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Saturday, January 30, 2016

Original Production Cel of Panchito Pistoles From "The Three Caballeros," 1944

 
Original hand painted and hand inked production cel of Panchito Pistoles; Set on a lithographic background from "The Three Caballeros," 1944; Numbered 722 lower right; Size - Panchito Pistoles: 6 x 3", Image 8 1/4 x 11 1/2"; Unframed.


"The Three Caballeros," 1944 is an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions which premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944, in the United States on February 3, 1945, and in the United Kingdom in March. The film focuses on a fantastic adventure which occurs through  Latin America and is combination of both live-action and animation.

The film stars Donald Duck, who is joined by his old friend José Carioca, the cigar-smoking parrot from "Saludos Amigos," 1942 (representing Brazil); and later becomes friends with the pistol-packing rooster, Panchito Pistoles (representing Mexico). The film is laid out as a series of individual segments that are connected by Donald Duck opening birthday gifts from his Latin American friends. Several Latin American stars appear in the film including; singers Aurora Miranda (sister of Carmen Miranda) and Dora Luz, and the singer and dancer Carmen Molina.

Panchito's full name is Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero González III. Panchito or Pancho (as well as Paco or Paquito) are nicknames for Francisco, his fifth name. Panchito the rooster (who also rides on a horse called Señor Martinez) was animated by Ollie Johnston and Ward Kimball; and was voiced by Joaquin Garay.


Original production cel of Panchito Pistoles without the background.

This is a wonderful cel of Panchito Pistoles. He is eyes and mouth open, full figure, standing with his arms crossed in front of him, and he is wearing his large sombrero. An absolutely perfect pose of this very memorable character!

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Original Production Cel of José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles On A Flying Sarape (Magic Carpet) From the "Mexico: Pátzcuaro, Veracruz and Acapulco" Segment of "The Three Caballeros," 1944


Original hand painted and hand inked production cel of José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles on a flying sarape, or magic carpet; Set on a lithographic background from the "Mexico: Pátzcuaro, Veracruz and Acapulco" segment of "The Three Caballeros," 1944; Numbered C30 lower right; Size - José, Panchito, and Carpet: 6 1/4 x 6 3/4", Image 8 1/4 x 11 1/2"; Unframed.

"The Three Caballeros," 1944 is an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions which premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944, in the United States on February 3, 1945, and in the United Kingdom in March. The film focuses on a fantastic adventure which occurs through  Latin America and is combination of both live-action and animation.

The film stars Donald Duck, who is joined by his old friend José Carioca, the cigar-smoking parrot from "Saludos Amigos," 1942 (representing Brazil); and later becomes friends with the pistol-packing rooster, Panchito Pistoles (representing Mexico). The film is laid out as a series of individual segments that are connected by Donald Duck opening birthday gifts from his Latin American friends. Several Latin American stars appear in the film including; singers Aurora Miranda (sister of Carmen Miranda) and Dora Luz, and the singer and dancer Carmen Molina.

Panchito's full name is Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero González III. Panchito or Pancho (as well as Paco or Paquito) are nicknames for Francisco, his fifth name. Panchito the rooster (who also rides on a horse called Señor Martinez) was animated by Ollie Johnston and Ward Kimball, and was voiced by Joaquin Garay.

José Carioca is a green Brazilian tropical parrot from Rio de Janeiro. His design is based on a parrot that Walt Disney spotted during his trip to Brazil. José is suave, cool, fun, and a ladies man. He was animated by Vladimir Tytla, Ward Kimball, Ollie Johnston, and Fred Moore. He was voiced by the Brazilian actor José Oliveira.


Original production cel of José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles without the background.

This is a fantastic original production cel of José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles on a flying sarape, or magic carpet. Both birds are eyes and mouth open and this is a very dynamic pose of Panchito holding onto José (who is holding onto his umbrella) to keep him from falling off the sarape.

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Friday, January 29, 2016

Original Production Cel of Cinderella on Production Background from "Cinderella," 1950

 
Original hand inked and hand painted production cel of Cinderella in the Ball Gown set on an original hand painted production background from "Cinderella," 1950; Production numbers bottom edge of the background; Size - Cinderella: 8 1/4 x 6 1/4", Image 11 x 15 1/4", Background 12 1/2 x 15 1/4"; Unframed.

