Musical Instruments Dancing

Make Mine Music

Released:  August 15, 1946

Music has always been a big part of my family and my own life.  Many times when my family would travel to New Castle, Pennsylvania to visit my paternal grandfather, we would often here the sounds of the mandolin and a wonderful Italian voice as we walked up to the door.  My grandfather had a rich history with music having worked as a professional musician during 1920's & 30's playing with some of the big band greats of the time.  He was a very talented man and could play many instruments, however I remember his love for singing and in many ways it got passed along to me.  I guess it must be in the genes.

Unfortunately for me, my budget for adding new pieces is limited.  As any seasoned collector will tell you, there are always more opportunities to purchase than your budget can afford.  So careful and thoughtful planning of how you can stretch your collecting dollar to further your interest in the hobby is important.  Additionally, you should always purchase what  you love first, over what your brain might say is a good investment.  Many times I have found pieces that I love, but ultimately they take a lower priority over another piece either due to budget or my current collecting strategy.  However, on several occasions pieces that I have passed on due to budget or focus have made their way back a second time to consider for purchase.  This is one such art-piece that I had to pass during an auction, only to find it again in a private deal.

Original Production Cel Setup on production background, gouache on trimmed celluloid, watercolor on board

Artist: Various Studio, unknown

Acquired:  June 15, 2007

This multi-cel setup from the “After You’re Gone” musical sequence by the Goodman Quartet from Make Mine Music is a wonderful art piece that characterizes the more contemporary feeling portrayed in mid to late 1940’s.  Due to the limited resources and markets from the impacts of World War II, Disney produced with limited budgets musical montage films based upon contemporary music for release to American audiences.  This cel setup is a wonderful example of a Courvoisier setup that includes an original production background with cel elements trimmed to outline.  It is fun, colorful and energetic and displays how whimsical you can really get with animation.  I love the way the lines and color in the background draw you into this musical world while characters action energize the scene.   When I look at this piece, it takes me back in time to  those wonderful feelings about my paternal grandfather and his rich musical history.

The Queen Transforms

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Released:  December 21, 1937

Several years ago, I had the privilege of meeting and getting to know Snow White art collector, Stephen Ison.  Over the course of a number of conversations, Mr. Ison shared some information about his collecting interests and had offered me the chance to stop by and view his collection if I ever made it to Indianapolis.  Well being that my family lives less than two hours away in Dayton, Ohio, I could not resist the temptation to view his extensive collection and accept his offer.  Mr. Ison had just completed a move into a new house where an entire third floor of his home was dedicated to his animation collection and in particular his Snow White art.  Stacked three high all the way around the vast room, his collection was beautifully showcased in a museum like manner.   Complete with furniture crafted in Albert Hurter style, his private museum showcased the best pieces from his book published by the Indianapolis Museum of Art exhibit several years before.  I particularly wanted to see the cel setup of the magic potion scene and the background setup of Snow White at the wishing well.  Both setups were stunning and it was great fun sharing stories about our collecting experiences.  In fact you can see this setup first hand in my earlier post on my April trip to SFO.   His collecting focus with one film had rekindled my interest in acquiring pieces from this early era of Disney animation and in particular Snow White.   

Another key piece in my collection is this remarkable drawing set of the Wicked Queen.   This five drawing set is from the transformation sequence where the Queen changes from her beautiful evil self to the Old Hag after drinking the magic potion.  Depicted below is a composite of all five drawings as seen onscreen during that fateful moment.  The Queen is drawn in graphite on a 16 field animation sheet with four individual drawings for the whirlwind effects, bubbles and lightning.  I just love the detail that you can see on the bubble effects drawing alone.  Keep in mind that all elements in the screenshot were completed by hand and without the aid of modern technology that we have today.

Original production drawing composite, five production drawings, graphite and colored pencil on 16 field animation paper, digitally composited

Supervising Animator (Queen):  Art Babbitt

Effects animation: Various Studio, unknown

Scene 7a, Scene 21a  
Acquired:  September 27, 2003

This drawing setup is rare and when an animation colleague from Los Angeles offered this to me from his private collection, I could not wait to see it up close.  I am a big fan of understanding the animation process and learning the techniques on how the filmshot is ultimately created.  This drawing set really showcases that process.   In the above setup, I have composited the five drawings (using Photoshop) to illustrate how the scene would have come together in the film.  From the drawings in this set, I don't believe all of these are key to each other but they are from the same scene after examining the scene are frames apart from each other.  But you get the idea of how cool this set recreates what you see on the big screen.

