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Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Original Production Animation Cel of Duchess from "The Aristocats," 1970

Original hand painted production animation cel of Duchess from "The Aristocats," 1970; Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 70 in ink lower right; Set over a lithographic background; Size - Duchess: 3 1/4 x 3 1/2", Image: 10 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


"Boy! Your eyes ARE like sapphires." - Thomas O'Malley speaking to Duchess

"The Aristocats," 1970 is an animated feature film produced and released by Walt Disney Productions.  This was the last film project to be approved by Walt Disney himself, as he died in late 1966, before the film was finally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on December 11, 1970. "The Aristocats" featured the voice talent of Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Phil Harris, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, and Roddy Maude-Roxby. 

The film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and centers around a family of aristocratic cats. After the mistress's butler kidnaps them (to gain his mistress' fortune which was intended to go to the cats) an unlikely alley cat acquaintance helps them escape and be returned to their home.

Duchess is a long-haired purebred white Turkish Angora cat with blue eyes (shining like sapphires) and wearing a gold and jeweled collar that is studded with diamonds. She is the mother of three kittens; Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse and her owner is the aristocratic Madame Adelaide Bonfamille. Duchess was voiced by Eva Gabor who was a Hungarian-born American socialite and actress. Robie Lester who was an American Grammy-nominated voice artist and singer, provided the singing voice for Duchess.
 
 
Original production animation cel of Duchess without the background.

According to veteran Walt Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"Duchess was animated by quite a few artists, I would say that Ollie Johnston did some of the nicest scenes, educating the kittens etc.. Frank Thomas came up with good acting scenes as well, when Duchess meets O'Malley for the first time, and when she says goodbye to him at the end of the movie. Milt Kahl set her basic design based on Ken Anderson's drawings."

Abraham DeLacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley (simply known as Thomas O'Malley) the alley cat was also animated by Ollie Johnston and Milt Kahl. O'Malley was marvelously voiced by Phil Harris, who was an American singer, songwriter, jazz musician, actor, and comedian. Harris also worked as a voice actor for two other Walt Disney animated feature films: "The Jungle Book," 1967 as Baloo the Bear and "Robin Hood," 1973 as Little John (another bear).

Thomas O'Malley had referred to Duchess's eyes as sapphires earlier in the film, but at that time he was using it merely as a pickup line. This is an absolutely spectacular original production cel of Duchess. She is full figure, with both her sapphire blue eyes and mouth open. A beautiful image of Duchess and a great addition to any animation art collection!

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Monday, November 7, 2022

Original Production Animation Cel of Duchess from "The Aristocats," 1970

 

Original hand painted production animation cel of Duchess from "The Aristocats," 1970; Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 17 in ink lower right; Set over a lithographic background; Size - Duchess: 5 1/4 x 2 1/2", Image: 8 3/4 x 15 3/4"; Unframed.


"Boy! Your eyes ARE like sapphires." - Thomas O'Malley speaking to Duchess

"The Aristocats," 1970 is an animated feature film produced and released by Walt Disney Productions.  This was the last film project to be approved by Walt Disney himself, as he died in late 1966, before the film was finally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on December 11, 1970. "The Aristocats" featured the voice talent of Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Phil Harris, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, and Roddy Maude-Roxby. 

The film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and centers around a family of aristocratic cats. After the mistress's butler kidnaps them (to gain his mistress' fortune which was intended to go to the cats) an unlikely alley cat acquaintance helps them escape and be returned to their home.

Duchess is a long-haired purebred white Turkish Angora cat with blue eyes (shining like sapphires) and wearing a gold and jeweled collar that is studded with diamonds. She is the mother of three kittens; Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse and her owner is the aristocratic Madame Adelaide Bonfamille. Duchess was voiced by Eva Gabor who was a Hungarian-born American socialite and actress. Robie Lester who was an American Grammy-nominated voice artist and singer, provided the singing voice for Duchess.


Original production animation cel of Duchess without the background.

According to veteran Walt Disney animator Andreas Deja:
"Duchess was animated by quite a few artists, I would say that Ollie Johnston did some of the nicest scenes, educating the kittens etc.. Frank Thomas came up with good acting scenes as well, when Duchess meets O'Malley for the first time, and when she says goodbye to him at the end of the movie. Milt Kahl set her basic design based on Ken Anderson's drawings."

Abraham DeLacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley (simply known as Thomas O'Malley) the alley cat was also animated by Ollie Johnston and Milt Kahl. O'Malley was marvelously voiced by Phil Harris, who was an American singer, songwriter, jazz musician, actor, and comedian. Harris also worked as a voice actor for two other Walt Disney animated feature films: "The Jungle Book," 1967 as Baloo the Bear and "Robin Hood," 1973 as Little John (another bear).

