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Sunday, January 5, 2025

Original Production Animation Drawing of The Prince from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937

Original production animation drawing of The Prince from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Red, green, and graphite pencils on peg hole paper; Numbered 24 in graphite pencil lower right; Size - The Prince: 6 1/2 x 5 1/2", Sheet 10 x 12"; Unframed.


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!

A large number of actresses auditioned for the voice of Snow White. Walt Disney listened to each audition in his office while the actress performed in another room, without any knowledge of the actress' appearance or reputation. This would insure that he would only judge based on the sound of the voice. According to later accounts, most of the voices Disney felt, did not sound young enough. Eventually, in September of 1935, Adriana Caselotti was chosen for the voice of Snow White. Caselotti was eighteen at the time and made her coloraturo soprano sound younger, knowing that the character was intended to be 14 years old. In recording sessions Caselotti found difficulty in the line, "Grumpy, I didn't know you cared"; instead of "didn't", Caselotti was only able to say "din". After rehearsing the line many times, Walt Disney eventually said "Oh, the heck with..." and "din'" remained in the final film.

Snow White's design was supervised by Grim Natwick, an animator who had previously developed and worked on Betty Boop at Fleischer Studios. It is interesting to note that early designs for the Snow White resemble Betty Boop, and some appear to be caricatures of famous actresses of the time. As development continued, Snow White became more and more lifelike. Another animator, Hamilton Luske's first designs for Snow White depicted her as a slightly awkward, gangly teenager. However, Walt Disney had a different idea in mind; he wanted Snow White to be older, and more realistic-looking. This was achieved by the use of live-action references for the animators. Also, in order for Snow White to better relate onscreen to the seven Dwarfs, it was decided that her head be slightly larger than normal. In addition, the women in the animation studio's ink and paint department felt that Snow White's black hair was too unnatural and harsh, so they drybrushed whisps of light grey over the top of each and every cel.

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.

The Prince was the first realistic human male that the animators at Walt Disney Studios ever attempted to bring to life. It was soon determined to be the most difficult character to create, so The Prince only appears in two relatively short segments. The rotoscoped scenes were acted out by Louis Hightower; and consisted of The Prince's first meeting with Snow White and the final kiss and the leading of Snow White away on his white horse. The Prince was voice by the American actor and singer Harry Stockwell, and animated by Milt Kahl.

From veteran Walt Dinsey animator Andreas Deja:
"As I said before, Milt Kahl despised an assignment like a Prince character. As a young animator on Snow White he animated complex scenes involving all the forest animals surrounding the title character. "But I also got stuck with the clean up job on the Prince" he stated in an interview. The fact is that Milt drew over tracings of photo stats and therefor is credited with animating the Prince as well."

This particular drawing is from one of the most memorable scenes in the film, when Snow White dressed in rags is at a well filling a wooden bucket with water. The scene begins when, Snow White talking to a group of white doves standing on the ledge of the well, says "Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell? We are standing by a wishing well." She quickly goes into the famous song, "I'm Wishing" with music and lyrics by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. An absolutely stunning drawing of the Prince, that is a highlight to any vintage animation art collection!

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Original Production Animation Cel of Bambi on a Courvoisier background from "Bambi," 1942

Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Bambi over a Courvoisier air brush background from "Bambi," 1942, Walt Disney Studios; Walt Disney Productions Copyright stamp verso; Size - Bambi: 2 1/4 x 1 1/2"; Image 5 x 4 3/4"; Unframed.

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

"Whatch gonna call 'im?" - Thumper
"Well, I think I'll call him Bambi." - Bambi's Mother
"Bambi... Yep, I guess that'll do all right." - Thumper

"Bambi," 1942 is a full length animated film by Walt Disney Studios and based on the book "Bambi, A Life in the Woods" by Austrian author Felix Salten. The film was released by RKO Radio Pictures on August 13, 1942. "Bambi" received three Academy Award nominations: Best Sound (Sam Slyfield), Best Song (for "Love Is a Song" sung by Donald Novis), and Best Original Music Score. In June 2008, the American Film Institute presented a list of its "10 Top 10" (the best ten films in each of ten classic American film genres) and "Bambi" placed third in the animation category. In December 2011, "Bambi" was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

The story centers on Bambi, a white-tailed deer, his parents (the Great Prince of the forest and his unnamed mother), his animal friends Thumper (a pink-nosed rabbit), Flower (a skunk), and his childhood friend and future mate, a doe named Faline. Walt Disney wanted all of the animals to be more realistic and expressive than those in "Snow White". He had Rico LeBrun, a wildlife animal painter, come into the Disney Studios to lecture to the animators on the structure and movement of animals. The animators went on excursions to the Los Angeles Zoo and Walt Disney set up a small zoo at the Disney Animation Studio with animals such as rabbits, ducks, owls, skunks, and a pair of fawns aptly named Bambi and Faline; so that the artists could see first-hand animal movement. Animator Marc Davis created the final design of Bambi by incorporating LeBurn's realistic study of deer anatomy but exaggerating the character's face by making his proportions baby-like; including a short snout and big expressive eyes.