Fairy Godmother: "You must understand, my dear: On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before."
Cinderella: "Oh, I understand, but... it's more than I ever hoped for."


The 1950 Walt Disney feature film "Cinderella" was based on the French version of the tale by Charles Perrault, entitled "Cinderella" and written in 1698. The film was the second in the series of great Princess films developed by Disney, the first being Snow White in 1937. The character of Cinderella is usually front and center in the pantheon of Disney Princess merchandise, perhaps because she is the only Princess not to be of a noble blood line who ended up marrying a Prince and becoming royalty.


Original Cinderella production cel and production background showing the entire background.

Cinderella was animated by both Marc Davis and Eric Larson, however the two animators had different perceptions of the character, with Davis preferring elegance and Larson opting for simplicity. This actually worked in the film's favor, resulting in Cinderella being a much more complicated character than her predecessor Snow White. As with other Disney films, the studio hired actress Helene Stanley to perform the live-action reference for Cinderella. She would later return to the studio for the characters of Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty," 1959 and Anita Radcliffe in "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961.

According to Christopher Finch, from his book "The Art of Walt Disney":
"Disney insisted that all scenes involving human characters should be shot first in live-action to determine that they would work before the expensive business of animation was permitted to start. The animators did not like this way of working, feeling it detracted from their ability to create character. The animators understood the necessity for this approach and in retrospect acknowledged that Disney had handled things with considerable subtlety."


Production background without the Cinderella cel; production numbers are on the bottom edge.

About 400 women and girls auditioned for the voice role of Cinderella, but the role ended up going to Ilene Woods. Woods, who at the time worked on the radio and did not know anything about the audition, was asked one day by her colleagues Mack David and Jerry Livingston to sing a song from Cinderella. Without her knowledge, her recording was given by her friends to Disney Studios. After listening to the material Walt Disney immediately decided that he had found the voice with which to speak and sing the character of Cinderella and contacted Ilene.

This is an extremely rare original production cel of Cinderella, wearing the Fairy Godmother created Ball Gown. The cel occurs in the film, when the Fairy Godmother tells Cinderella that at the stroke of midnight, the magical spell will be broken. The dialog for the scene is below:
Fairy Godmother: "You must understand, my dear: On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before."
Cinderella: "Oh, I understand, but... it's more than I ever hoped for."

The original hand painted production background is the interior foyer of Lady Tremaine's (The Wicked Stepmother) house. The background can be seen when Cinderella, wearing the beautiful pink dress made for her by her mouse and bird friends, is challenged by Lady Tremaine and eventually her pink dress is left in tatters by her wicked stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella.

To see the cel in the film, just click on the short video below:


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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Original Production Animation Drawings of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959

 
Original production drawings of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather in graphite and red pencils from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959; Numbered 121, A99, and C-204 in pencil lower right; Size - Flora: 7 x 4", Fauna: 6 1/2 x 4", Merryweather: 6 1/2 x 4 1/2", Sheets 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

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

Flora: "Make it pink!"
Merryweather: "Make it blue!"
Fauna: "Oh, I just love happy endings."

"Sleeping Beauty," 1959 is an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney based on two stories: "The Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault and "Little Briar Rose" by The Brothers Grimm. The film was released to theaters on January 29, 1959, by Buena Vista Distribution. This was the last Disney adaptation of a fairy tale for 30 years because of its initial mixed critical reception and because of under performance at the box office. The next Disney adaption of a fairy tale would not occur until 1989 with "The Little Mermaid."

"Sleeping Beauty" was directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman; under the supervision of Clyde Geronimi. Additional story work was by Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta. The film's musical score and songs, featuring the work of the Graunke Symphony Orchestra under the direction of George Bruns, are arrangements or adaptations of numbers from the 1890 "Sleeping Beauty Ballet" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. "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). The film was presented in Super Technirama 70 and 6-channel stereophonic sound in first-run engagements.

Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are Princess Aurora's Fairy Godmothers, who appear at baby Aurora's christening to present their gifts to her, as well as go on to become her guardians. The Fairies were voiced by Verna Felton (Flora), Barbara Jo Allen (Fauna), and Barbara Luddy (Merryweather). Verna Felton also voiced Queen Leah, Aurora's mother; and had prior roles as Dumbo's mother in "Dumbo," the Fairy Godmother in "Cinderella," the Queen of Hearts in "Alice in Wonderland," and Aunt Sarah in "Lady in the Tramp." Barbara Luddy had previously voiced Lady in "Lady and the Tramp." The principle animator for the Three Fairies was Ollie Johnston and a little known fact is that one of the actresses who was one of the live action models for the Good Fairies was Frances Bavier, the future Aunt Bee on "The Andy Griffith Show."


Original production animation drawing of Fauna, showing the entire sheet.

Fauna is the middle Fairy and is dressed in a green gown, a green hat, and a green cape clipped with a green triangle. Her gift to Aurora is the gift of song.


Original production animation drawing of Flora, showing the entire sheet.

Flora is the tallest and oldest Fairy, dressed in a red gown (although she is obsessed with the color pink), a red hat, and a red cape clipped with a yellow square. She is the strongest-willed leader of the group, and her gift to Aurora is the gift of beauty. She also created for Prince Phillip the powerful Sword of Truth and the invulnerable Shield of Virtue, for his escape and battle with Maleficent.


Original production animation drawing of Merryweather, showing the entire sheet.

Merryweather is the shortest and youngest Fairy, dressed in a blue gown, a blue hat, and a blue cape clipped with a blue circle. She is the Fairy who is the most verbal and aggressive towards Maleficent, and she is much bolder than the other two Fairies. As Merryweather is about to give her gift, Maleficent makes her appearance and curses Aurora to die when she touches a spinning wheel's spindle before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday. Merryweather's gift to Aurora is to weaken Maleficent's curse so that instead of death, Aurora will fall into a deep sleep until she is awakened by true love's kiss.

This is a wonderful drawing set of all three Good Fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from the Walt Disney masterpiece "Sleeping Beauty," 1959. All three Fairies are full figure, eyes open, and are large centered drawings.

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Original Production Animation Cel of the Pound Dogs - Toughy, Boris, and Pedro from "Lady and the Tramp," 1955



Original hand inked and hand painted production cel of the Pound Dogs - Toughy, Boris, and Pedro set on a lithographic line background from "Lady and the Tramp," 1955; Size - Pound Dogs: 7 x 8 3/4", Image 8 1/2 x 11 1/4"; Unframed.


"Lady and the Tramp" (released on June 22, 1955) is a full length featured animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The film was the 15th in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, and it was the first animated feature filmed in with the CinemaScope widescreen film process. The film was based on the story "Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog" by Ward Greene and tells the story of a female American Cocker Spaniel named Lady who lives with a refined, upper-middle-class family. Lady meets a male stray mutt named Tramp and they embark on many exciting and romantic adventures.

One evening in 1937, Disney storyman Joe Grant invited Walt Disney over to his house for dinner and ended up showed Disney a drawing he had made of his pet spinger spaniel, who was named Lady. Walt loved the drawing and suggested that Joe make a storyboard out of it; which he did and the plan was to create a new animated film, simply titled "Lady." The story that was pitched ended up being too simplistic to Walt Disney's taste, and the project was put on hold until about 20 years later.


Toughy, Boris, and Pedro original production cel showing the entire background and cel sheets.

The Pound Dogs (Toughy, Boris, and Pedro) are a group of dogs that are encountered by Lady when she is captured by the Dog Catcher and put into the Dog Pound. Toughy is a reddish-brown mutt and white mongrel. He has fur of different brownish and whitish tones and was voiced by Dallas McKennon. Boris is a tall, slender, gray Russian Wolfhound who has a dark gray tone in his ears, red eyes, black eyebrows, and long eyelashes; and was voiced by Alan Reed. Pedro is a small, slender brown Chihuahua with a darker brown tuft of fur on his head, short whiskers, long ears, and black eyebrows. He is silly, distracted, a bit childish, and speaks with a Mexican accent; and was also voiced by Dallas McKennon.

This is a rare and wonderful cel of the Pound Dogs: Toughy, Boris, and Pedro. All three dogs are eyes and mouths open, and the cel has been placed on a line background of the inside of the Dog Pound. A great Walt Disney original production animation cel of a group of memorable dogs from the classic film "Lady and the Tramp!"

