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Friday, April 25, 2025

Original Production Animation Cel of Cruella De Vil from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961

 

Original hand painted production animation cel of Cruella De Vil and Blanket from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Cruella De Vil and Blanket: 7 1/3" x 10 3/4", Image 8 1/2" x 12"; Unframed.

 
"Dognapping!" Can you imagine such a thing? "15 puppies Stolen." They are darling little things. Anita and her... and her bashful Beethoven! Pipe and all!" - Cruella De Vil

"One Hundred and One Dalmatians" ("101 Dalmatians"), is a 1961 full length animated feature film by Walt Disney Productions. It was adapted from Dodie Smith's 1956 novel of the same name. It stars Rod Taylor as the voice of Pongo and Cate Bauer as the voice of Perdita; with Betty Lou Gerson as the voice of the evil and villainous Cruella de Vil. The animation of all the characters from the film was quite extraordinary.

The film "Sleeping Beauty," 1959 was very expensive to make and it took a huge financial loss at the box-office; as a result, the Disney animation studio was considering closing. During the production of "Sleeping Beauty," Walt Disney told animator Eric Larson: "I don't think we can continue, it's too expensive." Because Disney's entire company was based on animation, he was looking for a way to continue with animation, and at the same time significantly reduce costs.

The animator Ub Iwerks had been experimenting with Xerox photography to aid in animation process. By 1959 he had modified a Xerox camera to transfer the drawings by the animators, directly onto animation cels. The process would preserve the spontaneity of the penciled drawings but eliminate the inking process, thus saving time and money. However, the limitation was that the camera was unable to deviate from a black scratchy outline, and the resulting cels lacked the fine lavish quality of hand inking.

Cruella along with Maleficent are two of the most favorite of all the Disney villains, and they were both animated by Marc Davis. The character of Cruella De Vil was created by Dodie Smith for his novel "101 Dalmatians" in 1956, but it was Davis's visual interpretation that the world remembers. Although some of Cruella's traits were based in the novel, Davis along with Bill Peat, morphed the character by making her razor thin and exaggerating her oversized coat onto her thin frame. The long cigarette holder was modeled on one Davis used himself. Inspiration was also drawn from Hollywood legends Tallulah Bankhead, Bette Davis, and Rosalind Russell. Movement, according to Davis, was consistent "like someone you wouldn't like," and another inspiration was based on "one woman I knew who was just a monster. She was tall and thin and talked constantly - you never knew what she was saying, but you couldn't get a word in edgewise."

The voice of Cruella was provided by Betty Lou Gerson. She had worked for Disney prior as the narrator for Cinderella, but her voice talent as Cruella De Vil is her tour de force! The highly pitched phrase "Anita Darling!" is completely iconic and has become part of Disney pop culture.
 
Cruella De Vil is one of the rare Disney villains that has a theme song, which was written and composed by Mel Leven; an American composer and lyricist that had a long relationship with the Walt Disney Company. In the feature film, the villainess song was written and performed by Roger Radcliffe (voiced by Bill Lee), who had just finished the jazz melody and was inspired by Cruella's name. The lyrics are below:
 
Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil
If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will
To see her is to take a sudden chill
Cruella, Cruella
She's like a spider waiting for the kill
Look out for Cruella De Vil 

At first you think Cruella is a devil
But after time has worn away the shock
You come to realize
You've seen her kind of eyes
Watching you from underneath a rock 

This vampire bat, this inhuman beast
She ought to be locked up and never released 
The world was such a wholesome place until
Cruella, Cruella De Vil

This is absolutely fantastic cel of Cruella De Vil holding her cigarette and holder in one hand and a newspaper in the other. She is lying in bed, wearing a black fur night jacket with a pink ribbon, her hair is in curlers, eyes are closed, head is tilted back, and she is laughing hysterically while reading the newspaper headlines about stolen dalmatian puppies. A great addition to any Disney Villain or animation art collection!
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Thursday, April 24, 2025

Original Production Animation Cel of The White Rabbit from "Alice In Wonderland," 1951

 

Original hand inked and hand painted production animation cel of the White Rabbit from "Alice In Wonderland," 1951, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - White Rabbit: 2 1/2 x 3 1/2", Image 9 1/4 x 10 3/4"; Unframed.

