Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cels of all Seven Dwarfs: Dopey, Grumpy, Bashful, Doc, Sleepy, Sneezy, and Happy; Set on wood veneer Courvoisier background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Partial Courvoisier label verso; Size - Seven Dwarfs: 7 1/4 x 10 3/4", Image 10 1/4 x 14 1/4"; Unframed.
Development
on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs began in early 1934, and by June
Walt Disney announced to The New York Times the production of his first
feature, to be released under Walt Disney Productions. Before Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Disney studio had been primarily
involved in the production of animated short subjects in the Mickey
Mouse and Silly Symphonies series. However, Disney hoped to expand his
studio's prestige and revenues by moving into features, and he estimated
that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs could be produced for a budget of
$250,000 (this was ten times the budget of an average Silly Symphony).
Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs was to be the first full-length cel animated
feature in motion picture history, and as such Walt Disney had to fight
to get the film produced. Both his brother and business partner Roy
Disney, as well as his wife Lillian attempted to talk him out of it.
The Hollywood movie industry mockingly referred to the film, while is
was in production, as "Disney's Folly." Disney ended up having to
mortgage his house to help finance the film's production, which would
eventually ran up to a total cost of $1,488,422.74; an absolutely
massive sum for a feature film in 1937!
Although
the initial concept designing of the dwarfs was relatively easy for the
Walt Disney animation department, the actual animating of them proved
to be difficult. The animators, already finding human figures difficult
to animate, now had to animate dwarfed human figures. The great Disney
animator Vladimir Tytla noted that the dwarfs should walk with a swing
to their hips, and Fred Moore commented that they had to move a little
more quickly in order to keep up with the other human characters.
Doc
was not present in the original November 1935 story outline of the film
as referenced by Robert D. Field in "The Art of Walt Disney." However,
several months later his role in the film and his relationship with
Grumpy was well established. Walt Disney commented that Doc's flustered
personality should be such that he never knew quite where he is without
one of his fellow dwarfs reminding him. Radio comedian Roy Atwell, who
used stammering and mixed-up language in his act, was chosen to be the
voice of Doc. Various Walt Disney artists were involved in the animation
of Doc throughout the film including: Vladimir Tytl, Fred Moore, Shamus
Culhane, Les Clark, and Ward Kimball.
Bashful
is very shy and coy, and he has a crush on the beautiful Snow White.
His shyness prompts him to blush and he then covers his reddened face
behind his hands and beard; which is often accompanied by giggles.
Various Walt Disney artists were involved with Bashful's concept and
animation throughout the film including: Vladimir Tytl, Fred
Moore, Shamus Culhane, and Les Clark. The film and television actor
Scotty Mattraw provided the voice for Bashful.
Due
to Sneezy's severe hayfever, he sneezes very often throughout the film
and this often prevents him from speaking. His sneezes can be gale force
and will blow away anything and anyone in their path. As a result, the
other dwarfs are quick to hold his nose whenever they feel he may have a
sneeze approaching. The memorable scene in which the dwarfs tie a knot
in Sneezy's beard was inspired by an early sketch by Albert Hurter, a
concept and inspirational sketch artist at Walt Disney Studios. Various
Disney artists were involved in the animation of Sneezy throughout the
film including: Ward Kimball, Vladimir Tytl, Fred Moore, Shamus Culhane,
and Les Clark. Billy Gilbert, an American comedian and actor known for
his comic sneeze routines, provided the voice of Sneezy.
In the pre-production stages of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,"
Dopey was simply called 'The Seventh'. His personality and role were
finalized late in the process, after it was suggested that Dopey should
move like burlesque comedian Eddie Collins. Collins began his career in
vaudeville and went on to become a successful comedian, actor, and
singer. He helped to define the character's personality through his live
action filmed sequences, as well as providing the few vocal sounds that
Dopey made during the film. He also provided the sounds of a sneezing
chipmunk and a squirrel.
Dopey is the youngest of the
dwarfs, as proven by his lack of a beard. But perhaps his most notable
trait is his lack of speech. In the film Happy states Dopey is simply
unaware whether or not he can speak, as he has simply never tried. In
spite of this, he can occasionally be heard making various vocal sounds
such as whimpers, hiccups, and a one-shot yell. The other dwarfs seem to
have no problem understanding Dopey, and Doc was able to easily
translate Dopey's blathering into a cohesive sentence. Various Walt
Disney artists were involved in the animation of Dopey throughout the
film including: Vladimir Tytla, Fred Moore, Frank Thomas, Shamus
Culhane, Les Clark, Ollie Johnston, and Art Babbit.
Grumpy was
animated by Vladimir "Bill" Tytla, who also animated Doc. Tytla's Grumpy
is the second most popular of the seven dwarfs, just behind Dopey.
From Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"Tytla
animated 'from the inside out.' For every scene he did, he lived inside
of that character. He drew absolutely beautifully, but bringing out
emotion and personality came first. Even if that lead to an off model
drawing here and there. Walt had Fred Moore take a look at a few of
Tytla's Grumpy scenes in order to punch up the 'charm level.'"
Happy
is bubbly, bright, very friendly, and the most cheerful of all the
dwarfs. His gleeful attitude prompts him to laugh often, and he is a
singer, yodeler, and musician. Happy is plump and although six of the
dwarfs have eyebrows that were modeled after Walt Disney’s; Happy has
eyebrows that are white and bushy. Various Walt Disney artists were
involved in the animation of Happy throughout the film including: Vladimir
Tytl, Fred Moore, Shamus Culhane, and Les Clark. The former
vaudevillian comedic actor Otis Harlan provided the voice of Happy.
This
is an absolutely spectacular original hand painted and hand inked
production cel setup of all Seven Dwarfs: Dopey, Grumpy, Bashful, Doc, Sleepy, Sneezy, and Happy; set on an airbrushed
wood veneer Courvoisier background. The Courvoisier setups from Snow
White are highly desired by collectors for
their rarity and beauty. Courvoisier Galleries was the first gallery to
recognize the artistic
value to the newly emerging animation art form in the 1930s and 40s and
worked with Disney Studios to prepare and sell the original cels and
drawings to the public. An absolutely stunning setup of all Seven Dwarfs and show stopper for any vintage Walt
Disney animation art collection!
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