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The New York Times | Art & Design
March 18, 2008
Animated Repatriation: Disney Art Returns
A concept painting for “Sleeping Beauty” by the American artist and illustrator Eyvind Earle (1916-2000). A Japanese university plans to return about 250 pieces of original animation art to the Walt Disney Company that were mis-laid in storage after traveling to Japan nearly five decades ago. Photo: Disney
By CHARLES SOLOMON
Published by The New York Times: March 18, 2008
A Japanese university plans to return about 250 pieces of original animation art to the Walt Disney Company that were mislaid in storage after traveling to Japan nearly five decades ago. Disney said that the art — cels, backgrounds, preliminary paintings and storyboard sketches — was part of a collection that was handpicked by Walt Disney himself. It was sent to Japan in 1960 for a touring exhibition timed to the opening of the film “Sleeping Beauty.” The exhibition opened at Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo in May of that year and traveled to 16 other stores throughout Japan.
“Walt wanted to explain every element of the animation process, so he chose artwork from all phases of production and a number of films,” said Lella Smith, creative director of the Disney Animation Research Library in Burbank, Calif., which preserves the studio’s artwork. “But the primary focus was ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ ”
Although most of the art is from that film, the collection also includes rare set-ups (cel and background combinations) from two Oscar-winning Silly Symphony cartoons: “Flowers and Trees” (1932), the first Technicolor cartoon and the first film to win the Academy Award for animated short film, and the landmark short “Three Little Pigs” (1933).
“The ‘Flowers and Trees’ set-up is an extremely important piece,” Ms. Smith said in an interview at her office in the library. She said other highlights included two backgrounds from the “Nutcracker Suite” and “Rite of Spring” sequences in the 1940 film “Fantasia.”
Among other striking works is a sequence of images by the designer Eyvind Earle that show how he created the stylized forest backgrounds for “Sleeping Beauty.” The delicate clusters of leaves and intricately textured bark on the trees reflect Mr. Earle’s interest in 15th-century French manuscripts and the painting of Van Eyck, and foreshadow his later serigraphs.
After the department store tour, Disney donated the artwork to the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. But the material was not considered a good fit for its permanent collection, so the museum gave the pieces to Chiba University to enhance the study of the visual arts.
Chiba’s academic focus was on science, engineering and medicine, however, and the Disney art was consigned to a janitor’s closet and forgotten until it was found by chance four years ago. Although the artwork suffered some damage because of dampness, the rarest pieces were sealed in frames, which protected them somewhat.
After a year of restoration work by technicians at Disney’s Animation Research Library, some 200 works went on tour in Japan, along with 350 additional pieces lent by the studio in an exhibition titled “The Art of Disney.” The show toured seven museums around the country in 2006 and 2007, including the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art. At the end of its run, Chiba University offered to return the artwork to Disney.
In a statement Chiba University’s president, Toyoki Kozai, said, “The response to the exhibit gave us a new appreciation for the historical and artistic value of these works.”Because the university was concerned about keeping them in good condition for the next generation, he said, it “concluded that entrusting them to Disney would be the best route to take.”
In return, Disney is giving Chiba University high-resolution digital copies of the artworks and $1 million for scholarships. But both sides said the deal should not be viewed as a sale. In 1960 little value was placed on artwork from animated films, and cels were sold at Disneyland for a few dollars apiece.
Today animation art is prized by collectors, and a top-quality Earle background from “Sleeping Beauty” might sell for $20,000 to $30,000. Given the rarity of some of the pieces, it is hard to assign a dollar value to the collection over all, because nothing comparable has been offered for sale.
“...these works — they represent our artistic heritage,” Ms. Smith, of Disney, said. “...their value as archival materials for study and research is very high.”
October 10, 2006 Ed Benedict, a legendary animator who put life, love and laughter in TV cartoon characters like Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble and Yogi Bear, has died at the age of 94. Benedict began his animation career in 1930 at Walt Disney Studios.In 1952, Benedict was contacted by Tex Avery, who'd worked with him at Universal Studios. Avery invited Benedict to work on Avery's animation unit at MGM. Benedict performed lead animation and layout duties for Avery, and later for Michael Lah after Avery's departure from the studio. Benedict's work can be seen in Dixieland Droopy, The First Bad Man, and Deputy Droopy. In the late 1950's, Benedict was recruited by former MGM animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera to provide character designs for their new animated television series, The Ruff & Ready Show. Benedict eventually became the primary character designer at Hanna-Barbera, designing Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, the various characters on The Flintstones, and many others. |
In support of her Got No Strings album, a
collection of revamped Disney soundtrack classics,
MICHELLE SHOCKED is teaming up with Disney
artist David Willardson for an October 14th
art/rock performance at the Animazing Gallery
in New York City where the outspoken singer
will play while Willardson paints. His work
will stay on display at the gallery through
the holiday season . . .