"Bambi" was Walt Disney's favorite film he ever made, and it is not too surprising given his love of nature films. The special effects, particularly the water, and the lush hand painted backgrounds create a wonderful environment that allows the viewer to be totally immersed into the film. Combined with a great story of friendship and complete success in the creation of characters; the film is able to provide amazing feelings of both happiness and sadness, as the viewer watches Bambi grows up from fawn to deer.

Although the character of Bambi was designed by Marc Davis; animation was accomplished by Frank Thomas, Milt Kahl, Eric Larson, Ollie Johnson, and Preston Blair. The voice of Bambi was provided by four different actors, corresponding to the different ages of Bambi as he grew older: Bobby Stewart (baby), Donnie Dunagan (young), Hardie Albright (adolescent), and John Sutherland (young adult). Donnie Dunagan was also the performance model for the character, with the animators integrating his facial expressions onto the face of Bambi.

This is a wonderful full figure and eyes open original production animation cel of Bambi that has been set on a Courvoisier air brushed forest background. A beautiful and rare piece of vintage Walt Disney original production animation artwork that is perfect for any collection!

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Sunday, December 15, 2024

Original Production Animation Cel of Madame Medusa from "The Rescuers," 1977

Original hand painted production animation cel of Madame Medusa from "The Rescuers," 1977, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Numbered 27 in ink lower right; Size - Madame Medusa: 8 1/2 x 7", Image 9 1/4 x 15 3/4"; Unframed.

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

"The Rescuers" is an animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Productions; and was released on June 22, 1977 by Buena Vista Distribution. The film is based on a series of books by Margery Sharp, most notably "The Rescuers and Miss Bianca." The 23rd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film is about the Rescue Aid Society; an international mouse organization headquartered in New York; and shadowed the United Nations. The Rescue Aid Society, a mouse based group, was dedicated to helping abduction victims around the world at large. Two of these mice, jittery janitor Bernard (voiced by Bob Newhart) and his co-agent, the elegant Miss Bianca (voiced by Eva Gabor), set out to rescue Penny, an orphan girl being held prisoner in the Devil's Bayou by treasure huntress Madame Medusa.

Early designs for Medusa were done by Ken Anderson, there were even discussions about bringing back Cruella deVil from "101 Dalmatians" as the villain; but that was eventually abandoned. The character of Medusa was eventually created and although there are many similarities with Cruella (thin build, similar cars, appear wealthy, bad tempers, cry upon realizing that they have lost, etc.), Medusa is still quite distinct with her wild red hair, sagging breasts, green eyes, and lots and lots of makeup. Her ultimate goal in the film is to possess the Devil's Eye, the world's largest diamond. Milt Kahl was given the task of animating Medusa and it is known that one his inspirations was his ex-wife. Kahl's brilliance in animation is really showcased with this character and many point to the scene where she is removing her false eyelashes as proof of his technical skill.

The next three paragraphs are from veteran Walt Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"When Milt Kahl was asked in an interview if he had a favorite character he animated, his response was: "Oh I enjoyed a few, I just loved doing Madame Mim, Shere Khan was a lot of fun, and so were the butler and old lawyer in 'Aristocats'. But I guess I enjoyed Medusa more than any one of them." And it shows. His last animation assignment at Disney -just like Marc Davis's- was a tour de force of character acting. It has a "I'm going to give it all" feel to it.

Marc told me that Milt promised him, Medusa will "wipe his Cruella off the screen". Then he added with a chuckle: "Of course that didn't happen". So there was definitely a friendly competition going on between these two great animators and their characters. Milt sort of designed Medusa's features opposite from Cruella's.  Cruella  has a small nose, Medusa's is longer. Cruella's hair parts in the middle, Medusa's off to one side. Cruella has a pointy jaw, Medusa is almost chin less etc.

I have to admit, when I first saw Medusa in "The Rescuers" in a London theater, I couldn't believe my eyes. So much inventiveness in her drawing and motion. How on earth can you show an animated character removing her make up? Wasn't that something only a live actress could pull off...but in animation? Incredible! I have spent way too much time studying this character, on the other hand I think I got a lot out of it. Dialogue, graphic but dimensional drawing and just being gutsy in general."
This is a spectacular cel of Madam Medusa! She is eyes open and smiling. Both of her hands are visible in this very large image, and a towel is wrapped around her hair. A great piece of Disney animation artwork, perfect for any collection!

