A magnificent production cel from Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) is one of the lead lots in Heritage Auctions' November 20 & 24 Animation Art Signature Auction in Beverly Hills.
![]() Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first feature-length animation from Disney, and memorabilia from the film is highly sought after |
The piece is a fantastic item from the Disney Studio's first feature-length animated film, starring all seven of the dwarves on a Courvoisier background. It is expected to bring more than $25,000.
Following will be a production cel from Pinocchio, featuring Pinocchio and Geppetto together, which is one of a small group of hand-painted set ups from the landmark Disney film.
It is joined by a "museum-quality" Sleeping Beauty background attributed to master animator Eyvind Earle, who hand-painted almost every background in the film, some of which took up to 10 hours.
![]() Barbera's idea was never realised, though it kick-started his long and illustrious career |
Also expected to see more than $25,000 is a group of 43 animation storyboard drawings that represent the very first script written by the legendary Joe Barbera, co-founder of Hanna-Barbera. Created while working from Paul Terry's animation studio, the storyboard follows Barbera's creation Kiko the Kangaroo.
"As cartoon characters go, Kiko the Kangaroo was just terrible, but he had more promise than any of the others," Barbera explains in his autobiography.
![]() Memorabilia from Charles Schulz's Peanuts is among some of the most coveted among collectors |
The ever-popular Charles Schulz is represented by what Heritage Auctions describes as "one of the most amazing pieces we have ever come across", a hand-painted size-comparison pan model cel comprised of 18 Peanuts characters.
Starring all the main cast on a printed background from the Peanuts TV special I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown, the piece was apparently hung in the Peanuts studios for reference, with characters ranging from one inch to three inches in size.
Also starring in the sale in a fantastic group of production cels from the Beatles' Yellow Submarine.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a fantastic selection of animation art for sale, including works from Charles Schulz, Friz Freleng and Bill Hanna, as well as Disney's Nine Old Men.