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Saturday, April 4, 2020

Original Production Animation Drawing of the Grinch from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" 1966


Original production animation drawing in graphite and blue pencils of the Grinch from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" 1966, Chuck Jones Enterprises; Production numbers lower center; Numbered 11 and "Copyright 1966 TURNER ENT. CO." lower right; Linda Jones Enterprises seal lower right; With original Linda Jones Certificate of Authenticity; Size - Grinch: 7 x 5", Sheet 10 1/2 x 12 1/2"; Unframed.

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

"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch,
You really are a heel,
You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch,
You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel!"
- Sung by Thurl Ravenscroft lyrics by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel
 
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones (1912 – 2002) was an American animator, filmmaker, cartoonist, author, artist, and screenwriter; and is best known for his work on the Warner Bros. Cartoons, Looney Tunes, and Merrie Melodies shorts. He wrote, produced, and/or directed many classic animated cartoon shorts, that all of us remember, starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, PepĂ© Le Pew, Porky Pig and many other star Warner Bros. characters.


Close up of the original production animation drawing of the Grinch.

After his career at Warner Bros. ended in 1962, he started Sib Tower 12 Productions and began producing cartoons for MGM; including a new series of Tom and Jerry shorts. Also at MGM, in collaboration with Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), he created one of his most famous films; the television adaptation of Dr. Seuss' "How The Grinch Stole Christmas!" Chuck Jones later started his own studio, Chuck Jones Enterprises, where he created several one-shot specials and would periodically work on Looney Tunes related projects.

Chuck Jones was nominated for an Academy Award eight times and won three; receiving awards for the cartoons "For Scent-imental Reasons," "So Much for So Little," and "The Dot and the Line." He received an Honorary Academy Award in 1996 for his work in the animation industry. The famous film historian Leonard Maltin praised Jones' work at Warner Bros., MGM, and at Chuck Jones Enterprises. In Jerry Beck's "The 50 Greatest Cartoons," ten of the entries were directed by Jones, with four out of the five top cartoons being Chuck Jones shorts.

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" is a television animated special that was originally aired on CBS on December 18, 1966. The film was directed and co-produced by the legendary animator Chuck Jones. It was based on the Dr. Seuss book of the same name. The film tells the story of the Grinch trying to take away Christmas from the townsfolk of Whoville. Boris Karloff is the voice of both the Grinch and the Narrator, and June Foray is the voice of Cindy Lou Who.

Undoubtedly one of the stand out features of  "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" is the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." The lyrics were written by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel and the music composed by Albert Hague. The singer was not credited in the film, and it was speculated to be either Boris Karloff or Tennessee Ernie Ford; however the true singer was publicly credited to be Thurl Ravenscroft. Ravenscroft is perhaps most known as the voice of Tony the Tiger for "Kellogg's Frosted Flakes," but also did extensive voice over and singing for both Disney films and Disney Park attractions. The soundtrack for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" won the Grammy Award for Best Album for Children in 1968.

The "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" special was shown on TV every Christmas season on CBS from 1966 until 1987, and then it was shown multiple times a year on TNT, followed by Cartoon Network. In 2001, WB added it to it's own annual screening and then in 2006 ABC took over the airings. NBC acquired the rights in 2015 and it's deal with Warner Brothers allows for two broadcasts per season. The continuous television airings followed by home media and online viewing, has made "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" one of the most popular animated films of all time!


Original Linda Jones Certificate of Authenticity.

This is a spectacular original production animation drawing of the Grinch from the 1966 animated special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" A great image of an eyes open Grinch with a wonderfully wicked smile, stealing the Whos candy. Included with the drawing is the original Certificate of Authenticity issued by Linda Jones Enterprises; which was founded and run by Chuck Jones's daughter, Linda Jones. This would be a fantastic addition to any animation art collection!

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Friday, April 3, 2020

Original Production Animation Cel and Drawing of Prince Phillip and King Hubert from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cels of Prince Phillip and King Hubert set on a lithographic background with an original production animation drawing of Prince Phillip and King Hubert in graphite pencil numbered C-150 in pencil lower right all from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Prince Phillip & King Hubert: 6 x 5 1/2", Cel Image 11 x 9 1/2", Drawing Sheet: 12 1/2 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.

"Can't meet your future bride looking like that." - King Hubert
 "Well, I have met her, father." - Prince Phillip
"You have? Where?" - King Hubert
"Once upon a dream..." - Prince Phillip

"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.


Original production animation cel of Prince Phillip and King Hubert.


Original production animation drawing of Prince Phillip and King Hubert.


Close ups of the original production animation drawing and cel of Prince Phillip and King Hubert.

