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Monday, August 29, 2016

Original Production Animation Cel of Rolly the Dalmatian Puppy from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961


Original hand painted production animation cel of Rolly the Dalmatian Puppy from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 2 in ink lower right; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Rolly: 4" x 3 3/4", Cel: 12 x 11", Image: 11" x 11 1/2"; Unframed.

To purchase this cel or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

"I'm hungry, Mother. I'm hungry!" - Rolly

"One Hundred and One Dalmatians" ("101 Dalmatians"), is a 1961 full length animated feature film by Walt Disney Productions. It was adapted from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel of the same name. It stars Rod Taylor as the voice of Pongo and Cate Bauer as the voice of Perdita; with Betty Lou Gerson as the voice of the evil and villainous Cruella de Vil. The animation of all the characters from the film was quite extraordinary.

The film "Sleeping Beauty," 1959 was very expensive to make and it took a huge financial loss at the box-office; as a result, the Disney animation studio was considering closing. During the production of "Sleeping Beauty," Walt Disney told animator Eric Larson: "I don't think we can continue, it's too expensive." Because Disney's entire company was based on animation, he was looking for a way to continue with animation, and at the same time significantly reduce costs.


Close up of the original production animation cel of Rolly.

The animator Ub Iwerks had been experimenting with Xerox photography to aid in animation process. By 1959 he had modified a Xerox camera to transfer the drawings by the animators, directly onto animation cels. The process would preserve the spontaneity of the penciled drawings but eliminate the inking process, thus saving time and money. However, the limitation was that the camera was unable to deviate from a black scratchy outline, and the resulting cels lacked the fine lavish quality of hand inking.

One of the enormous benefits of the Xerox was that it was a tremendous help towards animating the spotted dalmatian dogs. According to famed animator Chuck Jones, Disney was able to complete the film for about half of what it would have cost if they had had to animate all the dogs and spots. To achieve the spotted dalmatians, the Disney animators envision the spot pattern as a star constellation. Once they had an "anchor spot," the next spot was placed into the pattern, and so on until the fully spotted dalmatian was achieved. All totaled, the film featured 6,469,952 spots, with Pongo having 72 spots, Perdita 68, and each puppy 32.


Original production animation cel of Rolly without the background.

Rolly is one of Pongo and Perdita's original fifteen puppies. He is the heaviest, constantly hungry, and was voiced by Barbara Baird; who is primarily known as a TV actress of the late 1950s and 60s. This is a wonderful original production animation cel of Rolly. He is full figure, eyes and mouth open, and a great image of one of the dalmatian puppy stars!

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Original Production Animation Cel of Pongo and Freckles The Dalmatian Puppy from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961


Original hand painted production animation cel of Pongo and a Dalmatian Puppy from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Pongo & Puppy: 7 1/4" x 5", Cel: 12 1/4 x 16", Image: 11" x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

To purchase this cel or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

"One Hundred and One Dalmatians" ("101 Dalmatians"), is a 1961 full length animated feature film by Walt Disney Productions. It was adapted from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel of the same name. It stars Rod Taylor as the voice of Pongo and Cate Bauer as the voice of Perdita; with Betty Lou Gerson as the voice of the evil and villainous Cruella de Vil. The animation of all the characters from the film was quite extraordinary.

The film "Sleeping Beauty," 1959 was very expensive to make and it took a huge financial loss at the box-office; as a result, the Disney animation studio was considering closing. During the production of "Sleeping Beauty," Walt Disney told animator Eric Larson: "I don't think we can continue, it's too expensive." Because Disney's entire company was based on animation, he was looking for a way to continue with animation, and at the same time significantly reduce costs.


Close up of the original production animation cel of Pongo and Freckles the Dalmatian Puppy cel.

The animator Ub Iwerks had been experimenting with Xerox photography to aid in animation process. By 1959 he had modified a Xerox camera to transfer the drawings by the animators, directly onto animation cels. The process would preserve the spontaneity of the penciled drawings but eliminate the inking process, thus saving time and money. However, the limitation was that the camera was unable to deviate from a black scratchy outline, and the resulting cels lacked the fine lavish quality of hand inking.