To show the art further, here are the individual drawings below.  The shot starts out with the swirling effect as the bottom-most cel in the scene.  If you have been following along with most of my posts, you probably would agree with why I chose this drawing as part of my blog logo.  Enjoying this art form has a way of pulling you in!

Next, we would add the bubble effects and lightning.

We continue with the wicked Queen just before she falls out of the camera view and begins her transformation.  Art Babbit was one of the key animators who worked on the wicked Queen and he personal supervised the animation of this scene.  Considering her narcissistic personality, the Queen exemplifies a calm evil nature while remaining definingly beautiful.  One of the best Disney villains to show up on the screen even after 75 years.  She is an amazing character and to think that she is nothing more than a drawn image!

And lastly, we layer on the final effects animation cel of the counter swirl to add more dimension to the scene.

The amount of hand-drawn effects to create one frame of animation is staggering when you think of the work involved.  Very impressive setup!

Mowgli and Bagheera

The Jungle Book

Released:  October 18, 1967

With the advent of xerographic technology introduced in the late 1950’s and first used on Sleeping Beauty, the feature films of the 1960’s tried a new approach to animation.  By xeroxing the animator’s original drawings as the basis for the painted cel, the studio felt that the animator’s expression would more clearly make it to the screen.  Starting in 1961 with the release of 101 Dalmatians, all films during the 1960’s were animated in this style.  The Jungle Book took full advantage of this more modern look by blending the painted rough look of the artist drawings onscreen with the more colorful and stylized backgrounds settings.  

The last feature animation film that Walt was intimately involved with was the Jungle Book before his death on December 15, 1966.  This film would test Disney’s closest associates in animation, whom later became know as the “Nine Old Men”.  Without Walt’s persona and influence on the overall story and project, the animation studio was now challenged on how to best carry out the legacy without its original creator.   Released less than a year after his passing in1966, the Jungle Book was positively received by the public and went on to gross over $74 million in the US at the time.   Featuring memorable characters and wonderful songs by the Sherman Brothers, the Jungle Book story played well against the new stylized animation and colorful settings popular in 1960’s. 

                                       Original concept painting, watercolor on board

                                           Artist: Studio, unknown

                                           Acquired:  February 12, 2009

The concept painting depicted here is a wonderful example of the where the studio artists continued to test out new stylizes for animation.  Here you have Mowgli and Bagheera exploring the Jungle in a very colorful, painterly style.  This concept painting shows an early feeling for modern 60’s animation with its broad brushstrokes and layers of simple color.  If you look closely, you will discover this style throughout the final film.  It comes complete with pinholes and most likely was posted on one of the many development boards as the artist worked on the film.

I first saw this painting in Los Angeles at my first live Bonhams auction on Sunset Boulevard in 2004.  I flew my oldest nephew out from Ohio to meet me for one of Howard Lowery's auctions earlier in the week and a fun trip to Disneyland for his birthday.  Originally my nephew was to fly back to Ohio before the Bonhams auction was to start, but as luck would have it, LA traffic was horrible and we missed getting him to his flight.   So lucky for him he got to spend the better part the day with me and attended another animation auction at Bonhams.   As we strolled through the exhibit that morning, we both noticed this lot from Jungle book and loved the look the piece.  During this sale there were actually two pieces offered in the lot with the other being a wider piece with Mowgli riding an elephant, perhaps Colonel Hathi, painted in the same style.  Unfortunately I was not able to acquire the lot at the time.   Several years later it was offered to me and I was able to purchase it privately from another animation colleague.  Again, I love that art has a soul and a way of finding you a second time.  

Another Diversion in SFO - Chuck Jones

April 5, 2013

Chuck Jones Exhibit,
Museum of Cartoon Art,
San Francisco, CA


One of the great reasons to visit San Francisco is the climate, city life, the food/restaurants and because it also has many great museums.  During the same trip to visit the Snow White Exhibit, I also discovered Museum of Cartoon Art located at 655 Mission Street in the downtown San Francisco.  It just happened that the same weekend I was there they were hosting an exhibit of "Chuck Jones:  Drawing on Imagination:  100 Years of an animated artist."  Being that I am principally a fan of Disney animation I have always focused my collection in that area, I do however love a number of the Chuck Jones direct animation projects such as "Grinch" and "Horton."  His work at Warner Brothers offers some very memorable classic animation as well.  It was another treat to see some vintage work by this master, who by the way also worked at Disney for a brief stint after Warner Bros shut down their animation studio in the 50's.

 

The exhibit had a number of wonderful pieces including many drawings, backgrounds, cels and concept work showcasing Chuck Jones career in animation with both television and feature animation.  I thought I would share a number of my favorites from the exhibit.  Enjoy below!

