Original hand painted production cel of Kaa from "The Jungle Book," 1967; Still sealed in the original Walt Disney Art Corner Mat; Size - Kaa: 5 1/2" x 5 1/4", Image 6" x 8"; Mat 10" x 12"; Matted.
Kaa, which means "snake" in Hindi, is a python who is almost always hungry and is known for being persuasive and tricky. He lives mainly in the upper limbs of trees and has the ability to hypnotize other creatures through eye contact. He is often seen pursuing Mowgli, in an attempt to devour the man-cub. Kaa was animated by Frank Thomas and by Milt Kahl, whose design for the snake may be more iconic; being that his scene was longer and included his trademark song "Trust In Me" as well as the famous interaction with the villainous tiger, Shere Khan.
Kaa was the second character who was originally voiced by Sterling Holloway, the first being Winnie-the-Pooh. Holloway's voice is just so wonderful in tone and pitch, and it is hard to imagine any other person doing the character justice. Kaa is very similar to another snake character, Sir Hiss from "Robin Hood". The two share several traits as both use hypnosis, and both suck up to the film's main antagonist (Shere Khan in Kaa's case, and Prince John in Sir Hiss's case). Exceptions are that they are different colors, sizes, and Sir Hiss wears a cape and hat.
Back of the work showing the original Art Corner sticker.
This is a great portrait cel of Kaa, his eyes are open and narrow, and he has a wicked smile. He is obviously hanging from a tree as the rest of his body is above him. This cel is still contained in its original Art Corner mat with the original sticker on the verso. Art Corner was a store located in Disneyland that sold, for several years, original production cels.
No comments:
Post a Comment