One of the enormous benefits of the Xerox was that it was a tremendous help towards animating the spotted dalmatian dogs. According to famed animator Chuck Jones, Disney was able to complete the film for about half of what it would have cost if they had had to animate all the dogs and spots. To achieve the spotted dalmatians, the Disney animators envision the spot pattern as a star constellation. Once they had an "anchor spot," the next spot was placed into the pattern, and so on until the fully spotted dalmatian was achieved. All totaled, the film featured 6,469,952 spots, with Pongo having 72 spots, Perdita 68, and each puppy 32.


Original production animation cel of Pongo and Freckles the Dalmatian Puppy cel, without the background.

Pongo was animated by Ollie Johnston and voiced by Rod Taylor, who was an Australian TV an movie actor who appeared in over 50 films. Freckles is the name of one of Pongo and Perdita's original fifteen dalmatian puppies, and he is often seen perched on top of father's head. Freckles has spots wrapped around his nose, a spot between his eyes, and others on his ears. This is a wonderful original production animation cel of Pongo with Freckles the Dalmatian Puppy on is head. The image is one of the most memorable in the entire film, and a would certainly make a great addition to any animation art collection!

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Original Production Animation Cels of King Louie and Mowgli from "The Jungle Book," 1967


Original hand painted production animation cels of King Louie and Mowgli from "The Jungle Book," 1967, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - King Louie and Mowgli: 7 1/4" x 4 3/4", Image 9 1/2" x 11"; Unframed.

To purchase these cels or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

"I Wanna Be Like You!" - King Louie

"The Jungle Book," 1967 was the nineteenth animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Productions and inspired by Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name. The film was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it was to be the last film that was worked on by Walt Disney, as he passed away during its production. The film follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as he encounters Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear; who try and convince him to leave the jungle before the villainous tiger Shere Khan finds him. Voice actors include: Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Sanders and Louis Prima; as well as Disney regulars such as Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley, Verna Felton, and the director's son, Bruce Reitherman, as the voice of Mowgli.

"The Jungle Book" was released on October 18, 1967, with noted acclaim for its soundtrack that featured eight original songs: seven by the Sherman Brothers and one by Terry Gilkyson. Longtime Disney collaborator Gilkyson was the first songwriter to complete several songs which followed Kipling's book closely; however Walt Disney felt that the works were too dark. The only piece of Gilkyson's work which survived to the final film, was his very upbeat song "The Bare Necessities." The Sherman Brothers were then brought in to do a complete rewrite. Disney frequently brought the composers to the storyline sessions, and asked them to "find scary places and write fun songs" that fit into the story and advanced the plot. The popular success of the film in undoubtedly due to both the music and songs, that were primarily written by the Sherman Brothers.


Close up of the King Louie and Mowgli original production animation cels.

Wolfgang Reitherman began working for Walt Disney in 1934, along with future Disney legends Ward Kimball and Milt Kahl. Reitherman worked on various Disney feature films produced from 1937 to 1981, including "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (animating the Slave in the Magic Mirror) up to "The Fox and the Hound," where he was the co-producer. Beginning with 1961's "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," "Woolie", as he was called by friends, served as Disney's chief animation director. In addition to "101 Dalmatians," Reitherman directed "The Sword in the Stone" (1963), "The Jungle Book" (1967), "The Aristocats" (1970), "Robin Hood" (1973) and "The Rescuers" (1977).

One of Reitherman's productions, the 1968 short "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day," won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. In addition, all three of Reitherman's sons — Bruce, Richard, and Robert provided voices for Disney characters, including Mowgli in "The Jungle Book," Christopher Robin in "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree," and Wart in "The Sword in the Stone." Not only did Bruce Reitherman provided the voice of Mowgli in "The Jungle Book," but he also acted out certain scenes as live action reference for the animators. The character of Mowgli was animated by quite a few animators, however Milt Kahl set the final design and the majority of Mowgli's scenes were animated by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. 


King Louie and Mowgli original production animation cels without the background.

King Louie is the king of all primates in the Indian jungle and craves nothing more than to be a man. He somehow learns that a Man-Cub (Mowgli) is in the jungle on his way to the Man Village. Louie sends his monkey minions to capture the boy, which they do bringing him to King Louie. Using the musical number "I Wanna Be Like You" and promising Mowgli that he will be able to stay in the jungle for as long as he wants; Louie asks him to reveal the secret to man's "Red Flower" (fire). This cel is from one of the most famous scenes in "The Jungle Book" film; King Louie (voiced by Louis Prima) singing "I Wanna Be Like You!"

