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Saturday, August 26, 2017

Original Production Animation Cel of Mad Madam Mim from "The Sword In The Stone," 1963


Original hand painted production animation cel of Mad Madam Mim from "The Sword In The Stone," 1963, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Numbered M-13 in ink lower right; Size - Madam Mim and Broom: 4 1/2 x 5 1/4", Image 8 1/2 x 11"; Unframed.

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

"Cause I'm the magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim!" - Madam Mim 

"The Sword in the Stone," 1963 is the 18th full length feature film produced by Walt Disney and it was released on December 25, 1963 by Buena Vista Distribution. The film was based on the novel of the same name, that was first published in 1938. It was later republished in 1958 as the first book of T. H. White's tetralogy "The Once and Future King." It was to be the final Disney animated film released before Walt Disney's death on December 15, 1966. The songs in the film were written and composed by the Sherman Brothers, who would become very famous for their future work on later Disney films including; "Mary Poppins," 1964, "The Jungle Book," 1967, and "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," 1971.


Close up of the original production animation cel of Mad Madam Mim.

Madam Mim was the villain in the film and was voiced by Martha Wentworth, a veteran actress with a long radio history dating back to the 1920's. She was the voice of several Disney characters in "101 Dalmatians" including Nanny; and Mim was her final credited role. Madam Mim was animated by two of Disney's greatest animators Milt Kahl (who also designed the character, refining storyboard sketches from animator Bill Peet), and Frank Thomas. Kahl animated her first appearance in the film, her initial interaction with Arthur; while Frank Thomas oversaw her famous "Wizards' Duel" with Merlin.


Close up of the production number.

This is a great cel of Mad Madam Mim as she is performing the "Mad Madam Mim" song for Wart; who had been transformed by Merlin into a small brown bird. The songs lyrics were written by the Sherman Brothers, and when she sings "I can be tiny, small as a mouse," Mim shrinks to the size of a mouse. She then creates a broom and flies into the air singing the line, "Cause I'm the magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim!" This rare and wonderful cel of Mim. She is full figure, standing on the flying broom, her arms out stretched, and her mouth and eyes open. A spectacular original piece of animation artwork of one of Disney's most memorable contemporary villains!

Original Production Animation Cel of Wendy Darling from "Peter Pan," 1953


Original hand inked and hand painted production animation cel of Wendy Darling from "Peter Pan," 1953; Walt Disney Studios; Size - Wendy: 8 1/2 x 4", Image 10 x 13", Frame 21 x 24 1/4"; Framed with a gold wood frame, two linen mats, gold wood fillet, and plexiglass.

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

“Oh Peter, it's just as I always dreamed it would be.” ―Wendy Darling

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 characters of "Peter Pan" Peter and Wendy were 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.

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.


Framed original production animation cel of Wendy Darling.

This is a very large and expressive cel of Wendy Darling. She is eyes open, smiling, and her hands are clasped in front of her. This is one of the largest cels that I have ever owned of Wendy, and is an outstanding work that is perfect for any animation art collection!

Original Production Animation Drawing of The Old Hag (The Witch) from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937


Original production animation drawing of the Old Hag (The Witch) with the poisoned apple from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite, green, blue, and red pencils on watermarked five peg hole paper; Production numbers stamp lower left and numbered 19 in graphite pencil lower right; Size - Old Hag: 6 3/4 x 5 1/4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


"But wait! There may be an antidote." - Old Hag (The Witch)

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!

After a long and difficult four years, on January 13, 1938, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs made its New York premiere at Radio City Music Hall. The film ran for five weeks in a row, the first motion picture to do so, and it could have played longer if not for prior commitments of the venue. It was to be the theatres' most successful engagement in all of the 1930s. The film was loved by everyone and Disney, along with his animation team, had managed to make an animated film that the audience would believe! The crowd would be sad and cry when Snow White bit the apple and was placed in a glass casket; and they would laugh, smile, and be happy during the song and dance numbers with the Dwarfs. However, Disney was criticized by some for making a very scary film for children.

When the movie was played at Radio City Music Hall on its first release, the theater managers had to replace the music played when Snow White runs into the Dark Forest; because they were nervous that the kids would be too frightened upon hearing it. Snow White's run into the Forest had another result;  young children were still so scared by the sequence, that they wet their pants. As a result, the velvet upholstery of each and every seat held by a child, had to be replaced prior to every showing of the film.

