A. Film L.A. test

On the eve of one of the most spectacular Disney auctions of the later years, I want to make sure that you all are aware of it! There are items of all eras of Disney's past, and the range of material is vast! Drawings, records, merchandize, you name it, it's there to bid on. Here are a few of my favorites: (click the images!) Original parts for the Minnie's Yoo Hoo trailer by Carl Stalling! Original layouts for Mickey's Nightmare (1932)! Scenes animated by Hardie Gramatky (of Little Toot fame) and Harry Reeves under supervision by Ben Sharpsteen. Original layouts for Mickey's Mellerdrammer (1933)! Animated, again under Sharpsteen's supervision, by Jack Kinney (later director) and George Drake (later supervisor of the trainees). One of the most spectacular lots is this: A set of original KEM Weber furniture from the Burbank studio, designed around 1938-39! The auction starts tomorrow, Saturday June 18, 2016 at 11 am! You can see the info and browse the amazing ca...

No, I do not have the draft of this. The info below was used with kind permission from Didier Ghez who researched it. Though Tomorrowland had opened in Disneyland in July 1955, a few attractions were added later in the year. To pay the bills, companies were invited to invest their marketing budgets in attractions in the park. One of these was Richfield Oil, with an attraction called The World Beneath Us, which, if I remember it correctly, was near the Kaiser "Aluminum Hall of Fame," the Monsanto Hall of Chemistry, and next to the 20,000 Leagues under the Sea walk-through, opposite Circarama and the Art Corner. In the attraction, a film was shown called The Story of Oil. One of the MANY items at this weekend's auction that will find a new owner is item 649, an original background by Eyvind Earle with matching cells, which show that this was a CinemaScope production: ← Click to enlarge! Estimate: between $9,000 and $12,000. The Story of Oil was directed by Les Clark, assis...

In 2008, when the Imagineers got the go-ahead to reestablish the walk-through in Sleeping Beauty's the castle in Disneyland, there was one problem: there never had been a window related to the fight climax between Prince Phillip and Maleficent-turned-dragon, partly because there simply was no room for it, and partly because the walk-through was made before the design of the dragon was finalized. At least, that was the thought, because there was no art known for this purpose. Imagine my surprise seeing this in the catalog of this weekend's auction "The Story of Disneyland" organized by the Van Eaton Galleries that I spoke of yesterday: When it was decided to fill this real estate in the castle, an appropriate area had become freed up, and the hunt went on to find a representation of the fight to fill this spot. I was happy to be able to help forward another piece of Eyvind Earle's Sleeping Beauty works that Bob Cowan graciously photographed from his collection fo...

← Click to enlarge! I admit it freely: it took me a while to warm up to Disneyland when I first visited it in 1978. There was a disconnect between Walt the Animated Film Producer - and the park. Only after walking into the original Disneyana Shop did I find my reason to love the park. I didn't know at that time that I had met the love of my life. But enough about me... Originally I wanted to call this posting "My Collection Vindicated." If you read through the breathtaking catalog of the upcoming auction "The Story of Disneyland" organized by the Van Eaton Galleries , and you realize that the glut of items came from one man downsizing his collection... Well, it made me feel better about my stuff. One of the items is above painting by Marc Davis for the attraction "Pirates of the Caribbean," item 496. The "Bride Auction" onlookers are now themselves being auctioned. The estimate on this one is $40,000-50,000! It was featured in the preview an...

Here is another contender for my favorite item at tomorrow's big animation art auction: 502. ORIGINAL CONCEPT ARTWORK BY DAVID HALL OF CROCODILE SNIFFING CAPTAIN HOOK’S CIGARS FROM PETER PAN. (Walt Disney Studios, 1953) Original concept artwork by master concept artist David Hall accomplished in watercolors over ink and dry-brush on a leaf of illustration board measuring approx. 9 ½ in. x 12 in. featuring a crocodile in a swamp sniffing two of Captain Hook’s disposed cigars. Conceived, executed and signed by David Hall in 1939, fourteen years prior to the eventual release of the Disney film. This painting was reproduced in the February 1999 issue of Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge in a story titled “The Year that was 1939, David Hall Revisited.” From the collection of Bruce Hamilton. $6,000 – $8,000 [Did not sell.] Now, you'll ask, "What is that crocodile crockery on the right? He certainly isn't part of the auction!" Here is a revelation that I was witness to recen...

