TAGTOONZ

Farewell Roy.

2009-12-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

Some sad news, Roy Edward Disney passed away today aged 79.

LA TIMES REPORT.

NEW YORK TIMES

Walt in London - 1934

2009-11-24T14:06:00.000-08:00

I recently bought this great photo of Walt and Mickey there are several dates stamped on back but the written information is dated April 20, 1934 and mentions the following:

LONDON, ENGLAND - George Bernard Shaw, Sir Edwin Luewtens, The Earl of Crawford, Lawrence Binyon and a host of Royal Academicans, artists, architects, sculptors and craftsmen have paid tribute to Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse and the Silly Symphony films, shown above with an enlarged replica of his famed Mickey Mouse. They are members of the Art Workers Guild, which has decided to make Mr. Disney an honorary member because of his great gift to the art of the film and the happiness he has brought to the world with his animated cartoons. It is the first time that the films have been recognized by the British institution.

Can anyone confirm the above date?

Many thanks to David for the following comment regarding this photo:

Check out my blog - you'll see the original photo was taken in September 1932 at a meeting of the Breakfast Club in Hollywood. Walt sits astride the club's mascot, a wooden pony nicknamed: "Ham."

http://www.vintagedisneymemorabilia.blogspot.com

I guess now the question is are there any photos the event described on back of my photo?

Original Floyd Mickey - January 5, 1938

2009-11-04T13:55:00.001-08:00

I always love seeing original artwork be it animation, illustration or comic art. As I've probably mentioned in the past I really love the early Mickey daily and Sunday strips. There is something really special seeing Floyd Gottfredson's original artwork for these strips.

This piece is currently up on auction at Heritage Galleries. The inking is superb, the lines crisp and clear. This work is very much in context with what was happening in the animation department at the time, it is of the very high standards that Walt was pushing in his animators.

Original Tenggren Snow White art

2009-10-05T15:16:00.001-07:00

If you have $250 000 or more to spare, this fine piece of original Tenggren poster art for Snow White could be yours at the Heritage Auctiona Galleries.

Virginia Davis recalls being Alice

2009-09-06T15:30:00.001-07:00

Sadly Virginia Davis passed away a few weeks ago, in sorting through my files I stumbled across this article reprinted in the August 4, 1978 issue of the Disney Newsreel.

Two DONALD sundays

2009-09-03T19:16:00.001-07:00

Walt & Roy - 1940s

2009-08-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a great photo of Walt and Roy which looks to be taken in the 40s on a ship, possibly embarking for Europe. Any ideas?

Walt & Mickey in Chicago

2009-06-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings, without the couragous spirit of those who went into battle that day we would not enjoy the freedoms we have today. According to some accounts MICKEY MOUSE was the pass word used by troops on D-Day.

Hardly a surprise when by 1944 Mickey was so much a part of international culture.

Here is a photo of Walt and Mickey arriving in Chicago on a visit to The Chicago Century Of Progress Exposition on July 18, 1933.

Disney in Burbank

2009-06-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

On August 31, 1938 Walt and Roy paid a deposit of $10 000 for the above 51 acres in Burbank. The total purchase price would come to $100 000 for the property which to this day remains the corporate headquarters of the Walt Disney Company.

I imagine the above photo was taken around the time of purchase if not at the outset of construction.

Walt & Staff 1930s

2009-04-26T15:31:00.001-07:00

Here is a great staff photo taken sometime I think in the mid 30s to promote MICKEY MOUSE ICE CREAM. If anyone can put a date to the photo and identify some of the unknown faces I would love to hear from you.

Those that I can identify (hopefully correctly) Back row left to right: Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, Wilfred Jackson, Norm Ferguson.

Front second from left looks like Fred Moore and just behind him Les Clark. Second from right still in front looks like Pinto Colvig.

My feeling this is 1935 sometime as Donald can be seen on the banner.