Thomas O'Malley had referred to Duchess's eyes as sapphires earlier in the film, but at that time he was using it merely as a pickup line. This is an absolutely spectacular original production cel of Duchess with both her sapphire blue eyes open and she is sporting a coy smile. A beautiful image of Duchess and a great addition to any animation art collection!

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Sunday, November 6, 2022

Original Production Animation Drawing of Mickey Mouse and Ice from "On Ice," 1935

Original production animation drawing of Mickey Mouse and Ice from "On Ice," 1935, Walt Disney Studios; Green, blue, red and graphite pencils on peg hole paper; Numbered 143 in pencil lower right; Size - Mickey Mouse, Ice, & Ripple Effects: 4 3/4 x 10", Sheet 9 1/2 x 12"; Unframed.

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

"On Ice," 1935 is a Walt Disney animated short film directed by Ben Sharpsteen, music by Bert Lewis, written by Webb Smith, and distributed by United Artists. It stared the voice talents of Marcellite Garner (Minnie Mouse), Pinto Colvig (Goofy), Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse), and Clarence Nash (Donald Duck). Animation was done by Paul Allen, Milt Kahl, Fred Spencer, Art Babbitt, Johnny Cannon, Norman Ferguson, Eric Larson, John McManus, Webb Smith, Don Towsley, and Marvin Woodward.


Close up of the Mickey Mouse and Ice production drawing.

The story of "On Ice" revolves around three different storylines that all take place during the winter on a frozen lake. At the beginning of the film, Mickey Mouse is helping Minnie Mouse to learn how to skate. The second storyline has Goofy attempting to catch fish by dropping chewing tobacco through a hole cut into the ice lake. Once the fish begin chewing, they are forced to come up to the surface to spit and Goofy attempts to knock them unconscious. The third storyline involves Donald Duck pulling a prank on Pluto by putting ice skates on his feet and luring him out onto the ice. Poor Pluto slips and slides on the ice and Donald laughs and pokes fun at him. The three story lines merge when Donald skates around Pluto with a kite on his back. The wind picks up and sends him flying over a waterfall. Mickey hears his cries for help and saves him by pulling on the yarns of his sweater. Donald ends up landing in the ice hole where Goofy is fishing.

This is a wonderful drawing of Mickey Mouse skating on a round piece of floating ice surrounded by water ripples and other floating sheets of ice to the left and right. The drawing has a large centered full figure image of Mickey ice skating with his scarf billowing in front of him. His left foot, complete with ice skate, is raised in front of him and he has a huge smile. This is a fantastic very detailed drawing from a 1930's Walt Disney cartoon short, and would be a standout for any animation art collection!

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Saturday, November 5, 2022

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


Original production animation drawing of Baloo The Bear and Mowgli in graphite pencil from "The Jungle Book," 1967, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 8 in pencil lower right; Size - Baloo The Bear & Mowgli: 7 x 4 1/4", Sheet 12 x 15 1/2"; Unframed.


"Look for the, bare necessities.
The simple bare necessities.
Forget about your worries and your strife."
- Baloo The Bear 

"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.
 
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.

"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.

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. 


Close up of the Baloo The Bear and Mowgli original production animation drawing.

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."
 
This is a wonderful full figure, eyes and mouth open, and smiling image of Baloo The Bear holding Mowgli. The drawing is from the scene when Baloo and Bagheea rescue Mowgli from King Louie and his monkey minions. When a stone pillar is knocked out of the temple complex, it begins to crumble, and King Louie rushes to prop it up. At the very last moment, Baloo manages to grab a very surprised Mowgli. John Lounsbery, one of Walt Disney's master animators and one of the famous Nine Old Men, surpervised the animation of this scene. Drawings from the King Louie ruins scene are very rare and this is an extremely scarce clean-up drawing; making it even rarer to appear in the open market, much less offered for sale. The drawing is an impressive seven inches tall, and would be a fantastic and important addition to any animation art collection!

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Friday, November 4, 2022

Original production animation drawing of Dumbo from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," 1988


Original production animation drawing of Dumbo in graphite pencil from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?," 1988, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 14 lower right; Size - Dumbo: 4 1/2 x 4", Sheet 11 3/4 x 16"; Unframed.

