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Disney Courvoisier Animation Art
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8 posts in this topic

Does anybody collect these? I never heard of them prior to a couple of days ago. 

If you don't know what they are here's a good summary or two. Basically these are animation cels that have backgrounds made by Disney Animators specifically for these cells (at least the Snow White ones do). The 1939 and older are more desirable because of these backgrounds and the fact that the later ones were laminated and can cost 4 to 6 figures (maybe more - a Courvoisier of the Queen from Snow White sold at auction in 1988 for over $50,000). These were all framed at the time and you can help prove the provenance because of the frames and set-ups in these frames and how they are marked.

Here's a couple of examples.

 

 

 

 

Dwarfs2_2048x.jpg

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Edited by kbmcvay
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Though a very inaccurate comparison, these are the "Mile High" equivalents for animation cels. Courvoisier was a gallery in SF which contracted with Disney early on. The backgrounds were often made of wood, and the mats were specially cut for each cel. Interestingly, the cels themselves were often cut to the figure, so there was "restoration" and "trimming" at the point of sale! There is always a WDP logo and most often a handwritten title on the mat. Recently, a company has revived the Courvoisier label and is offering modern reproductions. That company is out of Westlake Village CA.

Edited by comicparadox
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I remember looking up Courvoisier when Heritage mentioned it a bunch of times in their artwork auctions some years ago. I posted this Disney cel museum video I think when we were talking about Dragon's Lair.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkLU5kffkSw

 

The link works but the site says it can't be embedded.

 

I got this D23 magazine back then when I was looking into Disney cel stuff. It's oversized with a replica Snow White cel that you see on the cover.

763680958_d23magazine.thumb.jpg.c8a178b1a4aef5bcbf5461d5e8e62932.jpg

 

I wish I was earlier getting into cels. I keep hearing stories about cels for sale on the way out at Disney Land and World. Also, there were cel gallery stores in malls. Comic and anime conventions with prime cels.

Condition is also a concern as cels degrade if they aren't stored properly. The really old Disney ones were flammable. But more modern ones depending on the material used and storage conditions can get vinegar syndrome similar to film. Here is video tour of Disney's storage place.

 

Edited by GeneticNinja
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Although the cels were trimmed, Courvoisier was the first to market the cels in a presentable fashion and sell them as art.  

Most acetate cels at that time were expensive so they were often cleaned and reused.  This added to the rarity of earlier production cels.

In the modern era, Disney did a better job at marketing their cels as matted and framed art with the COA on the cel itself.  Disney controlled the supply by releasing them incrementally at their theme park stores.  I remember decent cels from the "Little Mermaid" featuring Ariel, going for about $3500.

Warner Brothers attempted to follow the Disney model by selling cels at their WB stores.  While Disney was selling cels from animated movies, WB was selling cels from television show cartoons.  

The downfall was when AOL bought out Time-Warner.  AOL didn't know or appreciate what they had and essentially liquidated their animation cels.  They flooded the market and discounted the prices.  Eventually, Clampett Studios bought out the remaining inventory of WB animation cels and restored inventory control.  Prices of cels stabilized at that point.

While animation cels are no longer as popular as one of a kind original comic art, they are still collectible.

For one, the color makes the art pop.  From a nostalgia perspective, you can't beat cartoons.  Pair an oversized horizontal pan piece animation cel with a matching original background art and you have your version of high end art.

Edited by NelsonAI
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9 hours ago, NelsonAI said:

Although the cels were trimmed, Courvoisier was the first to market the cels in a presentable fashion and sell them as art.  

Most acetate cels at that time were expensive so they were often cleaned and reused.  This added to the rarity of earlier production cels.

In the modern era, Disney did a better job at marketing their cels as matted and framed art with the COA on the cel itself.  Disney controlled the supply by releasing them incrementally at their theme park stores.  I remember decent cels from the "Little Mermaid" featuring Ariel, going for about $3500.

Warner Brothers attempted to follow the Disney model by selling cels at their WB stores.  While Disney was selling cels from animated movies, WB was selling cels from television show cartoons.  

The downfall was when AOL bought out Time-Warner.  AOL didn't know or appreciate what they had and essentially liquidated their animation cels.  They flooded the market and discounted the prices.  Eventually, Clampett Studios bought out the remaining inventory of WB animation cels and restored inventory control.  Prices of cels stabilized at that point.

While animation cels are no longer as popular as one of a kind original comic art, they are still collectible.

For one, the color makes the art pop.  From a nostalgia perspective, you can't beat cartoons.  Pair an oversized horizontal pan piece animation cel with a matching original background art and you have your version of high end art.

Around what year did you see these $3500 Little Mermaid cels?

I can't remember seeing the cels at stores on the way out of Disney myself. I was too young for art type stuff. I believe toys, stuffed animals, and small video games were the things I would get at Disney back then. The only art I remember getting at Disney was at I believe either at the entrance or in the Contemporary Resort arcade. The artist there drew a caricature of me. Sadly, I don't have it anymore.

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Early 1990's?

The cels with Ariel as the Mermaid commanded top $.  Cels with her as a "human with feet" commanded less $.

Same with secondary characters.  Maybe $2K if I recall correctly.  Most adults probably had no idea what they were and gagged at the prices.

Disney did not have a separate gallery.  I saw them hanging on the walls closer to the back in their stores with prices on them.

 

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17 hours ago, NelsonAI said:

Early 1990's?

The cels with Ariel as the Mermaid commanded top $.  Cels with her as a "human with feet" commanded less $.

Same with secondary characters.  Maybe $2K if I recall correctly.  Most adults probably had no idea what they were and gagged at the prices.

Disney did not have a separate gallery.  I saw them hanging on the walls closer to the back in their stores with prices on them.

 

Ok. Are you talking the actual Disney Store? I never checked those. I was talking about the smaller souvenir shops at Disney Parks on the way in and out. Perhaps they had other shops that would sell cels. I found my vintage maps and I'll take a look. But I'm talking around the 70s or 80s.

In the 90s was when I noticed specialized cel gallery stores. Those places were setup like professional art galleries with people in suits and desks like they were working out business deals. I only glanced in a few of those on my way to video game stores. I think I went to one in Coconut Grove. I never went into Disney Store looking for cels. Never checked out WB Store either.

Speaking about Disney cels. I see Van Eaton has some in their upcoming auction.

https://vegalleries.com/releases/walt-disney-the-man-the-studio-and-the-parks

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