The Walt Disney film's version of the Evil Queen changing into an Old Hag is very different compared to the original story. In the Disney version, the Queen uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking on a disguise; as in the Brothers Grimm story. Animation provided a transformation scene that is truly spectacular and the Disney team even made the event greater by utilizing the multi-plane camera; to make the room itself appeared to spin. This sequence along with the flight of Snow White through the Dark Forest; caused the British Board of Film Censors (now, the British Board of Film Classification) to give the film an A-certificate (children had to be accompanied by an adult) upon its original release. This resulted in a nationwide controversy as to whether the Forest and the Witch were too frightening for younger audiences. Nevertheless, most local authorities simply overrode the censor's decision and gave the film a U-certificate (Suitable for children).

Walt Disney's response to the idea that the film was too frightening for children was, "I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us, whether we be six or sixty." This may have been his statement, but he never made another film with such a scary villain. Every film after Snow White had the main villain accompanied by a comedic sidekick; such as Maleficent and her Goons, Cruella de Vil with Horace and Jasper, or Medusa with Snoops.

The famed animator Joe Grant created the initial sketches of the Witch, which had some basis in the early Witch drawings from Arthur Rackham's illustrations from "Hansel and Gretel." After Walt Disney approved the character design; Norman Ferguson was given the task of animating her. There were early concerns that the Witch would be viewed by the audience as more of a laughable and entertaining clown rather than an evil old hag; however, Norm's animation skill won out and the character seems even more menacing than her prior Queenly form. The Witch is the only character in "Snow White" to look directly into the camera and therefore address the audience. With her one tooth, expressive eyes, and boney hands; Ferguson had a lot of choices in which to invoke fear and to scare. Despite her slow movements and apparent frailness, we all know there is pure evil afoot!


Close up of the Old Hag (The Witch) production drawing.

The voice of the Queen was provided by Lucille Leverne and she also wanted to read for the part of the Witch. Leverne was a veteran stage actress and was perfect for the Queen, with a real regalness to her voice. When she was in the sound booth and Walt Disney heard her reading the role of the Witch, he stopped her and said that her voice just did not work for that role. Lucille said to just wait one minute and left the sound booth and then quickly returned and started the reading again. Now her voice had changed to that wonderful raspy, gummy, and single toothed sounding Witch. Disney was amazed and asked how she had managed to get that perfect character voice, and Lucille replied, "Oh, I just took out my false teeth."


Close up of the production stamp.


Close up of the production number.

After the Evil Queen transforms herself into the Old Peddler Woman or Old Hag, she prepares the poisoned apple. The apple is created and pulled out of the Witch's cauldron and turns a bright red, "To tempt Snow White to take a bite!" The Hag then realizes "But wait! There may be an antidote," to the poisoned apple's "Sleeping Death" spell. This wonderful eyes wide open drawing is from that pivotal scene. The Witch has her mouth open and you can see her single front tooth; and of course she is holding the poisoned red apple in her right hand! Drawings from this scene are extremely rare, and represent the best example in animation for the character! This work of art is a stand out for any vintage Walt Disney animation art collection.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Original Production Animation Cel of Marie from "The Aristocats," 1970


Original hand painted production animation cel of Marie from "The Aristocats," 1970; Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 57 in ink lower right; Set over a lithographic background; Size - Marie: 4 x 4 1/2", Image: 10 3/4 x 12 1/4"; Unframed.

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

"Now, dear, you go to the piano... run along... both of you." - Duchess

"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.


Original production animation cel of Marie without the background.

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."


Close up of the original production animation cel of Marie.

Marie is a slender white Turkish Angora kitten, and the only female of Duchess's three kittens. She is a hopeless romantic and daydreamer, with her two most famous lines in the film being "Ladies do not start fights, but they can finish them!" and "How romantic!" Marie frequently is seen lost in her daydreams and tends to sigh often and deeply. Unfortunately she is somewhat danger-prone, as she is consistently in harm's way throughout the film; including a perilous fall off of a railway bridge and into a stream. Marie was wonderfully voiced by Liz English.


Close up of the production number. 

This is a large and wonderful image of Marie. She is from the scene just before Edgar delivers warm milk that he had laced with sleeping tablets to Duchess and her kittens. Duchess sends Marie and Berlioz to practice their "scales and arpeggios." Duchess says, "Now, dear, you go to the piano... run along... both of you." Marie, with her head tilted back and nose in the air, prances haughtily in front of her brother to the piano. Just a beautiful original production animation cel of Marie, perfect for animation animation art collection!