King Louie is an original character from Walt Disney, as orangutans are not native to India (only the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia). In addition, King Louie never existed in Rudyard Kipling's original novel and was likely named after his late voice actor, jazz singer Louis Prima. Before Louis Prima got the part, the iconic musician legend Louis Armstrong was first considered for the role. However, Prima got the role instead of Armstrong; possibly to avoid controversy that would surround casting an African American as an ape.

This is a beautiful two cel setup of Mowgli (The Man-Cub) and King Louie. Both characters are full figure and they are in a dynamic and action filled pose. A great addition to any animation collection!

Monday, August 15, 2016

Original Production Animation Cels of King Hubert and King Stefan from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cels of King Hubert and King Stefan set on a lithographic background from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Image: 7 1/4 x 9 1/4", Frame 18 x 20"; Framed with a black and gold wood frame, three linen mats, two gold fillets, and plexiglass.

"Sleeping Beauty" is a Walt Disney animated full length feature film and was based on "The Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault and "Little Briar Rose" by The Brothers Grimm. The film was the sixteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, and it was released to theaters on January 29, 1959 by Buena Vista Distribution. This was to be the last Disney adaptation of a fairy tale for many years, both because of its initial mixed critical reception, and because of it's under performance at the box office. The Walt Disney studio did not return to the fairy tale genre until 30 years later, with the release of "The Little Mermaid" in 1989.

"Sleeping Beauty" was directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman, under the supervision of Clyde Geronimi. The story was written by Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta. The film's musical score and songs, featuring the Graunke Symphony Orchestra, was under the direction of George Bruns. Arrangements and/or adaptations were derived from numbers from the 1890 "Sleeping Beauty Ballet" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In addition, Igor Stravinsky's music compositions were also adapted into the film. "Sleeping Beauty" was the first animated film to be photographed in the Super Technirama 70 widescreen process, as well as the second full-length animated feature film to be filmed in anamorphic widescreen; following "Lady and the Tramp" four years earlier. In select first-run engagements, the film was presented in Super Technirama 70 and 6-channel stereophonic sound.

King Stefan is humble, a loving father, and is married to Queen Leah. When Maleficent appears in his castle's throne room, he remained silent but with a stern and intimidating expression. However, after Maleficent casts her curse on Princess Aurora, he commands his palace guards to "Seize that creature!" For the rest of the film Stefan is mostly seen as a soft-spoken man; especially during his scenes with the more boastful King Hubert. King Stefan, was the first Disney King not to have grey hair, and was animated by John Lounsbery and voiced by Taylor Holmes.


Framed original production animation cels of King Hubert and King Stefan.

King Hubert seems to be a very jolly character; and his Queen is never mentioned in the film. Hubert has one son Prince Phillip, and is good friends with Princess Aurora's father, King Stefan. In one scene, Hubert becomes angry at Stefan due to a perceived slight against his son Phillip. This leads to a fight with Stefan, and they use fish as weapons instead of swords. However, they both soon realize that the whole encounter is silly and laugh at their foolishness. King Hubert was animated by John Lounsbery and voiced by Bill Thompson.

This is a great two original production animation cel setup of King Stefan and King Hubert. Both Kings are eyes open and have wonderful expressive poses. A great addition to any animation art collection!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Original Production Animation Cels of King Hubert and King Stefan from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cels of King Hubert and King Stefan set on a lithographic background from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Size - King Hubert: 5 3/4 x 4", King Stefan: 8 1/4 x 3", Image 9 1/2 x 13 1/2"; Unframed.

"Sleeping Beauty" is a Walt Disney animated full length feature film and was based on "The Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault and "Little Briar Rose" by The Brothers Grimm. The film was the sixteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, and it was released to theaters on January 29, 1959 by Buena Vista Distribution. This was to be the last Disney adaptation of a fairy tale for many years, both because of its initial mixed critical reception, and because of it's under performance at the box office. The Walt Disney studio did not return to the fairy tale genre until 30 years later, with the release of "The Little Mermaid" in 1989.