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

"Oh, my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date! No time to say goodbye - Hello! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" - White Rabbit

"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.

The White Rabbit is one of the most well known and referenced fictional characters in Lewis Carroll's book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." He first appears in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice follows him down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, and encounters him again when he mistakes her for his housemaid Mary Ann. Soon Alice becomes trapped in his house after growing too large. The Rabbit shows up again in the last few chapters of the book, as a herald-like servant of the King and Queen of Hearts.

However, in Walt Disney's animated version of the story, the White Rabbit seems to be the most logical of all the Wonderland characters; and appears throughout the film to lead Alice along further into Wonderland. The Rabbit is perhaps most famous for the little song he sang at the beginning of the film - "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" He was animated by various animators including: Fred Moore, Ward Kimball, Judge Whitaker, and Wolfgang Reitherman. But most of the work was done by either Fred Moore or Ward Kimball; both of whom were wonderful at bringing this type of exaggerated character to life.

The White Rabbit was voiced by American Radio and Voice Actor Bill Thompson. Thompson had an extraordinary career spanning from the 1930's until he passed away in 1971. He worked extensively for Walt Disney Studios, and can be heard in many shorts and features, often in either dialect parts or a variation of his famous and masterful Wimple/Droopy voice. For "Alice In Wonderland," he was the voice of both the White Rabbit and the Dodo. He went on to be the voice of Mr. Smee (and the other pirates) in "Peter Pan," and also King Hubert in "Sleeping Beauty."

This is a wonderful original production animation cel of the White Rabbit. He is a very nice full figure image and he is wearing his eyeglasses, blue Victorian collar, and red heart tunic. This is an absolutely beautiful piece of vintage Walt Disney animation art and a great addition to any animation collection!

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Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Original Production Animation Drawings of King Stefan and King Hubert from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


Original production animation drawings of King Stefan and King Hubert in red and graphite pencils from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 216-B and C-23 lower right in graphite pencil; Size - King Stefan: 9 x 4", King Hubert: 8 1/2 x 6 1/2", Sheets 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

"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.

"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.

King Stefan is humble, a loving father, and is married to Queen Leah. When Maleficent appears in his castle's throne room, he remained silent but with a stern and intimidating expression. However, after Maleficent casts her curse on Princess Aurora, he commands his palace guards to "Seize that creature!" For the rest of the film Stefan is mostly seen as a soft-spoken man; especially during his scenes with the more boastful King Hubert. King Stefan, was the first Disney King not to have grey hair, and was animated by John Lounsbery and voiced by Taylor Holmes.

King Hubert seems to be a very jolly character; and his Queen is never mentioned in the film. Hubert has one son Prince Phillip, and is good friends with Princess Aurora's father, King Stefan. In one scene, Hubert becomes angry at Stefan due to a perceived slight against his son Phillip. This leads to a fight with Stefan, and they use fish as weapons instead of swords. However, they both soon realize that the whole encounter is silly and laugh at their foolishness. King Hubert was animated by John Lounsbery and voiced by Bill Thompson.

This is a great set of two original production animation drawings of King Stefan and King Hubert. Both King drawings are accomplished in graphite and red pencils, and King Stefan is full figure. A tipsy King Hubert is holding a cooked fish, that he had previously grabbed off of a dining table and used as a sword, attempting to have a duel with King Stefan. A fantastic set of drawings that would make a wonderful addition to any animation art collection!

