Original Production Drawing of Cinderella Holding the Pink Dress from "Cinderella," 1950

Original production drawing of Cinderella holding the pink dress in red, blue, and graphite pencils from "Cinderella," 1950; Numbered 39 in blue pencil lower right; Size - Cinderella 7 x 4 3/4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

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

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.

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."

Close up of Cinderella holding the Pink Dress.

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, 39 lower right.

Early in the story, Cinderella receives an invitation to a royal ball at the King's Castle, and her Stepmother tells her she can go--provided she finishes all her chores and is able to find something suitable to wear. Cinderella goes back to her room, where she shows her mice and bird friends a dress that had belonged to her late mother. She is about to begin mending and altering the dress when she is called downstairs by her two stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella. The mice and birds decide to take it upon themselves to repair the dress. Jaq and Gus find a sash that Anastasia no longer wants, as well as some beads thrown out by Drizella, and take those along with other odds and ends to to help fix the dress. In a dramatic scene, the mice and birds reveal the dress to Cinderella from behind a folding screen, and she hugs the dress and thanks all her animal friends. This rare full figure drawing of an eyes and mouth open Cinderella as she first takes hold of the dress is just wonderful, and the dialog that she speaks is below:

Cinderella: "Why, I never dreamed... It's such a surprise! Oh! How can I ever...why... Oh, thank you so much!"

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

#Cinderella #WaltDisney #Disney #productiondrawing #cel #animation #animationdrawing #EricLarson #MarcDavis #IleneWoods #animationart #untitledartgallery

Matched Pair of Original Production Drawings of Captain Hook and Mr. Smee from "Peter Pan," 1953

Original matching production drawings of Captain Hook (graphite, red, and purple pencils on peg hole paper, numbered 41 with production numbers lower left) and Mr. Smee (graphite and red pencil on peg hole paper, numbered 241 with production numbers lower left) from "Peter Pan," 1953; Size - Captain Hook: 6 1/5 x 5 1/4",  Smee: 4 1/4 x 2 3/4"; Both Sheets 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

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

Captain Hook was animated by legendary Frank Thomas and voiced by Hans Conried.  Conried was also the voice of George Darling, which is consistent with the roles of "Peter Pan" for the stage.  I remember seeing Conried acting on "I Love Lucy" where he played an English tutor as well as playing the character Wrongway Feldman on "Gilligan's Island."  His voice was so distinctive and so memorable that he was perfect for the role of Captain Hook; as he had a wonderful way of conveying both the rough gruff pirate role as well and the sly calculating villain.

Photograph showing the entire Captain Hook animation sheet with left production numbers.

Frank Thomas's first sketches of Captain Hook were much more menacing than the final product.  Walt Disney felt the character was going to be too frightening for children and so Thomas toned down his drawings.  The result is a wonderful villain and I would say that he is my favorite male villain in the Disney film world.

Photograph showing the entire Mr. Smee animation sheet with left production numbers.

Mr. Smee was animated by Ollie Johnston and voiced by Bill Thompson.  Smee was a wonderful pirate henchman sidekick for Captain Hook and the remarkable friendship that existed between Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, which is well documented; may account for why the villainous pair seemed to work so well together.  Of course the voice talent of Bill Thompson was also a fantastic addition.  Thompson was well known already at MGM for his voice of Droopy and of Droopy's nemesis Spike.  At Walt Disney studios he would have a long career as the voice of the White Rabbit and the Dodo in Alice in Wonderland, of course Mr. Smee (and some of the other pirates) in Peter Pan and King Hubert in Sleeping Beauty.  Bill Thompson's largest showcase for his voice skills was in Lady and the Tramp (1955), where he performed five different dialect parts, as Jock the Scottish Terrier, Bull the Cockney bulldog, Dachsie the German dachshund, Joe the Italian cook, and the Irish policeman in the zoo.

This drawing pair is quite extraordinary, as this is a key matched set of drawings of both Captain Hook and Mr. Smee.  Captain Hook has a fantastic expression; both eyes and his mouth are open, as well as his eye brows raised as he looks at and speaks to Mr. Smee.  As Smee helps Captain Hook get his overcoat on, the following dialog occurs:

Captain Hook: "We've got him this time, Mr Smee."

Mr. Smee: "That we have, Captain."

To view the scene which these drawings were used to create, click on the short video below:

#CaptainHook #MrSmee #Smee #PeterPan #FrankThomas #OllieJohnston #BillThompson #HansConried #Disney #WaltDisney #animation #productiondrawing #animationdrawing #untitledartgallery

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

Original production drawing in red, blue, green, and graphite pencils of the Old Hag (The Witch) from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937; Numbered 1413B lower right; On watermarked five peg hole paper and stamped with production numbers lower left; Size - Old Hag 5 x 7 1/2", Sheet: 10 x 12"; Unframed.