One of my absolute favorite items in Saturday's auction ! 272. ORIGINAL PAINTED WOOD MICKEY MOUSE THAT HUNG ON WALT’S PERSONAL 1963 GRUMMAN G-159 GULFSTREAM I AIRPLANE. Original hand-painted Mickey Mouse, doffing his cap and wearing pilot’s attire. This unique sign was mounted on the retractable stairs of Walt Disney’ personal airplane, a 1963 Grumman G-159 Gulfstream. Walt Disney and his Imagineers used this place to scout out the location for Walt Disney World in Florida. The sign is constructed of wood with a tail of rubber, completely hand-painted and detailed. It measures 22 in. tall x 21 in. wide. The “welcome aboard” portion of the sign is no longer present, exhibits slight scuffing and wear; otherwise, remarkable condition. A wonderful piece of Disneyana, certainly one of the most unique items ever to come up for auction. $6,000 – $8,000 [Did not sell.] How cool is that??? The Gulfstream was later also used to fly entertainers like Fulton Burley around the States to differ...

Here are a few more interesting items from Saturday's auction . Pressed for time, I'll let the descriptions speak for themselves. Some very interesting and fun items that I show here only as a sampling of what the auction has in store. If you SHOULD feel the need of bidding and donating these to me, I will not say you nay! (As if...) First, an animation layout that shows the scene is credited to Ben/Love, in other words animated by Ed Love under Ben Sharpsteen's supervision. As we have seen on early drafts on this blog, Ben Sharpsteen was put in charge of new talents, so the credit Ben/[New Guy] is very common in this period. 298. YE OLDEN DAYS ORIGINAL PAN PRODUCTION LAYOUT. (Walt Disney Studios, 1933) Original pan production layout drawing featuring a castle wall and turret from Ye Olden Days. Accomplished in pencil and red crayon with blue pencil images of Mickey Mouse to show his movement on the background. Image measures 8 in. x 15 ¾ in. on a 10 in. x 16 in. leaf of il...

More fun stuff from Saturday's auction ! Number 529 is a very special item. 529. WALT DISNEY SCRIPT AND THREE PAUL BUNYAN DRAWINGS. (Walt Disney Studios, 1958) Very unusual collection of three concept drawings for Paul Bunyan along with the transcript of the story meeting with Walt Disney at which these were drawn. Walt would call together his key story men when working out a production, and during this meeting they would discuss the story and work out some design. The extremely rare transcript gives us a look into the great deal of influence and input that Walt Disney had in his productions. A unique collection. $2,000 – $3,000 [Did not sell.] I have the good fortune to have been allowed to present a few pages to you, so here are the first five (of eleven) of the transcript of 11/5/46 (and not 1958): It is always wonderful to read story notes: you get a good sense of how the films were put together, and especially how HUGE a driving force Walt Disney himself was at these meetings...

Here are the next items on my Christmas list: two storyboard panels from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs! First item number 364: 364. ORIGINAL PRODUCTION MODEL DRAWING OF LOG ALLIGATORS FROM SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. (Walt Disney Studios, 1937) Rare model drawing of the log alligators from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Measures 6 ½ in. x 9 in. with overall dimensions 10 in. x 12 in. $600 – $800 In this case, I just like the image, such a clear way to symbolize Snow White's inner feelings about her predicament, by anthropomorphizing her surroundings. And then item number 351: 351. ORIGINAL GUSTAF TENGGREN CONCEPT LAYOUT FROM SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. (Walt Disney Studios, 1937) Stunning original pencil layout attributed to Gustav Tenggren from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Measures 5 ½ in. x 12 ¼ in. on a leaf of 8 in. x 12 in. animation paper. $10,000 – $15,000 Not much to say about this. A concept layout is not an animation layout, it is more a glorified storyb...