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Monday, April 21, 2025

Original Production Animation Drawing of The Minstrel from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959

  Original production animation drawing of the Minstrel from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite and red pencils on peg hole paper; Numbered 112-A in graphite pencil lower right; Size - Minstrel: 7 1/2 x 8", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


"Sleeping Beauty," the 1959 Walt Disney full length motion picture, introduced two characters that would become universal favorites; Maleficent and Princess Aurora. Aurora, along with Snow White and Cinderella would be forever immortalized in the public's view as the three greatest Disney Princesses. The original design for Aurora and her peasant disguise Briar Rose was developed by Tom Oreb, who based the character on the famed Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn; known for her thin frame and a very graceful demeanor. Marc Davis, the head animator, would continue the development process by morphing her general appearance and the clothing of the heroine. The fine tuning of the character continued so that she could be combined with the very angular forms present in the Eyvind Earle hand painted backgrounds.
 
The Minstrel (also referred to as The Jester or The Lackey) is one of King Stefan's loyal servants and he serves as the maitre d' of the castle. The Minstrel is thin, with light brown medium length hair, wears a yellow and orange striped shirt with a hat with a very long red feather, and carries his mandolin. His longest sequence in the film occurs when he is summoned to serve King Stefan and King Hubert wine to celebrate the soon to be wedding between Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora. While the two kings bicker about their plans, the Minstrel secretly helps himself to a few glasses of wine, gets hiccups, drunk, and falls asleep under the table with his legs sticking out and his head inside of his mandolin. The Minstrel was masterfully animated by Milt Kahl and his live action performance model was Franklin Pangborn, who was an American comedic character actor.

This a very large and fantastic drawing in graphite pencil of the Minstrel, he is drinking wine from a goblet and he has his mandolin in his arms. A wonderful addition to any animation art collection!


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Sunday, April 20, 2025

Original Production Cel of Dumbo from "Dumbo," 1941

 

Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Dumbo set over a Courvoisier air brush background from "Dumbo," 1941, Walt Disney Studios; Walt Disney Productions stamp verso; Size - Dumbo: 3 3/4 x 2 3/4", Image 7 3/4 x 6 1/2"; Unframed.

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

"Here is a baby with eyes of blue, straight from heaven right to you." - Stork

The Walt Disney full length feature film "Dumbo," released in 1940, introduced to the world one of the greatest characters in the Disney pantheon, Dumbo the flying elephant! Dumbo was the only character in the film who never uttered a single word, and yet he is one of the most remembered Disney stars. All of his feelings were conveyed through body movements and facial expressions. The extraordinary animation skill needed in order to do this with a human, but in this case a baby elephant, can not be underestimated.

The Disney Studio animation artists were still fairly new to feature animation, having only started in 1937 with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The film prior to "Dumbo" was "Fantasia," with one of the most successful sequences being "Night on Bald Mountain." Here again, the main character Chernabog, a huge winged devil, sitting on top of a mountain, commanding the undead below, and never uttering a single word; made a huge impression on the viewing public.

The Disney animator Vladimir "Bill" Tytla created the devil-giant for "Fantasia's" "Night on Bald Mountain," and for the next film he was given the task of animated the film's star, Dumbo. He said: 

"I gave him everything I thought he should have," said Tytla. "It just happened. I don't know a damn thing about elephants. It wasn't that. I was thinking in terms of humans, and I saw a chance to do a chracter without using any cheap theatrics. Most of the expressions and mannerisms I got from my own kid. There's nothing theatrical about a two-year-old kid. They're real and sincere- like when they damn near wet their pants from excitement when you come home at night. I've bawled my kid out for pestering me when I'm reading or something, and he doesn't know what to make of it. He'll just stand there and maybe grab my hand and cry... I tried to put all those things in Dumbo."

Certainly the greatest theme of "Dumbo" was the wonderful friendship between the mute baby elephant Dumbo and his unlikely friend, a mouse name Timothy. Various Disney animators were involved with the creation and animation of Timothy Q. Mouse including Fred Moore, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Ward Kimball. Edward S. Brophy was an American character actor, voice artist, and comedian; and he provided the voice for Timothy Mouse even though he was not credited in the film for the role.
 