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

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) drawing.

Close up of the production numbers stamp bottom left.

After the Evil Queen has transformed into the Old Hag, she magically creates the poisoned apple. "With one bite of the poisoned apple, the victim's (Snow White's) eyes will close forever in the sleeping death." She  places the apple into a basket and goes to the Dwarf cottage; and looking through a window, finds Snow White making pies. This original production drawing is from the very beginning of this wonderful point in the film. This scene opens with the Hag's shadow appearing inside the cottage, covering Snow White. From the window sill , the Old Hag asks Snow White:

Old Hag: "All alone, my pet?"

Snow White: "Why yes, yes I am, but..."

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

#snowwhite #witch #evilqueen #oldhag #Disney #cel #productiondrawing #animation #animationart #WaltDisney #untitledartgallery

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

Original hand painted and hand inked production cel of Maleficent and Diablo set on a lithographic background from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959; Size - Maleficent & Diablo 8 3/4" x 7", Image 11 1/4" x 10"; Original Walt Disney Art Corner sticker and backing board; Unframed.

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!

Not all cels of the same character are priced the same. I recall a Gallery that was charging the same price for a front facing, eyes and mouth open, full figure image of Bambi; as they were for a butt shot with just a back of the head showing. The front images were all snapped up fast and the remainder languished on their site year after year, after year. The simple fact is that collectors want wonderfully beautiful images for their walls and will pay much more for these unique cels. Eyes and mouth open vs. eyes and mouth closed can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars difference. In reference to this work, so many cels have Maleficent's eyes closed. She was generally calm and sublime during most of the film, and so animator Marc Davis had her constantly closing her eyes. This, however is just a wonderful image of both Maleficent and her raven Diablo!

Maleficent and Diablo cel without the background.

Diablo perched on Maleficent's hand is just a fantastic image, and it was this image that was used when Disney Studios produced a limited edition cel that was part of their Villains Collection. This cel is from the scene when Maleficent visits Prince Phillip, who is her prisoner in her dungeon. She torments him with a story about the fact that although he will grow old, Princess Aurora will remain in an ageless slumber. When he is eventually freed from Maleficent's castle, he will be to old to have any type of life with her. As Maleficent turns to leave the shackled Prince in his stone dungeon cell, she says to her pet raven Diablo (now perched on her hand), "Come, my pet. Let us leave our noble prince with these happy thoughts."

Backing board of the Maleficent cel with the original Walt Disney Art Corner label.

#maleficent #sleepingbeauty #sleepingbeauty1959 #disney #animationart #cel #productioncel #eyvindearle #animationcollection #castingthespell #untitledartgallery #Diablo

Original Production Drawing of Yen Sid (The Sorcerer) from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" sequence of "Fantasia," 1940

Original production animation drawing of Yen Sid (The Sorcerer) in graphite pencil, numbered 21 lower right, and used during the production of the "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" sequence of "Fantasia," 1940, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Yen Sid: 5 1/2 x 5 3/4", Sheet 10 x 12"; Unframed.

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

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was initially going to be a "Silly Symphonies" short and be a venue for a comeback role for Mickey Mouse, who had declined in popularity. However, it was eventually included in the full length feature film "Fantasia," in 1940. The Disney version of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is based on the 1797 poem by Goethe of the same name. Mickey Mouse takes the role of the apprentice and the only real change from the original poem occurs when the Sorcerer is stern and angry with the apprentice after he saves him from a spell gone horribly wrong.

Close up of the Yen Sid drawing.

According to the Disney filmmakers, Yen Sid was modeled after Walt Disney right down to his signature facial features recognizable by the animators. Yen Sid's name, which is not given in the film itself, was given to him by the animators; and is "Disney" spelled backwards. Yen Sid was animated by Fred Moore and Vladimir Tytla with the initial design work done by Joe Grant. There is no dialogue in the entire segment, but together the animators created a powerful character whose movements and facial expressions conveyed a sense of great magical power. The animators even used Disney's "dirty look" (which was the look that Walt gave his animators when he disapproved of their work) for the Sorcerer by having him lift his eyebrow while looking down at Mickey.

Photograph showing a close up of the drawing number, 21.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice," is perhaps Mickey Mouse's most well known role, and as such it was the only 1940 segment that was added to the later film "Fantasia, 2000." However, Yen Sid is possibly the rarest of all the characters in the Disney pantheon, he never says a single word, and is on the screen for only a few minutes. Original production drawings and cels of the character are extremely rare and highly collected and this drawing is a wonderful eyes open image of the character. This drawing is from the scene when Yen Sid comes down the stairs and sees that the room below is filled with water. Mickey had created a spell, using Yen Sid's magical hat, that has caused the brooms to animate, filling pails with water, and quickly flooding the room. Yen Sid waves his hands, breaks the spell, and causes the water to vanish.