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

"I got him on loan from Disney." - R. K. Maroon

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit," 1988 is a Walt Disney live-action/animated fantasy featured film that was released on June 22, 1988. The film was produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's 1981 novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" The film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, and Joanne Cassidy. Combining live-action with animation, the story follows a private detective, Eddie Valiant, who must exonerate "Toon" Roger Rabbit who is accused of murdering a wealthy businessman. The film was a blockbuster and critical success wining three Academy Awards and a Special Achievement Award. The film grossed $329,803,958 in 1988, and at the time of release was the twentieth highest grossing film of all time. In 2016 the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Walt Disney Pictures purchased the film rights for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in 1981 and in 1985 the project was revamped by Michael Eisner, the new CEO of Disney. Eisner brought in executive producer Steven Spielberg and his production company Amblin Entertainment. Spielberg convinced Warner Bros., Fleischer Studios, King Features Syndicate, Felix the Cat Productions, Turner Entertainment, and Universal Pictures/Walter Lantz Productions to "lend" their character to appear in the film; although many had stipulations were added about how the characters could be portrayed. For example Disney's Donald Duck and Warner Bros. Daffy Duck would appear as equally-talented dueling pianists; and Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny would also share equal time for their first ever animated screen scene together. Spielberg's negotiations contributed to audience admiration for the film because of a large number of famous animated characters appearing together for the first time. The cast of characters, combined with brilliant animation that was integrated with seamless live action, made the film a visual masterpiece!


Close up of the Dumbo original production animation drawing.
 
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." 
 
Drawings from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" are rare to appear on the market, and because there was very little screen time for Dumbo, this makes this drawing all the more rare. This is an iconic pose of Dumbo, as he is flying with his ears extended. This Dumbo drawing appears in the scene when he suddenly appears outside of R. K. Maroon's studio office and the cartoon producer says to Eddie Valiant, "I got him on loan from Disney." A spectacular image and great piece of production artwork that is perfect for any Walt Disney animation collection!

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Original Production Animation Drawing of Snow White and a Blue Bird from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937

Original production animation drawing of Snow White and a Bluebird from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Graphite, red, and green pencils on peg hole paper; Numbered 117 in pencil lower right; Stamped production numbers lower left; Size - Snow White & Bluebird: 6 x 2 3/4", Sheet 10 x 12"; Unframed.

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

“Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow.”
―The Magic Mirror describing Snow White

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!


Close up of the Snow White and Blue Bird production drawing.

A large number of actresses auditioned for the voice of Snow White. Walt Disney listened to each audition in his office while the actress performed in another room, without any knowledge of the actress' appearance or reputation. This would insure that he would only judge based on the sound of the voice. According to later accounts, most of the voices Disney felt, did not sound young enough. Eventually, in September of 1935, Adriana Caselotti was chosen for the voice of Snow White. Caselotti was eighteen at the time and made her coloraturo soprano sound younger, knowing that the character was intended to be 14 years old. In recording sessions Caselotti found difficulty in the line, "Grumpy, I didn't know you cared"; instead of "didn't", Caselotti was only able to say "din". After rehearsing the line many times, Walt Disney eventually said "Oh, the heck with..." and "din'" remained in the final film.

Snow White's design was supervised by Grim Natwick, an animator who had previously developed and worked on Betty Boop at Fleischer Studios. It is interesting to note that early designs for the Snow White resemble Betty Boop, and some appear to be caricatures of famous actresses of the time. As development continued, Snow White became more and more lifelike. Another animator, Hamilton Luske's first designs for Snow White depicted her as a slightly awkward, gangly teenager. However, Walt Disney had a different idea in mind; he wanted Snow White to be older, and more realistic-looking. This was achieved by the use of live-action references for the animators. Also, in order for Snow White to better relate onscreen to the seven Dwarfs, it was decided that her head be slightly larger than normal. In addition, the women in the animation studio's ink and paint department felt that Snow White's black hair was too unnatural and harsh, so they drybrushed whisps of light grey over the top of each and every cel.

This particular drawing is from the "Whistle While You Work" song sequence which occurs at the Dwarf cottage. Snow White and her animal friends begin to clean up the Dwarf's home while she his singing. The sequence is one of the most beautiful in the film, and the song (music written by Frank Churchill with lyrics by Larry Morey) has become a staple of Pop culture. This is a beautiful drawing of a full figure Snow White holding a broom with small Blue Bird perched on her index finger, as she is cleaning the Dwarf cottage. An absolutely spectacular drawing accomplished in graphite, green, and red pencils, perfect for any animation art collection!

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


  Original production animation drawing of Briar Rose in graphite pencil from "Sleeping Beauty," 1959, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 18 in pencil and animation ladder lower right; Size - Briar Rose: 7 x 4 1/4", 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."


Close up of the original production animation drawing of Briar Rose.
 
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 drawing of Briar Rose. This is an absolutely beautiful original production drawing of Briar Rose. She is eyes open, her shawl is draped over her shoulders, and she holding her basket in her lap while smiling. A wonderful addition to any animation art collection!

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