In fact, none of the voice ctors for Dumbo received screen credit. The pompous matriarch of the elephants was voiced by Verna Felton, who also voiced the Fairy Godmother in "Cinderella," the Queen of Hearts in "Alice in Wonderland," and Flora in "Sleeping Beauty." Other voice actors include Sterling Holloway as Mr. Stork, Cliff Edwards (better known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket) as Jim Crow, and John McLeish (best known for narrating the Goofy "How To" cartoons) providing the opening sequence narration. 
 
Mr. Stork was animated by Art Babbitt and voiced by Sterling Holloway, who would later provide the voice for Winnie The Pooh. Mr. Stork was the last of his group of flying storks to deliver his baby. Confused, Mr. Stork stops on a cloud with his bundle of joy in order to check his map. He hears the sounds of the circus train Casey Jr. below and eventually finds his way to the elephant car, where he locates the expecting Mrs. Jumbo. Mr. Stork sings "Happy Birthday" to the baby, but needs to stop the song and ask for the baby elephant's name, "Ah, Happy Birthday to you. Ah, Happy Birthday, dear; ah, dear Dear me. What's his name?"

This cel is from the scene in the film when Dumbo, the world's smallest elephant, is dropped off by Mr. Stork as a bundle of joy to Mrs. Jumbo. This is a wonderful full figure, eyes open production cel of Dumbo from his first appearance in the film, and would be a highlight to any Walt Disney animation art collection!

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Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Original Production Animation Drawings of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959

 


Original production animation drawings of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather in graphite and red pencils from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered A169, 153, and C179 in pencil lower right; Fauna drawing with animation ladder in pencil upper left; Size - Flora: 6 1/4 x 3 3/4", Fauna: 6 3/4 x 4", Merryweather: 6 x 4 1/4", Sheets 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

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

Flora: "Make it pink!"
Merryweather: "Make it blue!"
Fauna: "Oh, I just love happy endings."

"Sleeping Beauty," 1959 is an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney based on two stories: "The Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault and "Little Briar Rose" by The Brothers Grimm. The film was released to theaters on January 29, 1959, by Buena Vista Distribution. This was the last Disney adaptation of a fairy tale for 30 years because of its initial mixed critical reception and because of under performance at the box office. The next Disney adaption of a fairy tale would not occur until 1989 with "The Little Mermaid."

"Sleeping Beauty" was directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman; under the supervision of Clyde Geronimi. Additional story work was by Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta. The film's musical score and songs, featuring the work of the Graunke Symphony Orchestra under the direction of George Bruns, are arrangements or adaptations of numbers from the 1890 "Sleeping Beauty Ballet" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. "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). The film was presented in Super Technirama 70 and 6-channel stereophonic sound in first-run engagements.

Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are Princess Aurora's Fairy Godmothers, who appear at baby Aurora's christening to present their gifts to her, as well as go on to become her guardians. The Fairies were voiced by Verna Felton (Flora), Barbara Jo Allen (Fauna), and Barbara Luddy (Merryweather). Verna Felton also voiced Queen Leah, Aurora's mother; and had prior roles as Dumbo's mother in "Dumbo," the Fairy Godmother in "Cinderella," the Queen of Hearts in "Alice in Wonderland," and Aunt Sarah in "Lady in the Tramp." Barbara Luddy had previously voiced Lady in "Lady and the Tramp." The principle animator for the Three Fairies was Ollie Johnston and a little known fact is that one of the actresses who was one of the live action models for the Good Fairies was Frances Bavier, the future Aunt Bee on "The Andy Griffith Show." 

Fauna is the middle Fairy and is dressed in a green gown, a green hat, and a green cape clipped with a green triangle. Her gift to Aurora is the gift of song.