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

#MickeyMouse #YenSid #SorcerersApprentice #Fantasia #Disney #WaltDisney #cel #animation #animationart #productionart #productiondrawing #untitledartgallery

Original Production Cels of King Louie, Mowgli, and a Flunky Monkey from "The Jungle Book," 1967

Original hand painted production cels of King Louie, Mowgli, and a Flunky Monkey with palm frond from "The Jungle Book," 1967; Set on a lithographic background; Size - King Louie: 6 3/4" x 4", Mowgli: 4 1/4" x 3 3/4", Flunky Monkey: 6 1/2" x 3 1/2"; Cels 10 x 12"; Image 10" x 16"; Unframed.

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

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.

The Flunky Monkey (beautifully animated by Frank Thomas) is one of King Louie's monkey henchman that, while carrying a palm frond, tries to upstage King Louie (voiced by Louie Prima) during his performance of "I Wanna Be Like You."

Close up of the King Louie cel.

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).

Close up of the Flunky Monkey with palm frond cel.

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.

Close up of the Mowgli cel.

This is a wonderful three cel setup of King Louie, Mowgli - the Man Cub, and a King Louie Flunky Monkey who is carrying a palm frond. Louie is dancing during his performance of  "I Wanna Be Like You," and the image of Mowgli is full figure with his mouth and eyes open.

#KingLouie #TheJungleBook #JungleBook #Mowgli #FrankThomas #MiltKahl #LouisPrima #WaltDisney #Disney #WolfgangReitherman #BruceReitherman #animation #animationcel #cel #productioncel #untitledartgallery

Maid Marian and Lady Kluck Production Cel and Production Background from "Robin Hood," 1973

Original hand painted production cel of Maid Marian and Lady Kluck numbered 135 in ink lower right; Placed on an original master hand-painted production background with original line overlay cel from "Robin Hood," 1973; Disney seal lower left; Double Matted; Size - Maid Marian & Lady Kluck 7 x 8 1/2", Image 10 x 14", Background 12 1/2 x 16".

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

"Robin Hood" was the twenty-first full length animated film released by Walt Disney Studios on November 8, 1973. Robin Hood's love interest in the film is Maid Marian; based on the character from the actual Robin Hood legend. Marian, like all the characters in the Disney film is an anthropomorphic animal, in this case a vixen. Cels of the character are rare in comparison to Robin Hood because she is only in the film for approximately 30 minutes. Marian is a wonderful character, who not only shows love for Robin Hood, but she invites and plays with the children inside the walls of the royal castle.   She was voiced by Monica Evans, while Nancy Adams did her singing voice for the song "Love".

 Maid Marian and Lady Kluck production cel on production background with production numbers.

The great Walt Disney animator Milt Kahl was the animator for Maid Marian. Monica Evans the voice actress for Maid Marian was paired with Carolle Shelley the voice actress for her hen lady-in-waiting, Lady Kluck. The voice actress pair had previously worked together in "The Aristocats," 1970, as the voices for the pair of geese Abigail and Amelia Gabble.

Full production background with overlay cel showing bottom production numbers.

After "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, there was no longer hand inking of the lines on the tops of the cel; rather this was done by a process called xerography. This new process saved time and money and allowed for more details to be added to the characters. Such is the case for not only this cel of Maid Marian and Lady Kluck, but also for this background. The background is an original hand painted watercolor background, but in addition there is the original production line overlay cel; which contains all the black outlines for the background's various features. The line overlay cel was created through xerography and allows for much more detail for example; the trees and shrubs now contain black line highlights for branches, tree trunks, and leaves. The resulting work of art is a very detailed and wonderful animation set-up showcasing the great animators attention to every detail.

Production cel of Maid Marian and Lady Kluck.

Lady Kluck is a wonderful character and functions as the lady-in-waiting of Maid Marian. In contrast to the ladylike Marian, Kluck is very energetic and feisty. She is very loyal to Marian, speaks with a distinct accent, most likely Scottish; and advises Marian on her love for Robin Hood. In this wonderful cel setup, Marian is embracing Lady Kluck and both characters are eyes open. The original hand painted production cel is placed on an original hand painted production background with it's matching original overlay production cel. The result is a fantastic cel setup that has been double matted.

Double matted production cel and production background setup.

#RobinHood #RobinHood1973 #MaidMarian #LadyKluck #WaltDisney #Disney #cel #MonicaEvans #CarolleShelley #productioncel #animation #animationart #animationcel #productionbackground #untitledartgallery