Original Production Animation Drawing of Alice from "Alice In Wonderland," 1951


Original production animation drawing of Alice in graphite and brown pencils from "Alice In Wonderland," 1951, Walt Disney Studios; Alice's dialogue of "OH THAT" in brown pencil upper right and numbered 23 in graphite pencil lower right; Size - Alice: 5 3/4 x 4 1/2", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

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

"Oh, that was lovely." - Alice

"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).

Kathryn Beaumont, who was born in London England, was just 10 years old when she was chosen for the voice of Alice. Walt Disney personally cast Beaumont after seeing her in the film "On an Island with You," in which the child actress had a small role. Disney was so impressed by her that she was also chosen to be the model for Alice, and would also go on to provide the voice for Wendy in "Peter Pan," 1953. Beaumont has also reprised her voice acting role as Alice in two episodes of the animated series, Disney's "House of Mouse," and as both Alice and Wendy in the video game "Kingdom Hearts." She did not retire as the voice of Alice and Wendy until 2005, when her role for these two characters was taken over by Hynden Walch.

Initial design for the character of Alice was accomplished by Mary Blair during the storyboard phase and also by Les Clark. Alice was animated by Ollie Johnston and also by Marc Davis and Les Clark, who animated her for the tea party scene.


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Alice.


Close up of the production number.

This wonderful drawing of Alice is from the most famous scene in the film, the Mad Tea Party. This scene was supervised by veteran Walt Disney animator Les Clark. In this particular sequence, the Dormouse emerges from a skyrocketing cake to recite "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." He slowly descends into a teapot, and in the next scene Alice smiles, applauds, and says "Oh, that was lovely." This drawing has Alice's dialogue in the upper right: "OH THAT." This is an absolutely perfect image of Alice; she is eyes and mouth open, and would be a great addition to any animation art collection!

Original Production Animation Drawing of Mickey Mouse from "Mickey's Circus," 1936,


Original production animation drawing of Mickey Mouse from "Mickey's Circus," 1936, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite and red pencils on peg hole paper; Numbered 71 lower right; Size - Mickey Mouse: 3 1/2 x 3 3/4", Sheet 10 x 12"; Unframed.

"Mickey's Circus" (released on August 1, 1936) is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and was directed by Ben Sharpsteen. Walt Disney provides the voice of Mickey Mouse, Pinto Colvig the voice of Salty the Seal, and Clarence Nash the voice of Donald Duck.


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Mickey Mouse.

The story of "Mickey's Circus" is that Mickey Mouse is the Ringmaster of a circus entertaining orphans. Donald Duck performs juggling and also has three trained seals. After Donald and the seals juggle balls, the seals demand to be fed fish. Before Donald finishes feeding the seals, a baby seal pup grabes the fish, resulting in a tug of war. The seal pup steals the show and the orphans cheer at the hilarious results. After a series of funny antics, Donald and Mickey are shot out through a cannon and find themselves balancing on the high wire. The orphans make the wire performance much more interesting by adding oil to the wire, throwing barrels at them, and electrifying the wire. This causes them to perform a high dive into the seal's water tank below. Mickey and Donald splash into the tank and are hit in the face by a fish thrown by the seal pup. The short ends when the seal lions dive into the tank with Mickey and Donald, and fight for the fish.


Close up of the production number.

This is a great drawing of Mickey Mouse wearing his Ringmaster outfit; complete with his signature shorts with buttons, large yellow shoes, white gloves, top hat, and red coat with tails. Mickey has his feet are on the high wire and he is holding a wooden pole that he is using for balance. He is eyes and mouth open, full figure, and in a great action pose. This is a large image of Mickey Mouse and certainly a great drawing from one of the Walt Disney cartoon shorts of the 1930's.

Original Production Animation Drawing of Mickey Mouse from "Mickey's Circus," 1936


Original production animation drawing of Mickey Mouse from "Mickey's Circus," 1936, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite and red pencils on peg hole paper; Numbered 35 top and lower right; Size - Mickey Mouse: 4 3/4 x 4", Sheet 10 x 12"; Unframed.

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

"Mickey's Circus" (released on August 1, 1936) is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and was directed by Ben Sharpsteen. Walt Disney provides the voice of Mickey Mouse, Pinto Colvig the voice of Salty the Seal, and Clarence Nash the voice of Donald Duck.