Flora is the tallest and oldest Fairy, dressed in a red gown (although she is obsessed with the color pink), a red hat, and a red cape clipped with a yellow square. She is the strongest-willed leader of the group, and her gift to Aurora is the gift of beauty. She also created for Prince Phillip the powerful Sword of Truth and the invulnerable Shield of Virtue, for his escape and battle with Maleficent.

Merryweather is the shortest and youngest Fairy, dressed in a blue gown, a blue hat, and a blue cape clipped with a blue circle. She is the Fairy who is the most verbal and aggressive towards Maleficent, and she is much bolder than the other two Fairies. As Merryweather is about to give her gift, Maleficent makes her appearance and curses Aurora to die when she touches a spinning wheel's spindle before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday. Merryweather's gift to Aurora is to weaken Maleficent's curse so that instead of death, Aurora will fall into a deep sleep until she is awakened by true love's kiss.

This is a wonderful drawing set of all three Good Fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from the Walt Disney masterpiece "Sleeping Beauty," 1959. All three Fairies are full figure, eyes open, holding their magic wands, and are large original production animation drawings!

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Original Production Animation Cel of Donald Duck from "Steel and America," 1965

 

Original hand painted production animation cel of Donald Duck from "Steel and America," 1965, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Donald Duck: 4 1/4 x 2", Image 8 x 10"; Unframed.

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

"One of the greatest satisfactions in our work here at the studio is the warm relationship that exists within our cartoon family. Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, and the whole gang have always been a lot of fun to work with. But like many large families, we have a problem child. You're right, it's Donald Duck." - Walt Disney

Donald Duck, the hot-headed anthropomorphic duck, was created by Walt Disney. His theatrical debut was in the short "The Wise Little Hen," in 1934.  Donald's fiery temper combined with his humorous manner of speech (which was performed by his original voice actor Clarence "Ducky" Nash) has earned the famous Duck numerous Academy Awards, more film appearances (over 150 shorts and films) than any other Disney character, and a popular series of comic books.

"Steel and America" is an educational short released by Walt Disney Productions on May 5, 1965. It was directed by Les Clark, produced for the American Iron and Steel Institute, and released in 16mm format. The film was used to promote the steel industry and combined live action sequences with animation. "Steel and America" traced the history of the steel industry and follows the manufacturing process from raw iron ore to finished products. Donald Duck portrays a steelworker and the film run time is twenty-five minutes.

This is a fantastic original production animation cel of Donald Duck, a wonderful piece from a rare Disney film, and would be a great addition to any Disney animation art collection!

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Original Production Animation Cel of Two Penguin Waiters from "Mary Poppins," 1964

 

Original hand painted production animation cel of Two Penguin Waiters set on a lithographic background from "Mary Poppins," 1964, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Two Penguin Waiters: 2 x 4", Image 8 x 9 1/2"; Unframed.


"Anything for you, Mary Poppins. You're our favorite person." - Penguin Waiters

"Mary Poppins," 1964 was a musical fantasy feature film produced by Walt Disney Productions and was loosely based on P.L. Travers' book series of the same name. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson, with screenplay by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi. "Mary Poppins" combined live-action with animation and stared Julie Andrews in the role of Mary Poppins; a practically perfect nanny who visited a dysfunctional family in London and employed a variety of techniques to improve the family's dynamic. Dick Van Dyke was brilliant in the supporting role of Bert.

"Mary Poppins" was released on August 27, 1964 to universal acclaim; receiving a total of 13 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film won five: Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for "Chim Chim Cher-ee." The popular success of the film in undoubtedly due to wonderful songs, that were written by the brilliant team of the Sherman Brothers.

This is a wonderful original hand painted production cel of Two Penguin Waiters from "Mary Poppins," 1964. The Penguin Waiters were wonderfully animated by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, and not only set the table and serve tea to Mary Poppins, but also dance with Bert performing the song "Jolly Holiday." A very detailed and beautiful work of art from one of the greatest Walt Disney films, and a wonderful addition to any animation art collection!