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Thursday, December 5, 2024

Original Production Animation Drawing of Ariel and Ursula's Hands from "The Little Mermaid," 1989

Original production animation drawing of Ariel & Ursula's Hands in graphite pencil from "The Little Mermaid," 1989, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Ariel & Ursula's Hands: 7 1/2 x 7 1/4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 17"; Unframed.

"Now, here's the deal." - Ursula


"The Little Mermaid," is an American animated musical fantasy film and the 28th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures to theaters on November 17, 1989. The film was based on the Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, which tells the story of a beautiful mermaid princess who dreams of becoming human. The film was written, directed, and produced by Ron Clements and John Musker; with music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. The voice cast includes: Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Buddy Hackett, and René Auberjonois.

There was more money and resources dedicated by the Walt Disney Studios to "The Little Mermaid" than any other Disney animated film in decades. Aside from its main animation facility in Glendale, California; Disney opened a satellite feature animation facility in Lake Buena Vista, Florida that was within the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World. Their first projects were to produce an entire Roger Rabbit cartoon short, "Roller Coaster Rabbit," and to contribute ink and paint support to "The Little Mermaid." Another first for Disney films of recent years, was the filming of live actors and actresses for motion reference material for the animators. Broadway actress Jodi Benson (who was predominantly a stage actress when she was cast) was chosen to play Ariel, and Sherri Lynn Stoner, a former member of Los Angeles' Groundlings improvisation comedy group, acted out Ariel's key scenes.

The Little Mermaid's supervising animators included Glen Keane and Mark Henn on Ariel, Duncan Marjoribanks on Sebastian, Andreas Deja on King Triton, and Ruben Aquino on Ursula. Originally, Keane had been asked to work on Ursula, as he had established a reputation for drawing large powerful figures, such as the bear in "The Fox and the Hound," 1981 and Professor Ratigan in "The Great Mouse Detective," 1986. Keane however, was assigned as one of the two lead artists on the petite Ariel and oversaw the "Part of Your World" musical number. He jokingly stated that his wife looks exactly like Ariel "without the fins." The character's body type and personality were based upon that of Alyssa Milano, who was starring on TV's "Who's the Boss?". The effect of Ariel's hair underwater was based on footage of Sally Ride when she was in space; and scenes of Sherri Lynn Stoner in a swimming pool were used in animating Ariel's swimming. A challenge in animating Ariel were the colors required to show her in various changing environments, both under the sea and on land. By the end of the film, the animators required a total of 32-color models; not including costume changes. The sea-green color of her fin was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab, and the color was named "Ariel" after the character.
 
This drawing is from the scene in Ursula's lair during the "Poor, Unfortunate Souls" sequence when the Sea Witch tempts Ariel with an offer to make her human. Pulling a frightened Ariel closer, Ursula says "Now, here's the deal." The Sea Witch was animated on a separate level, yet her hands and the kelp frond she wears as a scarf while singing, which she then wraps around Ariel; is lightly drawn to ensure accurate registration when the corresponding cels are shot under camera. This is an absolutely beautiful drawing of Ariel from one of the greatest scenes in the film. A wonderful piece of animation art from the last Walt Disney feature that utilized hand painted cels. A great addition to any animation art collection!

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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; Numbered 121 in pencil lower right; Size - Alice: 7 1/2 x 3 1/4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

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

"Goodness, if the people here are like that I must try not to upset them!" - 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, Don Lusk, and Marc Davis who animated her for the tea party scene.


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Alice.

The Walt Disney animator Don Lusk supervised the animation of Alice in this scene, and this drawing in brown and graphite pencils is his work. He wrote her word of dialogue in the upper right "to." Lusk joined The Walt Disney Studios in the 1930's and he animated Donald Duck shorts as well as working on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). He was principal animator of Cleo and Figaro in Pinocchio (1940), The Arabian Dance in The Nutcracker Suite of Fantasia (1940), the Great Stag in Bambi (1942), and was involved in feature films through One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). He passed away at the age of 105 in 2018.
 
This drawing occurs at the end of the first encounter Alice has with the Cheshire Cat; who suggests to her that she seek out the Mad Hatter or the March Hare, who is "mad too." Alice says that she does not "want to go among mad people," and the Cat replies "Oh, you can't help that... most everything's mad here." In the last scene Alice walks away, puts her hands on her hips and says "Goodness, if the people here are like that I must try not to upset them!" This is an absolutely perfect image of Alice; she is eyes open, smiling, and would be a great addition to any vintage Walt Disney animation art collection!