"Sleeping Beauty" was directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman, under the supervision of Clyde Geronimi. The story was written by Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta. The film's musical score and songs, featuring the Graunke Symphony Orchestra, was under the direction of George Bruns. Arrangements and/or adaptations were derived from numbers from the 1890 "Sleeping Beauty Ballet" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In addition, Igor Stravinsky's music compositions were also adapted into the film. "Sleeping Beauty" was the first animated film to be photographed in the Super Technirama 70 widescreen process, as well as the second full-length animated feature film to be filmed in anamorphic widescreen; following "Lady and the Tramp" four years earlier. In select first-run engagements, the film was presented in Super Technirama 70 and 6-channel stereophonic sound.


Original production animation cel of King Stefan without the background.

King Stefan is humble, a loving father, and is married to Queen Leah. When Maleficent appears in his castle's throne room, he remained silent but with a stern and intimidating expression. However, after Maleficent casts her curse on Princess Aurora, he commands his palace guards to "Seize that creature!" For the rest of the film Stefan is mostly seen as a soft-spoken man; especially during his scenes with the more boastful King Hubert. King Stefan, was the first Disney King not to have grey hair, and was animated by John Lounsbery and voiced by Taylor Holmes.


Original production animation cel of King Hubert without the background.

King Hubert seems to be a very jolly character; and his Queen is never mentioned in the film. Hubert has one son Prince Phillip, and is good friends with Princess Aurora's father, King Stefan. In one scene, Hubert becomes angry at Stefan due to a perceived slight against his son Phillip. This leads to a fight with Stefan, and they use fish as weapons instead of swords. However, they both soon realize that the whole encounter is silly and laugh at their foolishness. King Hubert was animated by John Lounsbery and voiced by Bill Thompson.

This is a great two original production animation cel setup of King Stefan and King Hubert. Both Kings are full figure and have wonderful expressive poses. A great addition to any animation art collection!

Original Production Animation Cel of Baloo The Bear from "The Jungle Book," 1967


Original hand painted production animation cel of Baloo The Bear from "The Jungle Book," 1967, Walt Disney Studios; Production numbers lower right; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Baloo: 6 1/4" x 4 1/4", Cel 12 1/2 x 16"; Image 10 x 15 3/4"; Unframed.

To purchase this cel or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

"Look for the, bare necessities.
The simple bare necessities.
Forget about your worries and your strife."

- Baloo The Bear 

"The Jungle Book," 1967 was the nineteenth animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Productions and inspired by Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name. The film was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it was to be the last film that was worked on by Walt Disney, as he passed away during its production. The film follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as he encounters Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear; who try and convince him to leave the jungle before the villainous tiger Shere Khan finds him. Voice actors include: Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Sanders and Louis Prima; as well as Disney regulars such as Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley, Verna Felton, and the director's son, Bruce Reitherman, as the voice of Mowgli.

"The Jungle Book" was released on October 18, 1967, with noted acclaim for its soundtrack that featured eight original songs: seven by the Sherman Brothers and one by Terry Gilkyson. Longtime Disney collaborator Gilkyson was the first songwriter to complete several songs which followed Kipling's book closely; however Walt Disney felt that the works were too dark. The only piece of Gilkyson's work which survived to the final film, was his very upbeat song "The Bare Necessities." The Sherman Brothers were then brought in to do a complete rewrite. Disney frequently brought the composers to the storyline sessions, and asked them to "find scary places and write fun songs" that fit into the story and advanced the plot. The popular success of the film in undoubtedly due to both the music and songs, that were primarily written by the Sherman Brothers.

Baloo, which means "bear" in Hindi, is one of the most beloved characters in the Disney pantheon. He is an obese blue-gray sloth bear, with large white claws. Aside from King Louie, Baloo is the only animal character to walk on two legs in the film. He also resembles Little John from Disney's "Robin Hood," who were both voiced by Phil Harris. Harris also provided the voice of Thomas O'Malley from Disney's "The Aristocats." Baloo and Little John perform the same dance moves with King Louie in "The Jungle Book" and with Lady Kluck in "Robin Hood." A little know fact is that Walt Disney was used as a reference for the animators for the dance moves seen when Baloo is first introduced in "The Jungle Book."


Close up of the Baloo The Bear cel.

Baloo was animated by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Ollie Johnston animated the first introduction of Baloo but Frank Thomas soon took over the character and, unlike so many other animators; was known for doing most, if not all of the rough drawings for his entire scene.