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Friday, April 11, 2025

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


Original production animation drawing of Maleficent as a Dragon impaled by the Sword of Truth from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite pencil on peg hole paper; Numbered 77 in pencil lower right; Size - Maleficent As A Dragon: 10 x 12 1/4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


“Now you shall deal with me, o prince, and all the powers of HELL!”
―Maleficent before transforming into a Dragon

"Sleeping Beauty," 1959 is an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney based on two stories: "The Sleeping Beauty" by Charles Perrault and "Little Briar Rose" by The Brothers Grimm. The film was released to theaters on January 29, 1959, by Buena Vista Distribution. This was the last Disney adaptation of a fairy tale for 30 years because of its initial mixed critical reception and because of under performance at the box office. The next Disney adaption of a fairy tale would not occur until 1989 with "The Little Mermaid."

"Sleeping Beauty" was directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman; under the supervision of Clyde Geronimi. Additional story work was by Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta. The film's musical score and songs, featuring the work of the Graunke Symphony Orchestra under the direction of George Bruns, are arrangements or adaptations of numbers from the 1890 "Sleeping Beauty Ballet" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. "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). The film was presented in Super Technirama 70 and 6-channel stereophonic sound in first-run engagements.

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!

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 "101 Dalmatians," or Maleficent from "Sleeping Beauty." Two of the three, Cruella and Maleficent, were created/drawn by the great animator Marc Davis. Davis was part of what has been dubbed Disney's Nine Old Men; the core group of animators, some becoming directors, that created the finest animated films ranging from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", 1937 to "The Rescuers", 1977.

The voice of Maleficent was performed by Eleanor Audley. She had worked for Disney prior by also being the voice for the cold and calculating Lady Tremaine (The Stepmother) in "Cinderella." If is known that Frank Thomas for Lady Tremaine and Marc Davis for Maleficent, incorporated facials features of Eleanor into both characters.

Wolfgang Reitherman (known as Woolie) began working for Walt Disney in 1934, and is credited in films from Pinocchio, 1940 (Monstro the Whale) to The Fox and the Hound, 1981 (co-producer).  His masterful animation work includes the climatic dinosaur fight in Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in Fantasia, the Headless Horseman chase in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow section in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, the Crocodile in Peter Pan, and of course Maleficent as a dragon in Sleeping Beauty. An interesting side note is that all three of Reitherman's sons; Bruce, Richard, and Robert  provided voices for Disney characters, Mowgli in The Jungle Book, Christopher Robin in the Winnie the Pooh films, and Wart in The Sword in the Stone.

The climatic ending of Sleeping Beauty is the transformation of The Mistress of all Evil - Maleficent into a massive black and purple Dragon capable of breathing green fire. Children were absolutely terrified of the Dragon, with her large teeth, powerful claws, and expansive wing span. The success of the Dragon is owed to Reitherman's remarkable drawing and animation skills. In this very large and powerful drawing of Maleficent as the Dragon beautifully rendered in graphite pencil. A massive and dramatic image of the Dragon with Prince Phillip's Sword of Truth impaled into her chest! This is an absolutely beautiful piece of animation art, from one of the best sequences in the finale of the film, and would be the stand out to any animation art collection!

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Original Production Animation Cels of Baloo and Mowgli from "The Jungle Book," 1967

 

Original hand painted production animation cels of Baloo and Mowgli from "The Jungle Book," 1967, Walt Disney Studios; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Baloo & Mowgli: 5" x 4 3/4", Image 10" x 11 3/4"; Unframed.