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Original Production Animation Cel of Nana The Dog from "Peter Pan," 1953


Original hand inked and hand painted production cel of Nana The Dog over a lithographic background from "Peter Pan," 1953; Size - Nana The Dog: 6 1/4 x 6", Image 7 3/4 x 9", Mat 13 1/4 x 14 1/4"; Double matted.

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

The author J. M. Barrie first used Peter Pan as a character in a section of the adult novel "The Little White Bird" in 1902. He returned to that character with his stage play entitled "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up," which premiered in London on December 27, 1904. The play ran until 1913, and it was later adapted by Walt Disney for the animated feature film entitled, "Peter Pan," in 1953.

Nana is a Newfoundland breed of dog who is the nursemaid to the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Darling; Wendy, Michael, and John. Nana is the hard working member of the Darling family who is always tending to the children. She tucks them into their bed, gives them their medicine, and is constantly tidying up the nursery.


Double matted original production animation cel of Nana.

From veteran Walt Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"Nana, who acts like a nanny to the Darling children, is a minor, but terrific character nevertheless in the film Peter Pan. She is handled in a somewhat cartoony, but still believable way by animator Norm Ferguson. She walks like a real dog, yet is able to act out human like business like in the film still above. Because she doesn't talk, the animator had to get the character's emotions across through pantomime performances. Ferguson had been an expert in animating Pluto, so he was well equipped to take on an assignment like this one."

This is a wonderful full figure, eyes open original production animation cel of Nana. She is wearing her bonnet and is busy tidying up some wooden alphabet blocks in the Darling nursery. A rare and beautiful work of one of the most memorable dogs from Walt Disney's masterpiece, "Peter Pan."

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Saturday, January 23, 2016

Original Production Animation Cel of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum from "Alice In Wonderland," 1951


Original hand inked and hand painted production cel of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum set on a lithographic background from "Alice In Wonderland," 1951; Size - Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum: 6 3/4 x 6 3/4", Image 11" x 14 3/4"; Unframed.

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

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (commonly shortened to "Alice in Wonderland"), is a 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson who wrote under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. Disney reworked the story to fit with both a younger audience and a time frame suitable for an animated film (it's run time is only 75 minutes).


Close up of the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum original production animation cel.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are characters originally featured in "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There," 1871; a novel by Lewis Carroll which was the sequel to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". The Tweedles are two fat identical twin brothers dressed in school boy uniforms and wearing propeller caps. They're playful, jolly, a little annoying, and take particular delight in reciting poems and songs; and end up reciting to Alice the story of "The Walrus and The Carpenter."


Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum original production animation cel without the background.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were animated by Ward Kimball, Cliff Nordberg, and Will Finn. The directing animator for the film was Ward Kimball, and  his animation style made him a perfect fit for a movie as zany as "Alice in Wonderland." Kimball was responsible for many of characters including: not only Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum, but The White Rabbit, The Carpenter, and the Cheshire Cat.

James Patrick Francis O'Malley was an English singer and character actor, who appeared in many American films and television programs from the 1940s to 1982; using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley. Walt Disney hired O'Malley to provide voices for several animated films such as the Cockney voice for the "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" sequence in "Mary Poppins," 1964, Cyril Proudbottom, Winkie and a policeman in "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad," 1949, and the role of Colonel Hathi and Buzzie the vulture in "The Jungle Book," 1967. However, his most famous role was the many voices he provided for "Alice in Wonderland". J. Pat O'Malley  performed all the characters in the "The Walrus and the Carpenter" segment (besides Alice), including Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Walrus, the Carpenter, and Mother Oyster.

This is a very rare original production animation cel of both Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum from "Alice In Wonderland," 1951. Both characters are full figure, eyes and mouth open. A rare and wonderful setup of two of the most memorable characters from the film!

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Original Production Animation Cels of Duchess and Thomas O'Malley from "The Aristocats," 1970


Original hand painted production cels of Duchess numbered 217 lower right and Thomas O'Malley numbered 117 lower right; Both from "The Aristocats," 1970; Set over a lithographic background; Size - Duchess: 6 x 4", Thomas O'Malley: 6 1/2 x 5 3/4", Image: 10 3/4 x 14 3/4"; Unframed.

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

"The Aristocats," 1970 is an animated feature film produced and released by Walt Disney Productions.  This was the last film project to be approved by Walt Disney himself, as he died in late 1966, before the film was finally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on December 11, 1970. "The Aristocats" featured the voice talent of Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Phil Harris, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, and Roddy Maude-Roxby.

