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Monday, July 31, 2017

Original Production Animation Cels of Tinker Bell With Matching Wings from "Peter Pan," 1953


Original hand inked and hand painted production animation cels of Tinker Bell with matching Wings from "Peter Pan," 1953; Walt Disney Studios; Set over a lithographic background; Size - Tinker Bell: 6 1/4 x 4", Image 9 1/2 x 13", Frame 20 1/2 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!

"Don't you understand, Tink? You mean more to me than anything in this whole world!" - Peter Pan

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.


Close up of the original production animation cels of Tinker Bell with Matching Wings.

Tinker Bell was designed and animated by Walt Disney veteran animator, Marc Davis (who supervised the animation and contributed to the design of: Cinderella, Alice, Wendy, Tinker Bell, Aurora, Maleficent, and Cruella De Vil). Without the aid of a vocal performance, he relied on Tinker Bell's facial and body expressions for the animation; taking inspiration from previous pantomime characters such as Mickey Mouse's dog Pluto and Dopey from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Once "Peter Pan" was released, Tinker Bell received critical acclaim and would continue to be one of Disney's trademark characters. She has become one of the main spokes-characters for The Walt Disney Company and one of its most popular and iconic characters since her creation. Many people remember the opening to the TV show "The Wonderful World of Disney," as Tinker Bell would fly towards the center of the screen with a thin wand in her hand, waving it, and causing fairy dust to fly out towards the viewer!


Framed Tinker Bell cels.

From veteran Walt Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"To me Tinker Bell is perfection. Her character arc in the story is very strong. Because of her affection for Peter Pan she is jealous of Wendy, which gets her into trouble. But toward the end of the film she saves Peter's life as well as the other kids. Her animation throughout is flawless. Occasionally based on live action reference, Marc animated her beautifully. She always feels like a small figure, but the acting has great range and subtlety. Marc said he really enjoyed the challenge of a mute character, where pantomime is the name of the game."

Because of the public's love of the character, DisneyToon Studios decided to create a series of films staring Tinker Bell; and the movies were extremely popular and very well received. The voices of Mae Whitman, Raven-Symoné, Lucy Liu, America Ferrera, Kristin Chenoweth and Pamela Adlon are featured in the series of films. Each of the first four films is set around one of the four seasons: "Tinker Bell," 2008 centered around Spring, "Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure," 2009 around Autumn, "Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue," 2010 around Summer, and "Secret of the Wings," 2012 around Winter. A fifth title, "Pixie Hollow Games," 2011 was supposed to be based on all four seasons, but it was released before "Secret of the Wings" and the film was scaled down. A sixth film, entitled "The Pirate Fairy," was released on April 1, 2014, followed by the release of a seventh film "Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast" on March 3, 2015. The film series was a spin-off of and prequel to the animated feature film "Peter Pan" and to its sequel, "Return to Never Land."

This is an exceptionally rare original production animation cel of Tinker Bell; but making the work even more extraordinary, is that the cel also has her matching wings. Production artwork of Tinker Bell (much less with their matching wings) is rare to the market, and this is both a great pose and a large image. She stands over six inches tall, full figure, eyes open, and sporting a great pouting mouth expression. This work is beautifully custom framed, and would be the stand out piece for any serious Walt Disney animation art collection!

Original Production Animation Cel of The Young Pegasus From "The Pastoral Symphony" Sequence of "Fantasia," 1940


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of the Young Pegasus from "The Pastoral Symphony" sequence of "Fantasia," 1940, Walt Disney Studios; Set on an airbrushed Courvoisier background with the WDP stamp lower right; With original Courvoisier Galleries label; Size - Young Pegasus: 2 x 1 1/2", Image: 6 1/4 x 4 3/4"; Unframed.

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

"The Pastoral Symphony" segment from Walt Disney's full length feature film "Fantasia," 1940 uses the 6th symphony in F, Op.68 by Ludwig van Beethoven as it's soundtrack. The symphony that Beethoven named "The Pastoral," is said to be one of the few pieces of music he ever wrote that tells a definite story. Beethoven was a great nature lover, and with this symphony he paints a musical picture of a day in the countryside. However, Walt Disney has taken Beethoven's musical score and set it as a backdrop to a fantastical mythological environment.