Here are some wonderful closeups of the large pan drawing with Horton.... 

As you continued in the exhibit, I loved these drawings of Wile Coyote and Roadrunner.

Continuing some really nice production backgrounds.

From A Feather in His Hair, 1948

Production background from Go Fly A Kite, 1957

From Boyhood Daze, 1957

Nice concept from the Grinch and a stylized maquette that was Chuck Jones office during his working days.

If you are interested, you can read more about the Chuck Jones exhibit at the museum's website.

Ariel and Flounder

Little Mermaid

Released:  November 17, 1989

The very first Disney animated film that I went to see as an adult was the Little Mermaid.  I was in college full-time, working a part time job when a friend of mine suggested we go to see the new Disney film out in theaters.  She had heard it was a good film and I was up for a break from my studies.  As Ariel’s story unfolded on the big screen, all of the wonderful emotions with animation that I experienced as a kid flooded my mind.  I loved the story, the music, the staging and to think that practically everything you saw on the screen was actually hand drawn seemed amazing to me.  How many bubbles did they have to draw?

The Little Mermaid was significant on many fronts, and after the success of Roger Rabbit it really signaled the beginning of Disney’s second golden age of animation.  It brought together Howard Ashman and Alan Mencken, two talented Broadway music veterans who were instrumental in bringing back the Disney magic.  The film was also the last animated feature to use hand painted cels done in the traditional style since the days of Snow White.  Disney animator’s incorporated memorable characters, great story-telling and wonderful humor while connecting with a delightful score and memorable songs.  The film went on to win two academy awards, became the highest grossing animated film at the time (over $200 million worldwide) and entertained us in way that we had not really seen since Walt’s passing.

     Original Key Master setup, gouache on celluloid, watercolor on paper

     Supervising Animator - Ariel:  Glenn Keene

     Background Artist: Lisa Keane

     Sequence 1, Scene 14

     Acquired:  April 27, 2012

The holy grail in any animation collection is the key master setup, a collection of production elements all of which go under the camera to create a single frame in the film.  Unfortunately for me, I was not aware that Disney had sold these types of setups through Sotheby’s until the Lion King sale in 1995.  When I first started building an animation collection, I got to view this key master setup up for sale at my first Christies New York auction in 1995.     Unfortunately, I was not able to acquire it at the time.  Fast forward years later, this piece came back up on the auction block by Philip Weiss, an auctioneer I befriended in the 90’s who has been featured on the Antiques Roadshow.  Comprised of a two cel setup, production overlay and a watercolor background, this key master is one of the best from the original auction and beautifully portrays Ariel and Flounder’s story from the film.  In this scene Flounder is nervous and scared of encountering a shark which causes him to stumble into a skeleton and coming crashing into Ariel during this shot.

As I mentioned in a prior post I really love to understand how the screen shot is setup from a production process standpoint.  I also believe that you can learn a great deal about the piece when you get the chance to examine it up close and understand its' essential elements.  The above image is an uncropped and raw version which clearly shows a lot more detail particularly with the production overlays in the foreground.  After I purchased this piece I learned that Lisa Keene was the artist.  She worked for Disney nearly 25 years and contributed to a number of Disney's best contemporary classics from Beauty & the Beast, Lion King,  Hunchback, Enchanted, Tangled and others.  You can learn more about her work at her own website.

If you are lucky enough to find a multi-cel setup such as a key master, why not try framing and displaying the piece with a multi-plane effect.  Considering this piece had four separate production elements, that is precisely what I did to visually recreate the multi-plane camera effect when viewing this art on the wall.  I separated each element (cels and overlay) by spacing the matting them individually against the background.  Using conversation materials, this framing design also helps to protect each production element from reacting each with other (ie. moisture content or chemically attracting one layer to another).  When you combine the painting in this visual format it gives you the 3D effect.  

You can actually look around the foreground elements to see what is behind.  Makes it more appealing when enjoying the piece in your own gallery at home.  Fun!

I Wonder, I Wonder....

Briar Rose and forest friends

Sleeping Beauty

Released:  January 29, 1955

This film is one of my all time favorites from the 1950’s.  I remember receiving when I was a child a four volume set of Disney books titled the "Wonderful Worlds of Walt Disney" published by Golden Press in 1965.  One of the volumes titled "Fantasyland" chronicled many of the Disney stories based on classic fairy tales including Sleeping Beauty.  This book sparked my imagination with castles, knights and kings and allowed me to escape to a place where I could pretend and have some fun.  Illustrated throughout with colorful storybook art evoking the feature film, these wonderful books helped me to imagine, hold and visualize in the comfort of my own room the essence of Disney animation.  When I finally saw Sleeping Beauty (on television) for the first time as an adult, I understood the beauty and the complexity that this film portrayed in whole new way.  I could probably trace back my love for Disney art at a very early age with these very books.

