will expect as well as a foreword from creator Seth MacFarlane, longtime TV writer Moore also goes deep into oral history, celebrating what he considers the visionary achievement of MacFarlane but also sharing the spotlight with the wealth of other contributing talent over the program’s two-decade history. MacFarlane made history from the start as “the youngest executive producer in TV history” at the age of 24, with a fertile imagination and a voracious appetite for entertainment in general and TV in particular, which offset his lack of experience in sustaining a story or running a series. Back then, remember two Fox executives, he was “exuberant and goofy-looking, with Coke-bottle glasses and a Mr. Spock haircut….He wouldn’t have looked out of place at Comic-Con.” Though the series has long been compared with The Simpsons, which preceded it as an animated show focused on family dynamics, pushing the envelope with its subversive tone and spirit, Moore contends that “Family Guy is no Simpsons knockoff, as a few Simpsons loyalists insists. In fact, in some ways it’s the mirror opposite,” starting with the personality differences between the two protagonists. It received critical raves from the beginning, with the New York Times calling it “risky, rude, hilarious….Nothing is out of bounds as this series gleefully undermines family sitcom values.” Yet the show barely survived into the new century, as it was scheduled against the blockbuster (at the time) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, where it got clobbered and was cancelled. Or rather, put on hiatus, soon to resurface as part of the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim segment, where it reemerged as a cult favorite, enjoyed wider exposure on DVD, and returned to Fox by popular demand.
A coffee-table book that will reward any fan of the show.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-211252-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2019
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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