The film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and centers around a family of aristocratic cats. After the mistress's butler kidnaps them (to gain his mistress' fortune which was intended to go to the cats) an unlikely alley cat acquaintance helps them escape and be returned to their home.

Duchess is a long-haired purebred white Turkish Angora cat with blue eyes (shining like sapphires) and wearing a gold and jeweled collar that is studded with diamonds. She is the mother of three kittens; Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse and her owner is the aristocratic Madame Adelaide Bonfamille. Duchess was voiced by Eva Gabor who was a Hungarian-born American socialite and actress. Robie Lester who was an American Grammy-nominated voice artist and singer, provided the singing voice for Duchess.

According to veteran Walt Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"Duchess was animated by quite a few artists, I would say that Ollie Johnston did some of the nicest scenes, educating the kittens etc.. Frank Thomas came up with good acting scenes as well, when Duchess meets O'Malley for the first time, and when she says goodbye to him at the end of the movie.
Milt Kahl set her basic design based on Ken Anderson's drawings. Below are a couple of beautiful exploratory sheets by Milt. As always it's great to see his mind at work in these drawings, he is trying hard to avoid formulas and to find unique arrangements of shapes that bring out her personality. There is so much knowledge of feline anatomy here, after all, Milt had just finished animation on Shere Khan and Bagheera."


Original production cels of Duchess and Thomas O'Malley without the background.

Abraham DeLacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley (simply known as Thomas O'Malley) the alley cat was also animated by Ollie Johnston and Milt Kahl. O'Malley was marvelously voiced by Phil Harris, who was an American singer, songwriter, jazz musician, actor, and comedian. Harris also worked as a voice actor for two other Walt Disney animated feature films: "The Jungle Book," 1967 as Baloo the Bear and "Robin Hood," 1973 as Little John (another bear).

This is one of the finest pair of cels of Duchess and Thomas O'Malley that I have ever seen! Both are large images, full figure, and both are eyes open (even though Duchess is looking down in a very coy fashion). A rare and beautiful setup of the famous Disney cat duo!

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Friday, January 22, 2016

Original Production Animation Drawing of Scar from "The Lion King," 1994; Numbered S-73


Original production drawing of Scar in red, blue, and graphite pencils from "The Lion King," 1994; Numbered S-73 in blue and graphite pencil lower right; Size - Scar: 9 1/2 x 7 1/2", Sheet 12 1/2 x 17"; Unframed.

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

"Well, as far as brains go, I got the lion's share." - Scar

"The Lion King," 1994 is an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The story centers on an African kingdom of lions, and was derived from William Shakespeare's famous play "Hamlet." The film was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, with the screenplay written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Original songs were by Elton John and Tim Rice, and the original score was written by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast including: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings.

Prince Taka, also known as Scar, is the Villain of the film. The name Scar is due to his having a small, thin, red gash located above and below his left eye. He was very resentful of Mufasa and his young cub Simba, because Simba's birth ruined any chance of him ever becoming king. Scar was marvelously voiced by veteran screen actor Jeremy Irons. Although he voices Scar for most of the movie, Irons lost his voice while recording "Be Prepared" (Specifically the line "You won't get a sniff without me!"), and the rest of the song is sung by Jim Cummings. Ironically, "Be Prepared" is also where Ed the hyena (also voiced by Jim Cummings) has his only line that is not laughter.

The principal animator for Scar was Andreas Deja, and this is a great quotation of the experience: "Working with Jeremy Irons was a joy. The man can read anything, and you'd want to animate it, I swear. What an inspiring voice!  It was a privilege to be assigned to this character. I remember during production I didn't watch "Jungle Book" once, I tried to do a different type of villain than Shere Khan, as far as design and personality. I wished I could redo a lot of my scenes, but this is all I could do way back. At least the personality seems to be coming through. Scar was evil, but also intelligent. And that's  a dangerous combination. And he sure enjoyed being bad."


Close up of the Scar original production drawing.