        

One of my favorite scenes from this classic story is the forest sequence where Briar Rose meets her forest friends and and sings the song, "I Wonder..."  I love Mary Costa's voice and technique in this segment.  Her clear operatic tone adds to the mystery of the sequence and compliments the background imagery of the tall trees and cathedral like setting in the forest.  Picture below is a wonderful concept sketch really illustrates this feeling for the sequence and sets up the locale for the one of my favorite cel setups in the collection.

     Original concept story sketch, conte crayon on paper

     Artist:  Unknown Studio

     Acquired:  May 26, 2010

The production cel setup below was my first animation cel of a Disney heroine, Briar Rose, and is comprised of two separate cel levels purchased separately.  After finding the cel of Briar Rose, a number of years later I was able to acquire a great companion cel of her forest friends whereby I combined the two to create the setup you see here.  What is really special about this piece, is that Briar Rose is on a full technirama cel sheet with production numbers and measures approximately three feet wide.  Most cel setups for this film had to be painted in the wide format due to the film being shot on 70mm film or widescreen Cinemascope.  Very few cels from the film remained untrimmed as they were prepared for sale through Disneyland’s Art Corner shop in Tomorrowland during the 60’s.

In this particular cel scene, Briar Rose is talking with her forest friends and states...."Oh, we walk together and talk together......and just before we say goodbye, he takes me in his arms and then?....... I wake up!"

 Original production cel setup, gouache on celluloid, photographic background

 Supervising Animator: Briar Rose - Marc Davis

 Acquired:  November 1, 1996

One of the beautiful qualities of this piece is the line work on the topside of the cel.  Notice the different colors and the exacting detail that was painstakingly completed by hand.  It is amazing to think that up to 24 cels may have done to complete one second of animation!  I have attached a nice closeup so that you can see the exquisite detail in the line-work done at the Disney Studio.  It is also important to note that Sleeping Beauty was on of the last films to have such intricate line work.  Xerographic technology was introduced in the late 1950's and was used in this film for the first time in a couple of scenes.  As was tradition at the studio, all cels were hand-inked and painted by women.  

In this scene, Briar Rose has been sent out to pick berries while the good fairies prepare for her 16th birthday celebration.  While wandering in the forest, Sleeping Beauty is greeted by her forest friends where she begins to share her fantasy story about her dream prince.   Marc Davis, who was a master draftsman at creating female characters, was the supervising animator for Briar Rose and developed the look and feel of her character.  This cel wonderfully portrays Briar Rose’s energy and warmth as she talks to her friends. 

We are Siamese, if you please!

Lady and the Tramp

Released:  June 22, 1955                     

Ever since I can remember, my mother had always had a pet cat in the house.  First there was Duchess, next there was Ginger, and there was Coco, Charlie and now Michael.  All of them became immediate members of the family, playfully mischievous.  However, Coco who was our pedigree seal point Siamese was the most vocal and had the most interactive personality of them all.  It is no wonder that Disney would include a Siamese cat in one of his films considering how distinctive their personality’s really are.  How about two then?

Just like our pet cat Coco (who lived to be almost 15 years old), Si and Am show what typical Siamese cats are all about.  This production cel setup featuring both of the mischievous felines from Lady and the Tramp displays their wonderful personalities while being antagonists with Lady.  In this scene they have just finished wreaking havoc in the music room only to upset Lady.  The production cels in the piece are trimmed to outline and feature an original production background from a different scene where Lady looks around the corner trying to understand what a cat really is.

                 Original production cel setup with master background, gouache on trimmed celluloid, 

                    watercolor on board 

                  Artist:  Various Studio, unknown

                  Acquired:  December 20, 2009

During the 1950’s, it was typical for the Disney studio art props department to prepare production animation art for gifts given by Walt Disney.  In this particular piece, a studio artist embellished the background to enhance its overall appeal with the knocked over flower vase and one of the roses carefully placed in Si’s mouth.  One of the unique features of this film was the artist perspective used to tell the story.   Throughout the film, Disney artists set the scene from the eyes of dog (or cat in this case) to bring the viewer into the film at a lower perspective.  Additionally, this was the first feature film shot in Cinemascope or 70 mm film which physically widened the visual landscape.  This piece reminds me of the wonderful memories of my childhood when Coco would playfully wreak havoc in the house, just like Si and Am.