Prince Phillip was animated by Milt Kahl and voiced Bill Shirley and Aurora was animated by Marc Davis (who was also lead animator for Maleficent) and voiced by Mary Costa. Both Bill and Mary would be live action models for Prince Phillip and Briar Rose/Princess Aurora for the animators, and their chemistry was magical on screen. In addition, their singing together was one of the many highlights of the film. As discussed by Andreas Deja, Milt Kahl did not like the job of animating Prince Phillip:

"Some of you might know that Milt absolutely despised working on the prince. During one of our get togethers I asked him, how he could do such a beautiful job on a character he loathes. To my best recollection he said: 'Well, the character needs to be in the picture, I didn't like the assignment, but you do the best you can.'"

The animation of Prince Phillip by Milt Kahl was radically different than prior Princes in other films.  Phillip was an active character; speaking to his horse Sampson and Sampson understanding what he was saying.  Phillip was also seen as a child at the start of the film, had to be animated in more than one outfit, was the first Prince to use weapons against a Villain; and had to speak, interact, and sing with his love interest Princess Aurora/Briar Rose.

Also from Andreas Deja:
"As I mentioned before, Milt Kahl really didn't enjoy animating Prince Phillip. A handsome dude with a limited range for acting just didn't appeal to him. Of course he still gave it all he'd got to put a descent performance on the screen. (In reference to viewing some of Kahl's rough drawings)... It looks to me that this scene was somewhat based on live action reference, but the translation into drawn animation is incredible. Just dealing with the horse turning direction would be a real challenge. Assistant artist Dave Suding, who worked on the film, told me once that one clean up drawing with the prince on his horse took one full day. That means a second of final clean up footage would require a whole month! Incredible."

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 wonderful set comprised of an original production animation cel and an original production animation drawing of Prince Phillip and King Hubert. The pair is from the scene when Prince Phillip rushes towards his father King Hubert to tell him that he has meet is future wife. He grabs his father and begins to dance as he sings the answer to the question of where did he meet her; his answer is "Once Upon A Dream." Both characters are full figure captured in this fantastic action oriented pose. The two works are just frames away from each other, and it is extremely rare to have a drawing and cel from the same vintage Walt Disney feature film scene. A great addition to any animation art collection!

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Original Production Animation Drawing of Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," 1991


Original production animation drawing of Belle in graphite and red pencils from "Beauty and the Beast," 1991, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered B-273 lower right; Production numbers and Property of Walt Disney Pictures stamps lower center; Size - Belle: 3 1/2 x 3", Sheet 12 1/2 x 17"; Unframed.


Belle is the Disney Princess who is featured in the Walt Disney Pictures' 30th animated feature film "Beauty and the Beast" from 1991. The book-loving daughter of an eccentric inventor, Belle is thought of as an outcast by the village townsfolk because of her nonconformity. She sings of longing to abandon her provincial life in exchange for fun and adventure. When her father is imprisoned by the Beast, Belle sacrifices her own freedom in return for his, and eventually learns to love the Beast despite his outward appearance. Belle was voiced by Broadway actress Paige O'Hara.


Close up of the Belle original production drawing.

Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg commissioned "Beauty and the Beast" as an animated musical with a strong heroine, and hired first-time screenwriter Linda Woolverton (the first woman to pen an animated film). The film is loosely based on the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. However, Belle was developed by Woolverton into a stronger and braver character for the film. Inspired by the women's rights movement, Woolverton wanted Belle to be very different from "The Little Mermaid's" Ariel. The character would be a staunch individual and a feminist. Belle's fearlessness and love of reading were inspired by actress Katharine Hepburn's portrayal of Jo March in the film "Little Women" from 1933. The writers for the film developed the character by giving her aspirations beyond simply marriage and romance, and the result was a much more complicated Princess than those proceeding her. Animated by James Baxter and Mark Henn, who based the character's graceful mannerisms on artist Edgar Degas' paintings of ballerinas. Belle's European facial features were inspired by two of Hollywoods most iconic British actresses, Vivien Leigh and Audrey Hepburn.

This is wonderful full figure drawing of Belle, sitting on the ground and doing what she loves most- reading. Both her eyes and mouth are open, and she is rendered in graphite and red pencils with extensive paint and ink notations throughout. A simply beautiful drawing of one of the last great Disney Princesses, and a great addition to any animation art collection!

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Thursday, April 2, 2020

Original Animation Production Cel of Sneezy from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Sneezy set on an airbrushed wood veneer Courvoisier background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Partial Courvoisier label verso; Size - Sneezy: 3 3/4 x 4", Image 7 1/2 x 7 1/2"; Unframed.