Dear Santa! This Saturday is the next auction of amazing animation art and memorabilia organized by reputed animation gallery owner Mike van Eaton, under the name Icons of Animation Auction . From that link you can download the catalog and get to the Bid Online pages! The next few days I will show you some of MY highlights, so you know what to stuff into my stocking on Christmas! First, item number 466: FRED MOORE ORIGINAL ARTWORK FROM THE THREE CABALLEROS, SIGNED. (Walt Disney, 1944) Original artwork by Fred Moore accomplished in pencil, ink and watercolor on an approx. 14 in. x 19 in. leaf of illustration paper featuring a Mexican dancing girl and the Three Caballeros: Donald Duck, Panchito and Joe Carioca. Inscribed at the lower right, “To Mary – with high heels, Frederic Moore.” Despite minimal formal art training, Fred Moore rose to prominence at Disney very quickly in the early 1930 due to his great natural talent and the appeal of his drawings. Moore is best known for redesignin...

The auction has ended! Some thing didn't sell, some were cheap, some VERY expensive. Walt's note to Clair Weeks: $11,210. Sleeping Beauty cell & BG: $94,400!! Walt's letter to Ub Iwerks: $247,800... That ends an amazing auction of great animation stuff. See the results on iCollector.com !

(Item #274) [Did not sell.] In the upcoming auction , we saw works of Mary Blair , Gustaf Tenggren and Kay Nielsen . One of the least famous of the Great Inspirational Artists of the Disney studios has so far been missing in this list: Ferdinand Huszti Horvath. (Well, and Al Hurter , too). Horvath is represented in the auction with above artwork. On the web, one can read: "Born in Budapest, Hungary on Aug. 28, 1891. Horvath was primarily a book illustrator. He lived in Hollywood, CA in 1937-47 and died in Riverside, CA on Nov. 11, 1973." After the outbreak of WWII, he worked for American Aviation and the Howard Hughes, "in a technical capacity on confidential designs." Joe Campagna found out that Horvath was buried in Hemet, CA. In 1976, Russ Cochran sold a whole lot of Horvath's drawings, and issued a magazine collecting his works, Graphic Gallery 8 . In it, we find these: First page at $150 per drawing, the other two pages at $250 each... Those were the day...

(Item #445) A few years ago, the ASIFA Animation Archives presented the Clair Weeks Goodbye Book : in August(*) 1952, assistant animator Clair Weeks, who started at Disney in 1936, left the studio on an invitation to start India's first animation studio, in Bombay. On the eve of his leaving, he found above note on his desk... Another fine item found in the upcoming auction ! In revisiting the ASIFA Archives, I noticed a blog posting dated two days ago: Animation Archive Temporarily Suspending Operation - I’m sorry to announce that due to lack of funding, the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive is temporarily suspending operation. I am aware that opinions about these archives and its leadership are quite strong in either direction. I must say that for some years I felt that the archive's blog's focus should have been more on animation-archive work than on rather obscure illustrators, so as to arouse interest in animation instead of giving the impression that it wasn't in ...

(Item #448) So - Ub Iwerks arrived in Hollywood and started at Disney Bros. Studio in July 1924, as we saw yesterday . The upcoming auction has another landmark document for sale, one that, I believe, has had as big an impact on the Disney future as did the fact of Ub arriving: on January 22nd, 1930, while Walt was in New York negotiating with Pat Powers, Ub quit the studio! Roy Disney then had him sign the release (note: he signed "Ubbe E. Iwwerks"), witnessed by his would-be successor Burt Gillett and an Edythe Vosburgh, and calculated his part of the studio as $2,920, for his share that now would have been worth billions of dollars. These are the papers up for sale ! As animator, Ub's resentment with the studio seems to partly have stemmed from Walt re-timing his drawings, something that may seem trivial to anyone but those in the business. Some artists deal with this matter-of-factly, others go through the roof. It seems Ub kept most of this to himself, then, just a...