Kenai and Koda

Brother Bear

Released:  November 1, 2003

One of the last films to be produced at the Disney animation studio in Florida, Brother Bear is a wonderful, heart-warming story of new-found brotherhood in the most unusual circumstance.  Set in a period sometime around the last ice age or just after, the story unfolds in a setting much like modern day Alaska.  In fact many of the artists and key production staff visited Alaska to understand and capture the beauty of the state to help set the environment for the film.  They even visited the famous McNeil River Sanctuary just across the Cook Inlet to get a first hand look at Alaska’s famous grizzly bears up close in 1999.

Original maquette, cast resin with primer paint, numbered 17

Sculptor: Tony Cipriano

Reproduction Artist: Doug Hild
Acquired:  October 26, 2003

I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to add this wonderful production maquette to my collection.   Just shortly after having visited the Florida studio, much to my surprise the animation gallery decided to sell the actual display maquettes right from the animation tour display cases.  This maquette, based upon a concept drawing by producer Byron Howard, captures the trusting spirit of Kenai and the younger Koda.   It is marked number 17 on the bottom, features a detachable Koda and was sculpted by Tony Cipriano.  I love how the sculpture evokes the spirit of the story.  It sits proudly in my gallery reminding me of my own Alaska setting, all wrapped up in an animated art piece.

Here are some other shots of the piece in my home gallery around the time I purchased it.  This is a great maquette!

Noah’s Ark and Animals

Fantasia 2000

Released:  December 17, 1999       

Early on in the 90’s I had heard through a number of my animation friends about a new feature film in the works that would continue Walt’s vision for a new Fantasia.  The film was actually the brain child of Roy Disney who had thought of the idea back in the 70’s but had waited till 1990 to actually pitch the project.  Work on the film began in earnest throughout much of the 90’s and was slated for a special release at the end of that decade.

I was naturally interested in any subsequent Fantasia sequel particularly if it embodied the artistry that we saw in the original Fantasia.  It is amazing to me when you think back to the late 1930’s how technically beautiful the first film was on the screen and how it combined music and art  without the use of computers or modern technology.  Fantasia 2000 had a legacy to follow and it did not disappoint.  What is also particularly special to me was Disney’s choice for musical arrangements.  Peter Schickele, also known as PDQ Bach, was selected to assist James Levine, director of the Chicago Symphony, with all of the musical arrangements.  During my college years while studying business, I also studied classical voice and was privileged to meet and collaborate with Mr. Schickele during my master voice classes at University of Alaska Fairbanks.  It was a thrill to work alongside such a talented and accomplished musician.

                                           Original key master setup, gouache on celluloid, watercolor on board

                                           Background Artist:  Michael Kurinsky

                                           Animators:   Various Studio, Unknown

                                           Sequence 4.5, Scene 2.5

                                           Acquired:  December 13, 2002

Fantasia 2000 embodied the spirit of how animation can really be fun alongside the seriousness of classical music all in a modern day setting.  I particularly loved how the animator’s wanted to showcase Donald Duck with his personal style into the story of Noah’s Ark while set to the tune of Pomp & Circumstance.  This key master setup was one of those show-stopping pieces for sale in Disney’s original auction in 2000 that ended up being way beyond my budget.  I particularly remember reflecting how fun and characteristic this setup portrayed that spirit in the film.  This setup had high appeal and was the top auction piece out the 19 cel setups sold from this segment.  Fast forward several years post the “Dot Com” bubble burst, I was offered the opportunity to purchase the piece.  I remember reflecting during that auction, that I would love to own this piece one day.....I just find it amazing and funny how, art can oftentimes finds you, instead of you finding it.

As with many key master setups, this piece is a composite from several separate paintings, all of which combine in the final camera shot.  As I was cataloging this piece for my collection, I like to deconstruct the piece and scan each level.  You never know what you will learn or discovery when doing this with the art and over the years I have found some unexpected surprises when I just took the time to take a closer look.   As the studio developed the shot they broke-down the background into five key elements as shown below.

The sky was painted in gouache watercolor on crescent board number 16 and notated with the scene and production markings.  When examining the background, I also took a look at the backside and noted that this piece was produced nearly four years before the release of the film in 1996.  

The next levels all composite the respective foreground elements that include the clouds (so they could be manipulated if necessary) and the deck of the ark as shown below.

Next, different components of the deck were layered on different cel levels to build up the Noah's Ark.

Now, the shadows for the animals were painted on to a cel level with transparent paint.

Completing the final scene, the character animation cel(s) was placed last.

This is a great piece.....and one that as I mentioned is rather iconic for the sequence and the film.