Development on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs began in early 1934, and by June Walt Disney announced to The New York Times the production of his first feature, to be released under Walt Disney Productions.  Before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Disney studio had been primarily involved in the production of animated short subjects in the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies series.  However, Disney hoped to expand his studio's prestige and revenues by moving into features, and he estimated that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs could be produced for a budget of $250,000 (this was ten times the budget of an average Silly Symphony).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was to be the first full-length cel animated feature in motion picture history, and as such Walt Disney had to fight to get the film produced. Both his brother and business partner Roy Disney, as well as his wife Lillian attempted to talk him out of it.  The Hollywood movie industry mockingly referred to the film, while is was in production, as "Disney's Folly."  Disney ended up having to mortgage his house to help finance the film's production, which would eventually ran up to a total cost of $1,488,422.74; an absolutely massive sum for a feature film in 1937!

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.


Back of the original production animation cel of 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.

This is an absolutely wonderful original hand painted and hand inked production cel of Sneezy set on an airbrushed (used to create the shadow and the dwarf name) wood veneer Courvoisier background. The Courvoisier portrait series from Snow White is highly desired by collectors for their beauty. Courvoisier Galleries, the first to recognize the artistic value to the newly emerging animation art form, in the 1930s and 40s created the series to sell to the public. All the characters from the film were made for the series including The Seven Dwarfs, Snow White, The Huntsman, The Old Hag, and The Evil Queen. The character cels were trimmed and applied to the wood veneer background. This is a wonderful eyes open portrait cel of a smiling Sneezy, as he holds his left finger up to his nose. A fantastic piece of vintage Walt Disney artwork, and would be a great addition to any animation art collection.

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Original Production Animation Drawing of Prince Charming from "Cinderella," 1950


Original production animation drawing of Prince Charming in brown, red, and graphite pencils from "Cinderella," 1950, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 67 in pencil lower right; Size - Prince Charming: 6 1/2 x 1 3/4", Sheet 10 x 12"; Unframed.

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

The 1950 Walt Disney feature film "Cinderella" was based on the French version of the tale by Charles Perrault, entitled "Cinderella" and written in 1698. The film was the second in the series of great Princess films developed by Disney, the first being Snow White in 1937. The character of Cinderella is usually front and center in the pantheon of Disney Princess merchandise, perhaps because she is the only Princess not to be of a noble blood line who ended up marrying a Prince and becoming royalty.

According to Christopher Finch, from his book "The Art of Walt Disney":
"Disney insisted that all scenes involving human characters should be shot first in live-action to determine that they would work before the expensive business of animation was permitted to start. The animators did not like this way of working, feeling it detracted from their ability to create character. The animators understood the necessity for this approach and in retrospect acknowledged that Disney had handled things with considerable subtlety."

 
Close up of the original production animation drawing of Prince Charming.

Prince Charming was animated by Eric Larson, who according to Andreas Deja "Confessed to some of us newcomers that he felt kind of embarrassed about the stiffness in his performance." The Prince was voiced by William Phipps, and after Phipps's initial audition; the studio was so impressed with his performance that Walt Disney himself offered him the role. William Phipps is perhaps best known for his roles in dozens of classic sci-fi and westerns, both in films and on television. It is a little known fact that Mike Douglas (yes of "The Mike Douglas Show") provided the singing voice for Prince Charming for the song "So This Is Love," as the Prince and Cinderella danced together at the Grand Ball.

A bit of trivia, not only is the name of the Prince never revealed, he is never actually referred to as "Prince Charming" in "Cinderella." His name was mentioned only in merchandise and, more recently in the various films and TV appearances of the character. Prince Charming was the first Disney Prince to participate in a duet with his respective love interest, the first Prince to be featured in a wedding celebration, and the first to  dance with his heroine just after they met.

This is an extremely rare original production animation drawing of Prince Charming from "Cinderella." He is full figure, wearing his classic yellow green coat with gold epaulets and his gold striped red pants. Production artwork is rare for "Cinderella" and, because Prince Charming was only in the film for a relatively short time, original animation drawings are very difficult to acquire. This drawing was used for the scene when single female guests at the Grand Ball were introduced to the Prince, and he greeted and bowed to each beautifully dressed girl. A great addition to any animation art collection!

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Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Original Production Animation Cel of Doc from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Doc set on an airbrushed wood veneer Courvoisier background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Partial Courvoisier label verso; Size - Doc: 3 x 3 3/4", Image 5 1/2 x 5 1/4", Mat 14 x 12"; Single matted.

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

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!


Back of the original production animation cel of Doc showing the partial Courvoisier label. 


Matted original production animation cel of Doc.

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.

Doc was not present in the original November 1935 story outline of the film as referenced by Robert D. Field in "The Art of Walt Disney." However, several months later his role in the film and his relationship with Grumpy was well established. Walt Disney commented that Doc's flustered personality should be such that he never knew quite where he is without one of his fellow dwarfs reminding him. Radio comedian Roy Atwell, who used stammering and mixed-up language in his act, was chosen to be the voice of Doc. Various Walt Disney artists were involved in the animation of Doc throughout the film including: Vladimir Tytl, Fred Moore, Shamus Culhane, Les Clark, and Ward Kimball.

