Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cels of Figaro, Cleo, Fish Bowl, and Water Effects from "Pinocchio," 1940, Walt Disney Studios; Set over the key master production background; Production numbers lower center and verso of the background; Size - Figaro, Cleo, Fish Bowl, and Water Effects: 6 3/4 x 8", Image 7 3/4 x 10 1/4", Frame 19 x 21 1/2"; Framed with a gold wood frame, two linen mats, a gold wood fillet, and plexiglass.
"Pinocchio,"
1940 was the second animated feature film produced by Disney, and
followed on the success of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." 1937. It
was released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on February 23, 1940 and
was based on the Italian children's novel "The Adventures of Pinocchio"
by Carlo Collodi. The general plot of the film involves an old
wood-carver named Geppetto, who carves a wooden puppet that he names
Pinocchio. One night the puppet is brought to life by the Blue Fairy,
who informs him that he can become a real boy if he proves himself to be
"brave, truthful, and unselfish". Pinocchio's journey to become a real
boy is challenged by his encounters with an array of scrupulous
characters.
Close up of the original background production numbers.
"Pinocchio"
became the first animated feature to win an Academy Award; it won for
both Best Music - Original Score and for Best Music - Original Song for
"When You Wish Upon A Star." Most critics and audiences agree that
"Pinocchio" is among the finest Disney features ever made, and one of
the greatest animated films of all time. In 1994, it was added to the
United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically,
or aesthetically significant."
Close up of the original hand painted and hand inked production animation cels of Figaro and Cleo.
Due
to the huge success of "Snow White," Walt Disney wanted more famous
voice actors for "Pinocchio." He cast popular singer Cliff Edwards (who
had made the first record selling over a million copies) as Jiminy
Cricket. Disney also wanted the character of Pinocchio to be voiced by a
real child. The role ended up going to twelve year old actor Dickie
Jones, who had previously been in Frank Capra's enormous Hollywood hit,
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
Animation
began in September 1938 and just as in "Snow White," live-action
footage was shot for "Pinocchio" with the actors playing the scenes;
which was supervised by Hamilton Luske. The animators then used the
footage as a guide for their animation drawings by studying the human
movement and then incorporating many of those poses and scenes. The
title character was animated by Milt Kahl (initial design), Frank
Thomas, and Ollie Johnston. "When I was doing Pinocchio," Johnston said,
"I thought of the character being real, a living person, not a
drawing."
Framed original key setup of Figaro, Cleo, and Water Effects.
Figaro
is Geppetto's pet Tuxedo Cat and was Walt Disney's favorite character
in the film. He loved the kitten so much, he wanted him to appear in as
many scenes as possible. Once production on "Pinocchio" was completed;
Walt made him Minnie Mouse's pet, replacing her dog Fifi. Figaro was
also given his own series of cartoon shorts, as well as costarring in
other cartoon shorts with Pluto.
The
master Walt Disney animator Eric Larson was in charge of animating
Figaro, and based the kitten's design on the childlike personality of
his own nephew. The famous character actor Mel Blanc (known as "The Man
of Thousand Voices") provided the voice of Figaro.
Cleo
is Geppetto's pet goldfish (who he refers to as his little water baby)
with red lips and blue eyes, and she is always seen in her fishbowl.
Cleo is very affectionate towards everyone (even though Figaro does not
always reciprocate). She was wonderfully animated by Eric Larson and Don
Lusk.
Copy of the back of the original production background showing the production numbers and the Walt Disney Property stamp.
"Pinocchio," was groundbreaking in the area of effects animation. The
animators gave realistic movement to vehicles, machinery, and natural
elements; such as rain, lightning, snow, smoke, shadows, and water. In
contrast to the character animators, effects animators create everything
that moves around the characters. Sandy Strother, one of the Disney
effects animators from "Pinocchio," kept a diary about his year long
animation of the water effects; which included splashes, ripples,
bubbles, waves, and the illusion of being underwater. All of this
attention to detail contributed to "Pinocchio" being one of the first
animated films to have highly realistic effects animation. Ollie
Johnston remarked "I think that's one of the finest things the studio's
ever done" and Frank Thomas stated, "The water looks so real a person
can drown in it, and they do."
This
is a spectacular original hand painted and hand inked production
animation cel of Figaro and Cleo from the scene in the film, when
Pinocchio has been reunited with them and Geppetto inside of the belly
of the whale Monstro. When Pinocchio removes his hat and shows his
donkey ears, Geppetto, Figaro, and Cleo are surprised; however when
Pinocchio shows them his tail, Figaro is so caught off guard that he
jumps into Cleo's fishbowl! This is a rare key setup of Figaro, Cleo, Cleo's Fish Bowl, and matching Water Effects; all placed on their key matching original production background. For animation art collection, it really just doesn't get any better than a vintage Disney key setup! A rare and important piece of animation artwork, and a great addition to any collection.