"Man-village? They'll ruin 'im! They'll make a man out of him." - Baloo The Bear
"Baloo, I wanna stay here with you." - Mowgli 

"The Jungle Book" was released on October 18, 1967, with noted acclaim for its soundtrack that featured eight original songs: seven by the Sherman Brothers and one by Terry Gilkyson. Longtime Disney collaborator Gilkyson was the first songwriter to complete several songs which followed Kipling's book closely; however Walt Disney felt that the works were too dark. The only piece of Gilkyson's work which survived to the final film, was his very upbeat song "The Bare Necessities." The Sherman Brothers were then brought in to do a complete rewrite. Disney frequently brought the composers to the storyline sessions, and asked them to "find scary places and write fun songs" that fit into the story and advanced the plot. The popular success of the film in undoubtedly due to both the music and songs, that were primarily written by the Sherman Brothers.
 
"The Jungle Book," 1967 was the nineteenth animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Productions and inspired by Rudyard Kipling's book of the same name. The film was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it was to be the last film that was worked on by Walt Disney, as he passed away during its production. The film follows Mowgli, a feral child raised in the Indian jungle by wolves, as he encounters Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear; who try and convince him to leave the jungle before the villainous tiger Shere Khan finds him. Voice actors include: Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, George Sanders and Louis Prima; as well as Disney regulars such as Sterling Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley, Verna Felton, and the director's son, Bruce Reitherman, as the voice of Mowgli.
 
Wolfgang Reitherman began working for Walt Disney in 1934, along with future Disney legends Ward Kimball and Milt Kahl. The three worked together on a number of classic Disney shorts, including "The Band Concert," "Music Land," and "Elmer Elephant." 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).

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.

Baloo, which means "bear" in Hindi, is one of the most beloved characters in the Disney pantheon. He is an obese blue-gray sloth bear, with large white claws. Aside from King Louie, Baloo is the only animal character to walk on two legs in the film. He also resembles Little John from Disney's "Robin Hood," who were both voiced by Phil Harris. Harris also provided the voice of Thomas O'Malley from Disney's "The Aristocats." Baloo and Little John perform the same dance moves with King Louie in "The Jungle Book" and with Lady Kluck in "Robin Hood." A little know fact is that Walt Disney was used as a reference for the animators for the dance moves seen when Baloo is first introduced in "The Jungle Book."

Baloo was animated by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Ollie Johnston animated the first introduction of Baloo but Frank Thomas soon took over the character and, unlike so many other animators; was known for doing most, if not all of the rough drawings for his entire scene.

The Disney animator Andreas Deja wrote the following:
"This is actually not that unusual, since Frank usually contributed most or all of the drawings for any of his scenes. Other animators would often use a moving hold for calm moments, which involved only two key drawings with lots of in-betweens provided by the assistant. But Frank seems to always have something going on, even in the most subtle acting patterns. Something is always moving, things don’t come to a stop. As a result of producing so many drawings for a given scene, Frank could not focus on gorgeously designed poses or expressions. So his drawings by themselves might not look too intimidating to an animation student or professional, but watching them in motion is a whole other potato. The characters come to life in such a believable way, they breath, they move with weight, and they have real thoughts. In other words, they have a soul."
 
The main theme of "The Jungle Book" is the friendship of Baloo and Mowgli. When Mowgli first met Baloo, he thought of him as an enemy but Baloo becomes Mowgli's best friend and father figure. Baloo adopts Mowgli as his bear cub and affectionately calls him "Little Britches" and Mowgli refers to Baloo as "Papa Bear." When Baloo finds out that the tiger Shere Khan was hunting Mowgli, Baloo makes a promise to Bagheera that he will take Mowgli back to the man village. Mowgli, thinking that Baloo has betrayed him, runs away. When Shere Khan confronts Mowgli, Baloo risks his live to save him; ultimately resulting in the friendship between Mowgli and Baloo becoming stronger.
 
This is a wonderful two cel setup of a full figure laughing Baloo and a great full figure, eyes open image of Mowgli sitting on Baloo's chest. An impressive action oriented pose, a great original hand painted cel from Walt Disney's full length feature film "The Jungle Book," and a fantastic addition to any animation art collection!

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Monday, April 7, 2025

Original Production Animation Drawing of Briar Rose from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959

 

  Original production animation drawing of Briar Rose graphite pencil from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 229 in pencil center and lower right; Size - Briar Rose: 6 x 2 3/4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


"Sleeping Beauty," the 1959 Walt Disney full length motion picture, introduced two characters that would become universal favorites; Maleficent and Princess Aurora. Aurora, along with Snow White and Cinderella would be forever immortalized in the public's view as the three greatest Disney Princesses. The original design for Aurora and her peasant disguise Briar Rose was developed by Tom Oreb, who based the character on the famed Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn; known for her thin frame and a very graceful demeanor. Marc Davis, the head animator, would continue the development process by morphing her general appearance and the clothing of the heroine. The fine tuning of the character continued so that she could be combined with the very angular forms present in the Eyvind Earle hand painted backgrounds.

As with other Disney films, an actress was hired as a live-action model (as a guide for the animators) for Princess Aurora/Briar Rose. Helene Stanley, who was also the model for Cinderella in 1950, became the model for the heroine. It is interesting to note that prior to marrying Marc Davis in 1956, Alice (Davis) designed some of costumes worn by Stanley in her acting role in "Sleeping Beauty."
 
In 1952, the professional opera singer Mary Costa, after meeting people at a party with her future husband director Frank Tashlin, auditioned for the part of Disney's Princess Aurora/Briar Rose. Walt Disney called her personally within hours of the audition to inform her that the part was hers. The success of the film "Sleeping Beauty," owes a chuck of those accolades to the voice of Mary Costa. Her songs were some of the most beautiful ever sung by a Disney Princess. In November 1999 Mary Costa received the Disney Legends Award, and her hand prints are now a permanent part of the Disney Legends Plaza at the entrance to Walt Disney Studios.

After Maleficent's evil curse that Princess Aurora would (before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday) prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die; the three Good Fairies disguise Aurora as a peasant named Briar Rose and hide her deep in a remote forest cottage. The majority of the movie focuses on Briar Rose, and this is a beautiful original production drawing of her. The drawing is used in the scene when Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather send Rose out on a task to pick a basket full of berries; so that they will be alone to make her a beautiful dress and an extra special birthday cake! This is an absolutely beautiful original production animation drawing of Briar Rose. She is full figure, picking berries and putting them in her basket with her right hand, her shawl is draped over her shoulders, and she holding her basket in her left hand. A wonderful addition to any animation art collection!

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

 

Original production animation drawing of Maleficent and Diablo from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite pencil on peg hole paper; Numbered 19 in pencil lower right; Size - Maleficent & Diablo: 9 x 5 1/4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.
"Come, my pet. Let us leave our noble prince with these happy thoughts. A most gratifying day. For the first time in sixteen years I shall sleep well." - Maleficent

"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.

"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.

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.

This is a very rare, original production animation drawing of Maleficent and her pet raven Diablo in graphite pencil. She is holding her staff in one hand and the key to her dungeon in the other. The drawing was used for the scene when Maleficent has imprisoned Prince Phillip in her dungeon. She then decides to torment the Prince further, by revealing Aurora's identity to the shackled Prince, and revealing her plan to keep in locked away until he is an old man on the verge of death. She will then release him to meet a forever sleeping Aurora, who will not have aged a single day. After speaking with Prince Phillip she locks the dungeon door behind her with a key, leaving him with "these happy thoughts." Maleficent then speaks with her raven Diablo and says, "Come, my pet. Let us leave our noble prince with these happy thoughts. A most gratifying day. For the first time in sixteen years I shall sleep well." This is an absolutely beautiful drawing of Maleficent, the Mistress of all evil using a key to lock the dungeon door, and would make a great addition to any animation collection!
 
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