This is an absolutely wonderful original hand painted and hand inked production cel of Doc set on an airbrushed (used to create the shadow and the dwarf name) wood veneer Courvoisier background. The Courvoisier portrait series from Snow White is highly desired by collectors for their beauty. Courvoisier Galleries, the first to recognize the artistic value to the newly emerging animation art form, in the 1930s and 40s created the series to sell to the public. All the characters from the film were made for the series including The Seven Dwarfs, Snow White, The Huntsman, The Old Hag, and The Evil Queen. The character cels were trimmed and applied to the wood veneer background. This is a very nice portrait of Doc with both eyes open, smiling, wearing his glasses, and his hands are out in front of him.

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Monday, March 30, 2020

Original Production Animation Cel of Jaq Mouse from "Cinderella," 1950


Original hand inked and hand painted production animation cel of Jaq Mouse set on a lithographic background from "Cinderella," 1950, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 15 in ink lower right; Size - Jaq: 5 x 4", Image 7 1/4 x 11"; Unframed. 

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

"Poor Cinderelly. Ev'ry time she find a minute, that's the time when they begin it. Cinderelly! Cinderelly!" - Jaq

The 1950 Walt Disney feature film "Cinderella" was based on the French version of the tale by Charles Perrault, entitled "Cinderella" and written in 1698. The film was the second in the series of great Princess films developed by Disney, the first being Snow White in 1937. The character of Cinderella is usually front and center in the pantheon of Disney Princess merchandise, perhaps because she is the only Princess not to be of a noble blood line who ended up marrying a Prince and becoming royalty.

Cinderella was animated by both Marc Davis and Eric Larson, however the two animators had different perceptions of the character, with Davis preferring elegance and Larson opting for simplicity. This actually worked in the film's favor, resulting in Cinderella being a much more complicated character than her predecessor Snow White. As with other Disney films, the studio hired actress Helene Stanley to perform the live-action reference for Cinderella. She would later return to the studio for the characters of Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty," 1959 and Anita Radcliffe in "One Hundred and One Dalmatians," 1961.


Original production animation cel of Jaq Mouse without the background.

About 400 women and girls auditioned for the voice role of Cinderella, but the role ended up going to Ilene Woods. Woods, who at the time worked on the radio and did not know anything about the audition, was asked one day by her colleagues Mack David and Jerry Livingston to sing a song from Cinderella. Without her knowledge, her recording was given by her friends to Disney Studios. After listening to the material Walt Disney immediately decided that he had found the voice with which to speak and sing the character of Cinderella and contacted Ilene. 

Cinderella had many mice and bird friends in the film and named mice include Mert, Bert, Luke, Suzie, and of course the two mice stars, Gus and Jaq. Gus and Jaq were both animated by Fred Moore and Ward Kimball and their animation sequences in the film many times rival the sequences revolving around Cinderella. Jaq was thin with a dark red shirt and hat and wore an orange coat, while Gus was larger, more stout in size with a green hat and wore a light green shirt that was a bit too small for him. Both had dark red shoes and both were voiced by veteran Walt Disney sound engineer and voice actor James MacDonald (who also provided the voice of Bruno the dog).

James MacDonald was a British-born voice actor and he was the original head of the Walt Disney sound effects department. In addition to directing sounds for the early Disney animated shorts such as "Mickey's Trailer," 1938, he developed many original inventions and contraptions in order to achieve unique and expressive sounds for characters like Casey Jr., the circus train engine from "Dumbo," 1941; Evinrude the dragonfly from "The Rescuers," 1977; and the bees in "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree," 1966. He also made the sound effects for Tick Tock the crocodile from "Peter Pan," 1953 and used castanets for the sound of Maleficent as the Dragon from "Sleeping Beauty" 1959. His voice acting work for Disney began early and included doing the yodeling for the Dwarfs in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937 as well as doing some sounds for Dopey such as his hiccuping and sobbing. By 1947, Walt Disney was getting too busy and too hoarse from all of his smoking to continue voicing the character of Mickey Mouse. Disney was replaced by MacDonald, who voiced some parts of Mickey for "Fun and Fancy Free," 1947. Soon MacDonald completely took over as the voice of Mickey Mouse until 1977, when he was replaced by another young Disney sound effects man Wayne Allwine.

This is an absolutely wonderful original production animation cel of Jaq Mouse. He is eyes and mouth open, and has a great big smile. He is sporting his red cap and shirt, while wearing his orange overcoat with his hands (paws) in front of him. A large image and a rarely seen character in original production artwork, and he would be a great addition to any animation art collection!

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