The Disney animator Andreas Deja wrote the following:
"This is actually not that unusual, since Frank usually contributed most or all of the drawings for any of his scenes. Other animators would often use a moving hold for calm moments, which involved only two key drawings with lots of in-betweens provided by the assistant. But Frank seems to always have something going on, even in the most subtle acting patterns. Something is always moving, things don’t come to a stop. As a result of producing so many drawings for a given scene, Frank could not focus on gorgeously designed poses or expressions. So his drawings by themselves might not look too intimidating to an animation student or professional, but watching them in motion is a whole other potato. The characters come to life in such a believable way, they breath, they move with weight, and they have real thoughts. In other words, they have a soul."


Baloo the Bear cel without the background.


Close up of the production numbers.

This is a wonderful full figure image of Baloo The Bear as he begins to sing to Mowgli, one of the greatest songs from the film, "The Bare Necessities." An iconic image and a great addition to any animation art collection!

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Original Production Animation Drawing of Briar Rose from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


 Original production animation drawing of Briar Rose in graphite pencil from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 255 lower right and center; Size - Briar Rose: 5 3/4 x 3", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


"Sleeping Beauty," the 1959 Walt Disney full length motion picture, introduced two characters that would become universal favorites; Maleficent and Princess Aurora. Aurora, along with Snow White and Cinderella would be forever immortalized in the public's view as the three greatest Disney Princesses. The original design for Aurora and her peasant disguise Briar Rose was developed by Tom Oreb, who based the character on the famed Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn; known for her thin frame and a very graceful demeanor. Marc Davis, the head animator, would continue the development process by morphing her general appearance and the clothing of the heroine. The fine tuning of the character continued so that she could be combined with the very angular forms present in the Eyvind Earle hand painted backgrounds.

As with other Disney films, an actress was hired as a live-action model (as a guide for the animators) for Princess Aurora/Briar Rose. Helene Stanley, who was also the model for Cinderella in 1950, became the model for the heroine. It is interesting to note that prior to marrying Marc Davis in 1956, Alice (Davis) designed some of costumes worn by Stanley in her acting role in "Sleeping Beauty."


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Briar Rose.

In 1952, the professional opera singer Mary Costa, after meeting people at a party with her future husband director Frank Tashlin, auditioned for the part of Disney's Princess Aurora/Briar Rose. Walt Disney called her personally within hours of the audition to inform her that the part was hers. The success of the film "Sleeping Beauty," owes a chuck of those accolades to the voice of Mary Costa. Her songs were some of the most beautiful ever sung by a Disney Princess. In November 1999 Mary Costa received the Disney Legends Award, and her hand prints are now a permanent part of the Disney Legends Plaza at the entrance to Walt Disney Studios.


Close up of the production number.

After Maleficent's evil curse that Princess Aurora would (before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday) prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die; the three Good Fairies disguise Aurora as a peasant named Briar Rose and hide her deep in a remote forest cottage. The majority of the movie focuses on Briar Rose, and this is a beautiful original production drawing of her. The drawing is used in the scene when Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather send Rose out on a task to pick a basket full of berries; so that they will be alone to make her a beautiful dress and an extra special birthday cake! This is an absolutely beautiful original production drawing of Briar Rose. She is full figure, eyes open, and carrying her basket full of berries. A wonderful addition to any animation art collection!

Monday, August 8, 2016

Original Production Animation Drawing of Briar Rose from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


Original production animation drawing of Briar Rose in graphite pencil from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered C-267 lower right; Size - Briar Rose: 7 1/4 x 6", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


"Sleeping Beauty," the 1959 Walt Disney full length motion picture, introduced two characters that would become universal favorites; Maleficent and Princess Aurora. Aurora, along with Snow White and Cinderella would be forever immortalized in the public's view as the three greatest Disney Princesses. The original design for Aurora and her peasant disguise Briar Rose was developed by Tom Oreb, who based the character on the famed Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn; known for her thin frame and a very graceful demeanor. Marc Davis, the head animator, would continue the development process by morphing her general appearance and the clothing of the heroine. The fine tuning of the character continued so that she could be combined with the very angular forms present in the Eyvind Earle hand painted backgrounds.