Close up of the WDP stamp.

Disney's "The Pastoral Symphony" segment of "Fantasia" utilized expert color styling in order to depict a mythical ancient Greek world of centaurs, pegasi, the Gods of Mount Olympus, fauns, cupids, and other legendary creatures of classical mythology. The segment, directed by Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, and Ford Beebe; tells the story of mythological creatures gathering for a festival to honor Bacchus, the God of wine.


Original Courvoisier Galleries label.

The Young Black Pegasus is presumably the youngest of his siblings, and bears the most resemblance to his parents; having his father's coat color and his mother's mane, tail, and eye color. This is wonderful cel of the Young Pegasus; he is full figure, eyes and mouth open, and is placed on it's original Courvoisier airbrushed background. The Walt Disney Productions (WDP) stamp is lower right and the original Courvoisier Galleries label is included.

Original Production Animation Cels of The Ant & The Aardvark from "The Ant & The Aardvark," 1970-71


Original hand painted production animation cels of The Ant and The Aardvark from "The Ant and The Aardvark," 1970-71, Depatie-Freleng Enterprises; Set on an original hand painted background with matching original hand painted overlay cel from "Hasty But Tasty," 1969; Production numbers upper background edges; Size - Aardvark: 6 1/2 x 3 1/2", Ant: 1 1/4 x 1 1/4", Image 9 1/2 x 12 1/4"; Unframed.


DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, (1963-1981) was an American animation company that was based in Burbank, California. It produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, film title design sequences, and television specials; but was most known for The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts, as well as the Dr. Seuss cartoon adaptations made for CBS and ABC. The company was founded by two former Warner Bros. Cartoons employees, director/composer/producer Friz Freleng and executive David H. DePatie. Although Freleng and DePatie were no longer working for Warner Bros., they were able to lease the former Warner cartoons studio, complete with equipment and supplies, for only a few dollars each year.


Original production animation cel of The Aardvark.


Close up of the original production animation cel of The Aardvark.


Original production animation cel of The Ant.


Close up of the original production animation cel of The Ant.

Director Blake Edwards contacted DePatie-Freleng and asked them to design a panther character for Edwards's new film, The Pink Panther; and they would also produce the animated titles for the film. The opening titles were hugely popular and soon DePatie-Freleng contracted with United Artists to produce a series of cartoon shorts featuring the Pink Panther. The first entry in the Pink Panther series, The Pink Phink, was directed by Freleng; and won the studio its only Academy Award in 1964. In 1967, DePatie-Freleng would receive another Academy Award nomination for The Pink Blueprint. The studio created over 100 Pink Panther shorts for both theatrical release and television through 1980.

Henry Mancini composed "The Pink Panther Theme" for the live action films, which was also used in the cartoon series. Doug Goodwin composed the show's opening title music, while William Lava and Walter Greene composed music scores heard throughout the cartoons; many of which were derivations of Mancini's composition.


Original hand-painted production animation background showing all edges.

The Pink Panther theatrical series of cartoons became the basis of a Saturday morning television series, The Pink Panther Show. The series (1969-1980) also included cartoons of The Inspector; and eventually The Ant and the Aardvark, Tijuana Toads (a.k.a. Texas Toads), Hoot Kloot, Misterjaw, Roland and Rattfink, The Dogfather, and two Tijuana Toads spinoffs: The Blue Racer and Crazylegs Crane. It was produced by Mirisch Films and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, and was broadcast on two American television networks: from September 6, 1969 to September 2, 1978, on NBC; and from September 9, 1978 to September 1, 1980, on ABC (as The All New Pink Panther Show). After nine years on NBC, the Pink Panther moved to ABC in 1978 and was titled The All New Pink Panther Show, where it lasted one season before leaving the network realm entirely. The ABC version of the series featured sixteen episodes with 32 new Pink Panther cartoons, and 16 featuring Crazylegs Crane.