Scar topped The Huffington Post's list for Disney Villains and ranked within the top ten of similar lists published by Yahoo! Movies, the Orlando Sentinel, E! and CNN. He has also been ranked among the greatest villains in film history by Digital Spy and Entertainment Weekly. This is a wonderful and very large portrait of Scar; he is eyes and mouth open showing his teeth, and the drawing is and impressive 9 1/2" x 7 1/2". In addition there is blue pencil highlighting the inside of his mouth and his scar, around his left eye, is drawn with red pencil.

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Original Production Animation Drawing of Peter Pan from "Peter Pan," 1953


Original production drawing of Peter Pan in red, blue, and graphite pencils from "Peter Pan," 1953; Numbered 4 in pencil lower right; Size - Peter Pan with Present: 5 x 3 1/2", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

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

“He flies without wings. His shadow leads a merry little life of its own. Face-to-face with the terrible Captain Hook, Peter dispatches that pirate with jaunty ease. Peter is at home with mermaids and understands their language. He is twelve years old forever simply because he refuses to grow up beyond that comfortable age. Most remarkable of all, he knows where Never Land is and how to get there.” ―Walt Disney

The author J. M. Barrie first used Peter Pan as a character in a section of the adult novel "The Little White Bird" in 1902. He returned to that character with his stage play entitled "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up," which premiered in London on December 27, 1904. The play ran until 1913, and it was later adapted by Walt Disney for the animated feature film entitled, "Peter Pan," in 1953.

The main character of Peter Pan was animated by Milt Kahl and Eric Larson. Kahl did the majority of the animation sequences with Larson working mainly on the flying to London sequence, as well as some animation work on both Wendy Darling and Captain Hook.

Milt Kahl was not very excited about his assignment for Peter Pan. He had to animate both Peter Pan and Wendy Darling; two characters that had to be handled like real human beings and therefore would be a great challenge. “Peter was interesting in that you had to make him fly but after that was over he became a chore,” said Kahl. "Peter Pan's" supervising animator, Ron Clements, remembered that for years Milt Kahl resented the fact that animator Frank Thomas was assigned the character of Captain Hook instead of him. It is interesting to note that Peter Pan is one of the most interesting male protagonists of the early Walt Disney films because he is very heroic, opinionated, and has a zeal for life. Kahl’s animation of him totally embraces those characteristics as well as his great grace, expert timing, all combined with a very appealing artistic design.

Bobby Driscoll was the first actor Walt Disney ever put under contract, and was cast to play the lead character in the 1946 film "Song of the South." The film would introduce live action into an extensive animation based film. The film was very successful and turned Driscoll, and his co-star Luana Patten, into overnight child stars! The pair were even discussed for a special Academy Award as the best child actors of the year.


Close up of the Peter Pan original production animation drawing.

Driscoll went on to appear in a large number of specials and to star in some of The Walt Disney Company's most popular live-action pictures of that period, such as "So Dear to My Heart" in 1948, and in the role of Jim Hawkins in "Treasure Island" in 1950. This last role earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1953, he served as animation model and provided the voice for the title role in "Peter Pan," Driscoll's last major success. Driscoll was cast opposite Disney's "Little British Lady" Kathryn Beaumont, who was in the role of Wendy Darling. Driscoll was the model for all the close up Peter Pan scenes and the dancer and choreographer Roland Dupree was the model for the character's motion sequences. All the live action model scenes were played out on an almost empty sound stage with only the most essential props, and filmed for use by the animators.

This wonderful drawing is from the scene in the film when Peter Pan receives a wrapped present with a gift tag that reads, "To Peter with love from Wendy - Do not open till 6 o'clock." The gift is actually from Captain Hook and is a ticking time bomb set to explode at exactly 6 o'clock. Just as the bomb is getting ready to explode, Tinkerbell grabs it from Peter's hands and flies away. This is a rare drawing of Peter Pan, he is eyes and mouth open and his image is centered on the sheet. The wrapped gift part of the drawing is also a color call out for the Disney Paint and Ink Department, indicating the paint colors for both the wrapping paper and the ribbon and bow.

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Original Production Animation Cel of Maleficent from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


Original hand painted and hand inked production cel of Maleficent set on a hand prepared background from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959; Size - Maleficent 8 1/4 x 13 1/4", Image 10 x 13 3/4", Mat 15 x 18 1/4"; Double matted.