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Mickey Mouse.

The story of "Mickey's Circus" is that Mickey Mouse is the Ringmaster of a circus entertaining orphans. Donald Duck performs juggling and also has three trained seals. After Donald and the seals juggle balls, the seals demand to be fed fish. Before Donald finishes feeding the seals, a baby seal pup grabes the fish, resulting in a tug of war. The seal pup steals the show and the orphans cheer at the hilarious results. After a series of funny antics, Donald and Mickey are shot out through a cannon and find themselves balancing on the high wire. The orphans make the wire performance much more interesting by adding oil to the wire, throwing barrels at them, and electrifying the wire. This causes them to perform a high dive into the seal's water tank below. Mickey and Donald splash into the tank and are hit in the face by a fish thrown by the seal pup. The short ends when the seal lions dive into the tank with Mickey and Donald, and fight for the fish.


Close up of the production number.

This is a great drawing of Mickey Mouse wearing his Ringmaster outfit; complete with his signature shorts with buttons, large yellow shoes, white gloves, top hat, and red coat with tails. Mickey is upside down with his feet are on the high wire and he is holding a wooden pole that he is using for balance. This is a large image of Mickey Mouse and certainly a great drawing from one of the Walt Disney cartoon shorts of the 1930's.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Original Production Animation Drawing of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse from "Mickey's Gala Premiere," 1933


Original production animation drawing of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse from "Mickey's Gala Premiere," 1933, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite pencil on peg hole paper; Numbered 5 lower right; Size - Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse: 3 3/4 x 6", Sheet 9 1/2 x 12"; Unframed.

"Mickey's Gala Premiere" (released on July 1, 1933) is a black and white animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and it was directed by Burt Gillett. Walt Disney provided the voice of Mickey Mouse and the music was composed by Frank Churchill.


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

The story of "Mickey's Gala Premiere" is that Mickey's newest film is having an opening, and all the stars turn out at Grauman's Chinese Theater. There are an enormous number of celebrities that are depicting in this short, and include in order of appearance: The Keystone Kops (Ben Turpin, Ford Sterling, Mack Swain, Harry Langdon, and Chester Conklin), Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Maurice Chevalier, Eddie Cantor, Jimmy Durante, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, Janet Gaynor, Harold Lloyd, Edward G. Robinson, Clark Gable, Adolphe Menjou, Sid Grauman, George Arliss, Joe E. Brown, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Mae West, Jack Oakie, Helen Hayes, William Powell, Cheser Morris, Gloria Swanson, Will Hayes, Greta Garbo, Will Rogers, Ed Wynn, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey, Bela Lugosi, Fredric March, Boris Karloff, and Douglas Fairbanks. The Gala Premiere is for the film "Galloping Romance," and the story is that Peg-Leg Pete kidnaps Minnie Mouse, and Mickey Mouse rides to her rescue on a variety of animals. The crowd in the theater sway to the music and roll in the aisles with laughter. After everyone comes onto stage to congratulate Mickey, Gretta Garbo kisses him. At this point Mickey wakes up from his dream, as Pluto is licking him on his face.

"Mickey's Gala Premiere" was the last show that was broadcast on BBC television on September 1, 1939, two days before the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. It was thought that the VHF signal from the broadcast could be used as a homing beacon for the enemy planes that were closing in on London. This cartoon was also the first thing that was broadcast when BBC television resumed broadcasting on June 7, 1946. The announcer, Jasmine Bligh, introduced the short by saying "Now then, as we were saying before we were so rudely interrupted."


Close up of the production number.

This is a great drawing of both Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse as they emerge from their limousine at the entrance of the Gala. Minnie is dressed in a long coat and wearing high heels, and Mickey is wearing a tuxedo coat with tails and is tipping his top hat to the crowd. Mickey is also holding Pluto's leash (Pluto's body would have been drawn on a separate sheet of animation paper) that is attached to his collar. The drawing is centered on the sheet and it is rendered in graphite pencil on peg hole animation paper. This is a perfect image of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and certainly a great animation drawing from an early Walt Disney black and white cartoon short of the 1930's.

Original Production Animation Cel of Winnie The Pooh and Rabbit from "Winnie The Pooh and The Honey Tree," 1966


Original hand painted production animation cel of Winnie The Pooh and Rabbit from "Winnie The Pooh and The Honey Tree," 1966; Numbered 73 in ink lower right; Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Winnie The Pooh & Rabbit: 5 1/2 x 6", Image 10 x 15 1/4"; Unframed.

