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This stunning visual book takes you behind the scenes during the making of Tim Burton's extraordinary film Planet of the Apes—to the director's earliest concept drawings; into story-crafting sessions; inside the costume and makeup shops; on location in Hawaii, Arizona, and the California desert; onto one of Hollywood's biggest soundstages, where Burton's creative team built a "City of the Apes" set spanning 3/4 of an acre—and includes detailed cast profiles describing how the actors prepared for their roles. For the ape actors this meant up to six hours in the makeup chair being transformed into the most convincing primates ever seen on screen and attending "ape school" to learn their simian moves.

This official companion book, with text by Mark Salisbury, editor of Burton on Burton, also contains the film's screenplay and more than 200 illustrations documenting the creative process: costume drawings, set and prop artwork; makeup designs by multi-Oscar-winner Rick Baker, storyboards, and still photos of backstage and filmed action; as well as art and photos from the original 1968 movie.

"Planet of the Apes is a truly original, modern-day fairy tale... The most challenging aspect of creating this new film was to be completely respectful of the mythology of the original, while adding new characters and story elements."
–From the Introduction by Tim Burton