Over its 11 years on various television networks, The Pink Panther Show had a variety of names:
The Pink Panther Show (1969–1970)
The Pink Panther Meets the Ant and the Aardvark (1970–1971)
The New Pink Panther Show (1971–1974)
The Pink Panther and Friends (1974–1976)
It's the All New Pink Panther Laugh-and-a-Half Hour-and-a-Half Show Introducing Misterjaw (1976–1977)
Think Pink Panther (1977–1978)
The All New Pink Panther Show (1978–1980)

The Ant and The Aardvark cartoon shorts center on a blue aardvark (voiced by John Byner who was impersonating the comedian Jackie Mason) trying to catch and eat a red ant named Charlie (also voiced by John Byner but impersonating Dean Martin). The Aardvark's trunk sucking was the sound of a vacuum cleaner. The series was enormously popular, but only 17 shorts were every produced. Unique techniques were employed for the series, including making the Aardvark and his clothing (shorts and t-shirt) all one color blue; and the Ant was painted all red. This allowed for the two characters to clearly stand out on the brightly colored backgrounds. Another production element was the jazzy musical score that was directed by Doug Goodwin. He assembled a group jazz session musicians to perform the opening/closing credits and the musical cues; and for the first time in animated cartoon history all six of the musicians received on screen credit.

This is a wonderful cel setup of both The Aardvark and The Ant. Both characters are full figure and eyes open. Both cels are set on an original hand painted background with matching original hand painted overlay cel from "Hasty But Tasty," 1969. A very rare and beautiful piece of animation artwork, perfect for any collection!

Sunday, July 30, 2017

The Fate of Disney Villains


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of the Evil Queen over a Courvoisier air brush background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Evil Queen: 7 1/4 x 6", Image 8 1/4 x 8 1/4", Frame 21 3/4 x 21 1/2"; Framed using a silver wood frame, two acid free mats and plexiglass.

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

*Note: The following discussion pertains to only hand painted cel animation, so the discussion ends with "The Little Mermaid," 1989

Several people have wondered why, in the Walt Disney films, do the Villains always seem to fall to their deaths. My first reaction was that it seemed a very easy and tidy ending. There would be no drawn out brutal fight, and the films have a G rating designed for children. But upon further thought, not that many Villains did plummet to their demise; in fact, the more interesting question is why did so many Villains escape punishment of any kind?

The first Disney full length feature animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," had as it's Villain The Evil Queen. After realizing that she had been tricked by the Huntsman and The Magic Mirror telling her that Snow White was still alive; The Evil Queen transformed herself into an Old Peddler Woman. She tricked Snow White into biting the Poisoned Apple, and was chased by the Seven Dwarfs up a mountain side during a terrible thunderstorm. A lightening bolt strikes next to her, causing her to fall off the mountain, with a large bolder falling immediately afterwards. The implication was that she not only died from the fall, but was crushed as well. The fact that the first Walt Disney Villain was killed by a fall may have significantly influenced this idea that most Villains die from falls.


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cels of Maleficent as the Dragon and Prince Phillip set on a lithographic background from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Maleficent as Dragon 6 1/2" x 11 3/4", Prince Phillip 1 3/4 x 3", Image 10 x 16", Frame 30 x 34 3/4"; Framed with a black and gold wood frame, three suede acid free mats, and UV conservation clear Museum Perfect glass.

Probably the most famous villain in the Disney pantheon for the wicked, is Maleficent from "Sleeping Beauty." During her battle with Prince Phillip, she transforms herself into an enormous fire breathing Dragon. Although Maleficent in Dragon form, does fall off of a mountain; her demise is due to Prince Phillip stabbing her in the heart by hurling The Sword of Truth. The only other Villain that plummets to his death is Ratigan from "The Great Mouse Detective." Inside of London's Big Ben, Ratigan and Basil are involved in a battle and suddenly the clock bell tolls; causing Ratigan to lose his footing and ultimately fall to his death. 