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

Initially Marc Davis, the animator for Maleficent, had wanted to use a black and red color scheme for the character however; Eyvind Earle, the background artist for the film, protested. Walt Disney had taken some criticism over his recent films for their lack of artistic achievement and so he had decided to put in charge an already accomplished Disney animation artist. Eyvind Earle had already been working at the Disney Animation Studios and was receiving acclaim for his artistic vision and technical skill and so he was chosen by Disney to supervise the styling, color, and backgrounds for "Sleeping Beauty." The film took six years to complete due to Earle's extreme attention to detail. Normal backgrounds for prior Disney films would take a day, however the Earle backgrounds could take up to ten days. In addition, Earle reworked not only the colors for Maleficent but the character design for Briar Rose so that she would work better with his pre-Renaissance Gothic vision for "Sleeping Beauty." "Sleeping Beauty," 1959 was the last of the Disney films that all the cels were both hand inked and hand painted, and many believe it to be one of the most beautiful and one of the greatest Disney films ever!


Close up of the Maleficent original production animation cel.

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 "101 Dalmatians," or Maleficent from "Sleeping Beauty." Two of the three, Cruella and Maleficent, were created/drawn by the great animator Marc Davis. Davis was part of what has been dubbed Disney's Nine Old Men; the core group of animators, some becoming directors, that created the finest animated films ranging from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", 1937 to "The Rescuers", 1977.

The voice of Maleficent was performed by Eleanor Audley. She had worked for Disney prior by also being the voice for the cold and calculating Lady Tremaine (The Stepmother) in "Cinderella." If is known that Frank Thomas for Lady Tremaine and Marc Davis for Maleficent, incorporated facials features of Eleanor into both characters.


Double matted original production animation cel of Maleficent.

This is a large cel of Maleficent from the scene in the film when she is trying to stop Prince Phillip from escaping from her castle and from reaching Sleeping Beauty. Maleficent's eyes are open, her robes are blowing in the wind behind her, and she is grasping her staff. She also is wearing her ever present frown and she measures an impressive 8 1/4" x 13 1/4". The cel has been placed on a hand prepared background that enhances the beauty of the artwork. This is a great piece and a wonderful addition to any collection.

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Original Production Animation Cel of Lady from "Lady and the Tramp," 1955


Original hand inked and hand painted production cel of Lady set on a lithographic copy of a production background from "Lady and the Tramp," 1955; Size - Lady: 3 1/2 x 3 1/4", Image 10 1/2 x 13 3/4"; Unframed.

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

“Oh, I love her. What a perfectly beautiful little Lady.” ―Darling

"Lady and the Tramp" (released on June 22, 1955) is a full length featured animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Distribution. The film was the 15th in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, and it was the first animated feature filmed in with the CinemaScope widescreen film process. The film was based on the story "Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog" by Ward Greene and tells the story of a female American Cocker Spaniel named Lady who lives with a refined, upper-middle-class family. Lady meets a male stray mutt named Tramp and they embark on many exciting and romantic adventures.

One evening in 1937, Disney storyman Joe Grant invited Walt Disney over to his house for dinner and ended up showed Disney a drawing he had made of his pet spinger spaniel, who was named Lady. Walt loved the drawing and suggested that Joe make a storyboard out of it; which he did and the plan was to create a new animated film, simply titled "Lady." The story that was pitched ended up being too simplistic to Walt Disney's taste, and the project was put on hold until about 20 years later.


Close up of the Lady original production cel without the background.

Lady was wonderfully animated by the great Disney artist Ollie Johnston and she was voiced by Barbara Luddy. Barbara Luddy (1908 — 1979) was an American actress from Great Falls, Montana and she starred in silent pictures in the 1920s. She was also a prolific radio performer; known for her performances on the long running radio show "The First Nighter Program" which aired from 1936 until 1953.

However, Luddy is perhaps best remembered for her voice work in Walt Disney animated films; with her most memorable role being that of Lady from Lady and the Tramp.  She also performed inSleeping Beauty (voice of Merryweather), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (voice of Rover),Robin Hood (voice of both Mother Church Mouse and the Mother Rabbit), and the Winnie-the-Pooh featurettes (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, andWinnie the Pooh and Tigger Too) all of which she provided the voice for Kanga.


Original production cel of Lady without the background.

This is a wonderful original production animation cel of Lady sitting with her eyes and mouth open and she has a fantastic facial expression! A great addition for any collection.

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