As with other Disney films, an actress was hired as a live-action model (as a guide for the animators) for Princess Aurora/Briar Rose. Helene Stanley, who was also the model for Cinderella in 1950, became the model for the heroine. It is interesting to note that prior to marrying Marc Davis in 1956, Alice (Davis) designed some of costumes worn by Stanley in her acting role in "Sleeping Beauty."


Close up of the Briar Rose original production drawing.

In 1952, the professional opera singer Mary Costa, after meeting people at a party with her future husband director Frank Tashlin, auditioned for the part of Disney's Princess Aurora/Briar Rose. Walt Disney called her personally within hours of the audition to inform her that the part was hers. The success of the film "Sleeping Beauty," owes a chuck of those accolades to the voice of Mary Costa. Her songs were some of the most beautiful ever sung by a Disney Princess. In November 1999 Mary Costa received the Disney Legends Award, and her handprints are now a permanent part of the Disney Legends Plaza at the entrance to Walt Disney Studios.


Close up of the production number and animation ladder on the Briar Rose drawing.

After Maleficent's evil curse that Princess Aurora would (before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday) prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die; the three Good Fairies disguise Aurora as a peasant named Briar Rose and hide her deep in a remote forest cottage The majority of the movie focuses on Briar Rose, and the sequences of her meeting Prince Phillip and singing are some of the most beautiful in the film. This is a beautiful original production drawing of Briar Rose when she first meets Prince Phillip in the forest. They soon sing the famous song "Once Upon A Dream." The dialog for the scene is below:

Prince Phillip: "I'm awfully sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."
Princess Aurora: "Oh, it wasn't that. Is just that you're a... a..."
Prince Phillip: "A stranger?"
Princess Aurora: "Mm-hm."
Prince Phillip: "But don't you remember? We've met before."
Princess Aurora: "We... we have?"
Prince Phillip: "But of course! You said so yourself. Once upon a dream."

To view the scene which this drawing was used to create, click on the short video below:


Sunday, August 7, 2016

Original Production Animation Drawing of Briar Rose from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


 Original production animation drawing of Briar Rose in graphite pencil from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 253 lower right and center; Size - Briar Rose: 5 3/4 x 3", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


"Sleeping Beauty," the 1959 Walt Disney full length motion picture, introduced two characters that would become universal favorites; Maleficent and Princess Aurora. Aurora, along with Snow White and Cinderella would be forever immortalized in the public's view as the three greatest Disney Princesses. The original design for Aurora and her peasant disguise Briar Rose was developed by Tom Oreb, who based the character on the famed Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn; known for her thin frame and a very graceful demeanor. Marc Davis, the head animator, would continue the development process by morphing her general appearance and the clothing of the heroine. The fine tuning of the character continued so that she could be combined with the very angular forms present in the Eyvind Earle hand painted backgrounds.

As with other Disney films, an actress was hired as a live-action model (as a guide for the animators) for Princess Aurora/Briar Rose. Helene Stanley, who was also the model for Cinderella in 1950, became the model for the heroine. It is interesting to note that prior to marrying Marc Davis in 1956, Alice (Davis) designed some of costumes worn by Stanley in her acting role in "Sleeping Beauty."


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Briar Rose.

In 1952, the professional opera singer Mary Costa, after meeting people at a party with her future husband director Frank Tashlin, auditioned for the part of Disney's Princess Aurora/Briar Rose. Walt Disney called her personally within hours of the audition to inform her that the part was hers. The success of the film "Sleeping Beauty," owes a chuck of those accolades to the voice of Mary Costa. Her songs were some of the most beautiful ever sung by a Disney Princess. In November 1999 Mary Costa received the Disney Legends Award, and her hand prints are now a permanent part of the Disney Legends Plaza at the entrance to Walt Disney Studios.


Close up of the production number.

After Maleficent's evil curse that Princess Aurora would (before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday) prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die; the three Good Fairies disguise Aurora as a peasant named Briar Rose and hide her deep in a remote forest cottage. The majority of the movie focuses on Briar Rose, and this is a beautiful original production drawing of her. The drawing is used in the scene when Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather send Rose out on a task to pick a basket full of berries; so that they will be alone to make her a beautiful dress and an extra special birthday cake! This is an absolutely beautiful original production drawing of Briar Rose. She is full figure, eyes open, and carrying her basket full of berries. A wonderful addition to any animation art collection!