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Foulfellow (Honest John) and Gideon from "Pinocchio," 1940, Walt Disney Studios; Set over a lithographic background; Size - Foulfellow and Gideon: 9 3/4 x 11 1/2", Image 10 1/2 x 13 1/2"; Unframed.

As mentioned prior, the more interesting point about the vast majority of the Disney Villains is that they escape completely from any justice. "Pinocchio" has many evil characters: Foulfellow, Gideon, Monstro the whale; and the most evil of them all is the Coachman. All of them escape from any real punishment. The same can be said of Chernabog from "Fantasia," all the curious characters in "Alice In Wonderland," Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox from "Song of the South," the Headless Horseman in "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad," and the two cats Si and Am from "Lady and the Tramp." Lady Tremaine from "Cinderella," although neither of her two daughters were chosen by Prince Charming, all three of them continue to live quite well in their large mansion. Captain Hook from "Peter Pan" may have escaped the crocodile Tick Tock (he had done so throughout the film), as they are last seen in a chase fading away into the distance. 


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear, and Br'er Rabbit set on an original hand painted production background from "Song of the South," 1946, Walt Disney Studios; Courvoisier Setup; Studio signed "Best Wishes Walt Disney" (presumably Hank Porter); Size - Br'er Fox, Br'er Bear, & Br'er Rabbit: 6 x 7 1/2", Image 8 x 10", Frame 31 x 31"; Framed using a wood frame, two mats, wood fillet, and Museum Perfect UV glass.


Original hand inked and hand painted production animation cel of Captain Hook and Tick-Tock with Water Effects cel from "Peter Pan," 1953; Walt Disney Studios; Set over a hand prepared custom background; Size - Captain Hook & Tick-Tock: 11 1/4 x 5 1/2", Image 12 1/4 x 16"; Unframed.

The more contemporary Disney films seem to have much happier endings for the Villains. Cruella De Vil from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" ends up in a car crush with her henchmen Horace and Jasper; and all three end up in a verbal argument. After the Wizard's duel with Merlin, Madam Mim from "The Sword In The Stone" is last seen sick in bed recovering from a disease caused by a Merlin, who had transformed himself into a germ. "The Jungle Book" is full of antagonists such as Kaa and King Louie who both escape any real punishment. Shere Khan is the primary villain, who ends up running away with a burning tree branch attached to his tail; presumably escaping. Edgar, the butler from "The Aristocats" is trapped in a chest and shipped to Timbuktu. Madame Medusa from "The Rescuers" is last seen face to face with her two very angry crocodiles Brutus and Nero; but it seems unlikely that she would have suffered a terrible fate from her two spoiled pets.


Original hand painted production animation cels of Shere Khan and Kaa from "The Jungle Book," 1967, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Shere Khan cel: 10 x 12" and Image: 6 x 7 1/2";  Kaa cel: 8 x10" and Image 5 1/2 x 5 1/4", Total Image: 9 1/2 x 15", Frame 27 x 32 1/2"; Framed with a gold and black wood frame, three suede acid free mats, a gold wood fillet, and UV conservation clear glass.

Prince John, Sir Hiss, and the Sheriff of Nottingham from "Robin Hood" are caught and punished for their crimes. The end of the film has them in black and white stripped prison uniforms, toiling away in the royal rock pile. Ursula the Sea Witch from "The Little Mermaid" in the final end battle of the film, transforms herself to enormous size; but her fate is sealed when Prince Eric captains a ship that impales her with the ship's splintered bow. Ursula is then struck by a blast of lightening, electrocuting her, and ultimately dismembering her body. 


Original hand painted production animation cels 1) Prince John & Sir Hiss numbered 19 lower right w/production numbers & Disney seal lower right; 2) Sheriff of Nottingham numbered 467 lower right; Both from "Robin Hood," 1973; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Prince John and Sir Hiss 6 x 5 1/2", Sheriff 7 x 7 1/2"; Image 10 1/4 x 13"; Frame 24 x 28"; Framed with silver & grey wood frame & fillet, suede acid free mat, and UV conservation clear glass.

The conclusion is that even though there may be a very happy ending for the protagonists in the Disney films, there is not necessarily a satisfying justice verdict for the Villains. Still, so many animation collectors want artwork of these foes. They are wonderful characters that we all love to hate. Without the Villains, there would be no rip roaring roller coaster of a ride at the movies!


Original hand painted production animation cels of Ursula and her tentacles numbered W99 and T99 on a lithographic copy of a production background from "The Little Mermaid," 1989, Walt Disney Studios; Disney seal upper right; Hand signed in ink by her Disney animator Rubin Aquino upper left; Size - Ursula 6 3/4 x 11", Image 9 x 12", Frame 19 x 21 1/2"; Framed using a solid purple stained wood frame, two acid free linen mats, a black wood fillet, and plexiglass.

Friday, July 28, 2017

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


Original production animation drawing of Maleficent in graphite pencil from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 21 lower center right and lower right; Animation ladder lower right; Size - Maleficent 9 x 14 1/2", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2", Frame 25 1/2 x 29 1/4"; Framed with a black and gold wood frame, acid free linen mat, gold wood fillet, and UV conservation clear glass.

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

"Stand back, you fools!" - Maleficent speaking to the crowd and guards in King Stefan's Castle 

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


Close up of the animation ladder and the production number.

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


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Maleficent.

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

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


original production animation drawing of Maleficent.

This is a very rare, original production animation drawing of Maleficent in graphite pencil. She is full figure and holding her staff. The drawing was used for the iconic scene in the film when, after casting her curse on Princess Aurora, Maleficent holds up her arms and vanishes into yellow green flames. The dialog from the scene is below:

"Stand back, you fools!" - Maleficent speaking to the crowd and guards in King Stefan's Castle

This is a spectacular drawing of Maleficent, the Mistress of all evil, and one of the finest drawings that was ever created of the character for the film! A centerpiece to any animation art collection!

Original Production Animation Cels of The Ant and The Aardvark from "The Ant and The Aardvark," 1970-71

 
Original hand painted production animation cels of The Ant and The Aardvark from "The Ant and The Aardvark," 1970-71, Depatie-Freleng Enterprises; Set on an original hand-painted production animation background with hand painted overlay cel from the Tijuana Toads cartoon "Serape Happy," 1971; Production numbers upper overlay cel and background edges; Size - Aardvark: 6 1/2 x 3 1/2", Ant: 1 x 1", Background: 10 1/2 x 13 1/4", Image 9 1/2 x 12"; Unframed.
 

DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, (1963-1981) was an American animation company that was based in Burbank, California. It produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, film title design sequences, and television specials; but was most known for The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts, as well as the Dr. Seuss cartoon adaptations made for CBS and ABC. The company was founded by two former Warner Bros. Cartoons employees, director/composer/producer Friz Freleng and executive David H. DePatie. Although Freleng and DePatie were no longer working for Warner Bros., they were able to lease the former Warner cartoons studio, complete with equipment and supplies, for only a few dollars each year.


Original production animation cel of The Aardvark.


Close up of the original production animation cel of The Aardvark.


Original production animation cel of The Ant.


Close up of the original production animation cel of The Ant.

Director Blake Edwards contacted DePatie-Freleng and asked them to design a panther character for Edwards's new film, The Pink Panther; and they would also produce the animated titles for the film. The opening titles were hugely popular and soon DePatie-Freleng contracted with United Artists to produce a series of cartoon shorts featuring the Pink Panther. The first entry in the Pink Panther series, The Pink Phink, was directed by Freleng; and won the studio its only Academy Award in 1964. In 1967, DePatie-Freleng would receive another Academy Award nomination for The Pink Blueprint. The studio created over 100 Pink Panther shorts for both theatrical release and television through 1980.

Henry Mancini composed "The Pink Panther Theme" for the live action films, which was also used in the cartoon series. Doug Goodwin composed the show's opening title music, while William Lava and Walter Greene composed music scores heard throughout the cartoons; many of which were derivations of Mancini's composition.


Original hand-painted production animation background.


Original hand-painted production animation background showing all edges.


Close up of the background production numbers.

The Pink Panther theatrical series of cartoons became the basis of a Saturday morning television series, The Pink Panther Show. The series (1969-1980) also included cartoons of The Inspector; and eventually The Ant and the Aardvark, Tijuana Toads (a.k.a. Texas Toads), Hoot Kloot, Misterjaw, Roland and Rattfink, The Dogfather, and two Tijuana Toads spinoffs: The Blue Racer and Crazylegs Crane. It was produced by Mirisch Films and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, and was broadcast on two American television networks: from September 6, 1969 to September 2, 1978, on NBC; and from September 9, 1978 to September 1, 1980, on ABC (as The All New Pink Panther Show). After nine years on NBC, the Pink Panther moved to ABC in 1978 and was titled The All New Pink Panther Show, where it lasted one season before leaving the network realm entirely. The ABC version of the series featured sixteen episodes with 32 new Pink Panther cartoons, and 16 featuring Crazylegs Crane.

Over its 11 years on various television networks, The Pink Panther Show had a variety of names:
The Pink Panther Show (1969–1970)
The Pink Panther Meets the Ant and the Aardvark (1970–1971)
The New Pink Panther Show (1971–1974)
The Pink Panther and Friends (1974–1976)
It's the All New Pink Panther Laugh-and-a-Half Hour-and-a-Half Show Introducing Misterjaw (1976–1977)
Think Pink Panther (1977–1978)
The All New Pink Panther Show (1978–1980)

The Ant and The Aardvark cartoon shorts center on a blue aardvark (voiced by John Byner who was impersonating the comedian Jackie Mason) trying to catch and eat a red ant named Charlie (also voiced by John Byner but impersonating Dean Martin). The Aardvark's trunk sucking was the sound of a vacuum cleaner. The series was enormously popular, but only 17 shorts were every produced. Unique techniques were employed for the series, including making the Aardvark and his clothing (shorts and t-shirt) all one color blue; and the Ant was painted all red. This allowed for the two characters to clearly stand out on the brightly colored backgrounds. Another production element was the jazzy musical score that was directed by Doug Goodwin. He assembled a group jazz session musicians to perform the opening/closing credits and the musical cues; and for the first time in animated cartoon history all six of the musicians received on screen credit.

This is a wonderful cel setup of both The Aardvark and The Ant. Both characters are full figure and eyes open. Both cels are set on an original hand-painted production animation background with hand painted overlay cel from the Tijuana Toads cartoon "Serape Happy," 1971. A very rare and beautiful piece of animation artwork, perfect for any collection!

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Original Production Animation Cel of Dopey and Sneezy Set On A Courvoisier Background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Dopey and Sneezy; Set on a colored paper Courvoisier background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Dopey and Sneezy: 5 x 9 1/4", Image 6 1/4 x 10", Frame 17 1/2 x 21 1/2"; Framed using a silver wood frame, a blue linen mat, silver wood fillet, and plexiglass.


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!

Although the initial concept designing of the dwarfs was relatively easy for the Walt Disney animation department, the actual animating of them proved to be difficult. The animators, already finding human figures difficult to animate, now had to animate dwarfed human figures. The great Disney animator Vladimir Tytla noted that the dwarfs should walk with a swing to their hips, and Fred Moore commented that they had to move a little more quickly in order to keep up with the other human characters.


Framed original production animation cel of Dopey and Sneezy.

Due to Sneezy's severe hayfever, he sneezes very often throughout the film and this often prevents him from speaking. His sneezes can be gale force and will blow away anything and anyone in their path. As a result, the other dwarfs are quick to hold his nose whenever they feel he may have a sneeze approaching. The memorable scene in which the dwarfs tie a knot in Sneezy's beard was inspired by an early sketch by Albert Hurter, a concept and inspirational sketch artist at Walt Disney Studios. Various Disney artists were involved in the animation of Sneezy throughout the film including: Ward Kimball, Vladimir Tytl, Fred Moore, Shamus Culhane, and Les Clark. Billy Gilbert, an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines, provided the voice of Sneezy.