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Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Original Production Animation Drawing of Mickey Mouse from "Mickey and the Beanstalk" section of "Fun and Fancy Free," 1947

Original production animation drawing of Mickey Mouse in red, green, and graphite pencils from "Mickey and the Beanstalk" section of "Fun and Fancy Free," 1947, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 27 in red pencil lower right; Size - Mickey Mouse: 4 1/2 x 3 1/4", Sheet 10 x 12"; Unframed.


"Fun and Fancy Free," 1947 was the 9th Walt Disney animated feature film and was released to theaters on September 27, 1947. This was the fourth package film produced by the Walt Disney Studios as a way to save money during World War II, and it helped to finance Cinderella and later films such as Alice In Wonderland and Peter Pan. "Fun and Fancy Free" is composed of two animated stories that are joined together with live-action segments. The first story is Bongo and is hosted by Jiminy Cricket and narrated by Dinah Shore. Bongo tells the story of a circus bear cub named Bongo who longs for freedom from captivity. He is able to escape the circus and in the wild falls in love with a female bear named Lulubelle. He realizes he must prove himself worthy of being a mate for Lulubelle by besting another bear named Lumpjaw, who is a romantic rival for Lulubelle's affection.

The second story is Mickey and the Beanstalk and is hosted by Edgar Bergen. The segment had originally been planned to be a full length feature film, but due to the war effort and Disney's governmental contraction for the production of animated propaganda films, the story line was significantly edited down to a run time of 73 minutes. Mickey and the Beanstalk is a retelling of the English fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy as three peasants who discover a temperamental Willie the Giant's castle in the sky through the use of magic beans. The three heroes must battle the greedy but lovable Giant in order to restore peace to their home, Happy Valley, be retrieving a stolen singing Gold Harp. The voice of Micky Mouse was provided by Walt Disney, but this was his last performance as he was becoming too busy with other projects. Walt was replaced as the voice of Mickey for future shorts and films by sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald.


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

This is a rare and wonderful drawing of Mickey Mouse from the vintage 1947 Walt Disney feature film "Fun and Fancy Free." Fred Moore was the supervising animator for the film, animated Mickey Mouse, and his handling of the title character is, as always, brilliant! Moore started working at Disney Studios in 1930 when he was only 19 years old. He perfected the squash and stretch of characters, which showed that they had real mass and in the process making them even more believable than ever before. There is no wonder that Walt put him in charge of the Dwarfs for "Snow White."

I think Freddy Moore was able to pull expressions and movements from Mickey better than any other animator of the day, and this drawing really showcases his skill; which by 1947 was at it's peak. The drawing pictured here is a very large, full figure, eyes and mouth open image of Mickey Mouse including his tail. He is from the scene when he is trying to convince Willie the Giant to change himself into a fly, as he had spotted a fly swatter on the table next to him and had plans to, at the very least, escape from the Giant. It just does not get any better as a piece of original artwork from Walt Disney's last voice performance as Mickey Mouse, and here is an absolutely perfect piece!

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Saturday, November 30, 2024

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

Original production animation drawing of the Queen of Hearts in graphite and red pencils from "Alice In Wonderland," 1951, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 83 lower right; Size - Queen of Hearts: 6 x 6", Sheet 10 x 12"; Unframed.

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

"Off with their heads!" - Queen of Hearts

"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, Don Lusk, and Marc Davis who animated her for the tea party scene.



Close up of the original production animation drawing of the Queen of Hearts.

The Queen of Hearts was beautifully animated by Frank Thomas and voiced by Verna Felton; and most people, when you mention the Queen of Hearts from "Alice," remember hearing Verna's classic line "Off with their heads!" Ms. Felton not only voiced the Queen from "Alice" but the Fairy Godmother from "Cinderella," Flora and Queen Leah from "Sleeping Beauty," Aunt Sarah from "Lady and Tramp," and several other Disney characters. What is interesting is that all the other characters that Felton voiced are sweet and kind, with the typical grandmother type of voice; but not the Queen of Hearts. The Queen was loud and you never knew exactly when she would lose her temper.

Eric Larson, one of Walt Disney's master animators known as his Nine Old Men, supervised the scene in which this drawing was used. This is a very lively and expressive animation graphite drawing of the Queen of Hearts. She has her left hand near the base of her crown and her right hand is holding her heart shaped fan. She is eyes open and has an enormous frown on her face. This is an absolutely beautiful piece of vintage Walt Disney animation art and a great addition to any animation collection!

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