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

"And then one morning, when Rabbit began to wonder if Pooh might be stuck there forever, a miraculous thing happened. He budged!" -Narrator

"The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh," 1977 was composed of a series of featurettes Disney produced based upon the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne. Walt Disney wanted to introduce the public to the Pooh characters slowly over time and the released featurettes include, "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree," 1966, "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day." 1968, and "Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too," 1974. For the full length film in 1977, extra material was added and used to link the three featurettes together. A fourth, shorter featurette was added at the end of the film and was based on the final chapter of "The House at Pooh Corner."


Original production animation cel of Rabbit and Winnie The Pooh.

Wolfgang Reitherman began working for Walt Disney in 1934, along with future Disney legends Ward Kimball and Milt Kahl. The three worked together on a number of early classic Disney shorts and Reitherman worked on 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 served as the co-producer for the film. Beginning with 1961's "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," "Woolie" (as he was called by friends) served as Disney's chief animation director.

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. Bruce Reitherman was the voice for Christopher Robin in "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree."


Close up of the production number.

"Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree," 1966 is a film that combined live-action and hand painted cel animation. It was released by The Walt Disney Company, directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, and was based on the first two chapters of the book "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A. A. Milne. This was the only Winnie the Pooh production to be released under the supervision of Walt Disney before his death on December 15, 1966. Music and lyrics were written by the Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman); with background music provided by Buddy Baker. The American actor Sterling Holloway provided the voice of Winnie The Pooh.

This cel is from the scene,when the Silly Old Bear visits Rabbit at his house, and is invited inside for lunch. This proves to be a huge mistake for Rabbit, because Pooh eats all of Rabbit's honey. Realizing that there is no more food to eat; Pooh tries to exit, but becomes stuck in Rabbit's hole. After a while the narrator says, "And then one morning, when Rabbit began to wonder if Pooh might be stuck there forever, a miraculous thing happened. He budged!" Rabbit exclaims, "Today's the day!" Christopher Robin, Kanga, and Eeyore pull and tug Pooh from the outside of the hole, and with Rabbit pushing him from the inside; they all chant "Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

Rabbit was animated by the great Don Bluth and was voiced by Junius Matthews; a veteran radio actor who also voiced the owl Archimedes in the Disney film "The Sword In The Stone," 1963. This is a spectacular cel of Rabbit and Winnie The Pooh, who is stuck in Rabbit's hole. This is one of the greatest scenes in all of the Pooh Disney shorts, and one of the greatest Disney scenes of all time! An absolutely beautiful piece of animation art, that is perfect for any art collection!

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Original Production Animation Drawing of Cinderella Dancing with Prince Charming From "Cinderella," 1950


Original production animation drawing of Cinderella dancing with Prince Charming in red, blue, and graphite pencils from "Cinderella," 1950, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 157 in pencil lower right; Size - Cinderella & Prince Charming 6 1/2 x 6", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


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.

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.


Close up of the Cinderella and Prince Charming production drawing.

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."

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.


Close up of the production number.

Prince Charming was animated by Eric Larson, who according to Andreas Deja "Confessed to some of us newcomers that he felt kind of embarrassed about the stiffness in his performance." The Prince was voiced by William Phipps, and after Phipps's initial audition; the studio was so impressed with his performance that Walt Disney himself offered him the role. William Phipps is perhaps best known for his roles in dozens of classic sci-fi and westerns, both in films and on television. It is a little known fact that Mike Douglas (yes of "The Mike Douglas Show") provided the singing voice for Prince Charming for the song "So This Is Love,"as the Prince and Cinderella danced together at the Grand Ball.

A bit of trivia, not only is the name of the Prince never revealed, he is never actually referred to as "Prince Charming" in "Cinderella." His name was mentioned only in merchandise and, more recently in the various films and TV appearances of the character. Prince Charming was the first Disney Prince to participate in a duet with his respective love interest, the first Prince to be featured in a wedding celebration, and the first to  dance with his heroine just after they met.

It does not get any better than this; an original production animation drawing of Cinderella dancing with Prince Charming for the first time at the Grand Ball! Both Cinderella and Prince Charming are full figure and Cinderella's eyes are open. An absolutely beautiful drawing, from the most loved scenes in the entire film. The veteran Walt Disney animator Marc Davis supervised the animation of this scene.