In the pre-production stages of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Dopey was simply called 'The Seventh'. His personality and role were finalized late in the process, after it was suggested that Dopey should move like burlesque comedian Eddie Collins. Collins began his career in vaudeville and went on to become a successful comedian, actor, and singer. He helped to define the character's personality through his live action filmed sequences, as well as providing the few vocal sounds that Dopey made during the film. He also provided the sounds of a sneezing chipmunk and a squirrel.

Dopey is the youngest of the dwarfs, as proven by his lack of a beard. But perhaps his most notable trait is his lack of speech. In the film Happy states Dopey is simply unaware whether or not he can speak, as he has simply never tried. In spite of this, he can occasionally be heard making various vocal sounds such as whimpers, hiccups, and a one-shot yell. The other dwarfs seem to have no problem understanding Dopey, and Doc was able to easily translate Dopey's blathering into a cohesive sentence. Various Walt Disney artists were involved in the animation of Dopey throughout the film including: Vladimir Tytla, Fred Moore, Frank Thomas, Shamus Culhane, Les Clark, Ollie Johnston, and Art Babbit.

This is an absolutely wonderful original hand painted and hand inked production cel of Dopey and Sneezy set on an airbrushed Courvoisier background. This is a very nice full figure image of both Dwarfs, and it is from the scene that occurs at the conclusion of Snow White singing the song "Some Day My Prince Will Come." Doc declares that Snow White will sleep upstairs, and this sends the Dwarfs scrambling downstairs to find a comfortable spot to bed for the night. In the end, Dopey lays his head on a single feather from a pillow, and Sneezy (resting his head on Dopey's bum) sleeps at his feet. A beautiful piece of vintage Walt Disney animation artwork, perfect for any collection!

Original Production Animation Cel of Dopey Set On A Courvoisier Background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Dopey set on an airbrushed Courvoisier background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Dopey: 5 x 4 1/2", Image 7 x 7", Frame 18 1/2 x 18"; Framed with a gold wood frame, two linen mats, gold wood fillet, and plexiglass.


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!

Although the initial concept designing of the dwarfs was relatively easy for the Walt Disney animation department, the actual animating of them proved to be difficult. The animators, already finding human figures difficult to animate, now had to animate dwarfed human figures. The great Disney animator Vladimir Tytla noted that the dwarfs should walk with a swing to their hips, and Fred Moore commented that they had to move a little more quickly in order to keep up with the other human characters.


Framed original production animation cel of Dopey.

In the pre-production stages of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Dopey was simply called 'The Seventh'. His personality and role were finalized late in the process, after it was suggested that Dopey should move like burlesque comedian Eddie Collins. Collins began his career in vaudeville and went on to become a successful comedian, actor, and singer. He helped to define the character's personality through his live action filmed sequences, as well as providing the few vocal sounds that Dopey made during the film. He also provided the sounds of a sneezing chipmunk and a squirrel.

Dopey is the youngest of the dwarfs, as proven by his lack of a beard. But perhaps his most notable trait is his lack of speech. In the film Happy states Dopey is simply unaware whether or not he can speak, as he has simply never tried. In spite of this, he can occasionally be heard making various vocal sounds such as whimpers, hiccups, and a one-shot yell. The other dwarfs seem to have no problem understanding Dopey, and Doc was able to easily translate Dopey's blathering into a cohesive sentence. Various Walt Disney artists were involved in the animation of Dopey throughout the film including: Vladimir Tytla, Fred Moore, Frank Thomas, Shamus Culhane, Les Clark, Ollie Johnston, and Art Babbit.

This is an absolutely wonderful original hand painted and hand inked production cel of Dopey set on an airbrushed Courvoisier background. This is a very nice full figure image of Dopey, eyes and mouth open, and running with his left hand keeping his hat on his head. A beautiful piece of vintage Walt Disney animation artwork, perfect for any collection!