Original Production Animation Drawing of Maleficent and Diablo from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


Original production animation drawing of Maleficent and Diablo from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite on peg hole paper; Numbered 83 lower right; Size - Maleficent & Diablo: 9 1/4 x 8", Sheet 15 1/2 x 12 1/2"; Unframed.


"Quite a glittering assemblage, King Stefan. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and...
(laughing); how quaint, even the rabble." - Maleficent 

"Sleeping Beauty" is a Walt Disney animated full length feature film and was based on "The Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault and "Little Briar Rose" by The Brothers Grimm. The film was the sixteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, and it was released to theaters on January 29, 1959 by Buena Vista Distribution. This was to be the last Disney adaptation of a fairy tale for many years, both because of its initial mixed critical reception, and because of it's under performance at the box office. The Walt Disney studio did not return to the fairy tale genre until 30 years later, with the release of "The Little Mermaid" in 1989.

"Sleeping Beauty" was directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman, under the supervision of Clyde Geronimi. The story was written by Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta. The film's musical score and songs, featuring the Graunke Symphony Orchestra, was under the direction of George Bruns. Arrangements and/or adaptations were derived from numbers from the 1890 "Sleeping Beauty Ballet" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In addition, Igor Stravinsky's music compositions were also adapted into the film. "Sleeping Beauty" was the first animated film to be photographed in the Super Technirama 70 widescreen process, as well as the second full-length animated feature film to be filmed in anamorphic widescreen; following "Lady and the Tramp" four years earlier. In select first-run engagements, the film was presented in Super Technirama 70 and 6-channel stereophonic sound.


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Maleficent and Diablo.

The style for "Sleeping Beauty" was based on the art of Eyvind Earle, who was known for his 'Pre-Renaissance' style; accomplished with strong vertical lines combined with Gothic elegance. Earle was involved with the design of all the characters in the film, and he designed and painted most of the backgrounds. The early sketches for Maleficent depicted a hag-like witch, however it was later decided that her final design should be more elegant; as it better suited Earle's backgrounds. The principal animator for Maleficent, Marc Davis, decided to make Maleficent a powerful fairy rather than an old crone that had been described in the original source material. A contributing factor for this decision may have been influenced by the choice of Eleanor Audley to be the voice of the character. Audley had previously worked for Disney by providing the voice for the cold and calculating Lady Tremaine (The Stepmother) in "Cinderella." It is known that Frank Thomas who animated Lady Tremaine and Marc Davis who animated Maleficent, incorporated the facials features of Eleanor into both characters. Audley was also the live-action model for Maleficent, and Marc Davis claimed that her movements and expressions were ultimately incorporated into the animation.


Close up of the production number.

Marc Davis's design for Maleficent's costume was inspired by a book on Medieval art. One of the images featured was that of a religious figure with long robes, the ends of which resembled flames. Davis incorporated this into Maleficent's final design, and he based the sides of her headdress on the wings of a bat, and the top of her headdress on the horns of a devil. If you ask people to name their favorite Disney Villain, chances are you will one of three answers; The Evil Queen/Witch from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Cruella DeVil from "One hundred and One Dalmatians," or Maleficent from "Sleeping Beauty." Two of the three, Cruella and Maleficent, were created and drawn by the great Walt Disney animator Marc Davis.

This is an exceptionally nice original production animation drawing of Maleficent and her pet raven Diablo in graphite pencil on animation paper. Maleficent is mouth and eyes open, her left hand is holding her staff, while her right is gesturing in the air. Sitting atop of her staff is her pet raven Diablo, who is eyes open and staring directly at the drawing's viewer. The drawing is from Maleficent's most famous scene in the film, when she enters King Stefan's throne room to cast a spell in order to curse Princess Aurora. The drawing occurs during the sequence when Maleficent comments on the fact that everyone was invited for the celebration of Aurora's birth, except for her. This is an absolutely beautiful piece of artwork of the Mistress of all evil! A great addition to any animation collection. The dialog for the scene is below:

Maleficent: "Quite a glittering assemblage, King Stefan. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and...(laughing); how quaint, even the rabble."

To view the scene which this drawing was used to create, click on the short video below: