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Thursday, December 14, 2017

Original Production Animation Cels of Peter Pan & Tinker Bell from "Peter Pan," 1953


Original hand inked and hand painted production animation cels of 1) Peter Pan 2) Tinker Bell 3) Matching Wings from "Peter Pan," 1953; Walt Disney Studios; Set over a lithographic background; Peter Pan cel numbered 19 lower right; Tinker Bell cel numbered A-18 lower right; Tinker Bell Wings cel numbered W-A-18 lower right; Size - Peter Pan & Tinker Bell: 8 x 4 1/2", Image 9 3/4 x 14 1/2"; Unframed.

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

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

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

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

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

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


Original production animation cels of Peter Pan and Tinker Bell without the background.

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!


Close up of the original production animation cels of Peter Pan and Tinker Bell without the background.

Close up of the production numbers.

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 setup of both Peter Pan and Tinker Bell; but making the work even more extraordinary, is that Tiker Bell also has her matching wings cel. Production artwork of Tinker Bell (much less with their matching wings) is rare to the market, and it is really amazing that even in this small scale, there is a separate hand painted Wings cel created! This allows for Tinker Bell's body and wings to move independently on screen. A wonderful piece that would be a highlight to any Walt Disney animation art collection!

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