Walt in Paris - 1933

2009-04-14T15:30:00.001-07:00

I'm back with more photos.

FROM THE REVERSE SIDE:

WALT DISNEY FINDS THE THREE LITTLE PIGS IN PARIS

Walt Disney, whose animated cartoons are known throughout the world, came to Paris for a rest. This first thing that greeted his eye was a copy Les Trois Petit Cochons (Three Little Pigs to you). They can be found by the dozens (in book form) in any French railroad station.
Mr. Disney is pictured with a French version of his famous movie in book form, on the roof of the Hotel Crillon in Paris. ACME, June 25, 1935

BUCKY BUG proofs

2009-03-02T21:01:00.001-08:00

I just picked up these proofs for the Silly Symphonies Bucky Bug Sunday strip.

HANK PORTER ON E-BAY

2009-03-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

If you like Hank Porter and have about $4000-$5000 to spare either one of these beautiful Good Housekeeping pieces can be yours.

THANK YOU WALT - LAUGH-O-GRAM STUDIO RESTORATION

2009-02-24T17:08:00.000-08:00

First, sorry for the lack of updates, my computer recently broke down and I'm in the process of finding a new one which will meet my needs so unfortunately I haven't been able to scan any new material.

Now, during my regular stops, reading blogs I came to thinking about the restoration of the LAUGH-O-GRAM studio in Kansas City. I tried to log onto the THANK YOU WALT website and found that it appears to be gone.

Does anybody know what has happened to the project? I was really excited about it, the last I heard back in January 2008 I think was that work was about to begin.

BAMBI LAYOUTS

2009-02-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

Like so many other animation and Disney enthusiasts, I love both BAMBI and PINOCCHIO, they represent animation art at its finest. Don't get me wrong there are many fine animated films, but of the early features they are my favorite.

Unfortunately Disney had to produce a sequel to BAMBI, fortunately for me, I worked on it as a layout artist and had a chance to see some very hi-res scans of the original backgrounds and layouts.

What is so amazing is the beauty of the artwork, the layout and background artists really did their best to capture that dreamy feel of the Tyrus Wong concepts. Here are a few pieces that really impressed me.

SEARCHING FOR WALT & LILLY PHOTO

2009-01-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

Does anybody know who may own a print or an original print of the above photo?

BAMBI - publicity sketches part 3

2009-01-09T23:41:00.001-08:00

This is the last of the 8x10s I have for now, when I find more I'll be sure to post them. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

BAMBI - publicity sketches part 2

2009-01-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

These are my favorites, Happy New Year ! ! !

BAMBI - publicity sketches part 1

2008-12-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

Four years ago when I was assigned to work on BAMBI II I started scouring e-bay to find material, I found some 8x10s with what look like Marc Davis drawings, naturally I picked them up. Taking a leaf from Michael Sporn's BAMBI posts I thought I'd share these photos with you.

Recently I've begin to expand the collection, partly to put me into the mood to write my own film but also because I just love these drawings, can anybody confirm that these are Marc Davis drawings? If they are not, then maybe who drew them?

WALT IN ARGENTINA

2008-12-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of Walt in Argentina which I recently acquired, the snipe on the reverse side reads:

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA . . . . WALT DISNEY,

movie animated cartoon tycoon, is shown (center)

sampling "yerba mate", the "tea" of South America,

at a gaucho barbeque near BUENOS AIRES. DISNEY

is brewing the mate in the gourd in approved style

while gauchos in working clothes provide the setting.

HAPPY FESTIVE SEASON

2008-12-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

I know it's a bit late, but believe me I've been very busy since my last post. I wish everyone all the best for the festive season and all the very best for the New Year!!!

When MICKEY broke the sound barrier

2008-11-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

On Monday morning November 19, 1928, THE NEW YORK TIMES appeared on the news stand, none of the headlines indicated that cultural history had been made the night before. Buried amongst the reviews for new films on page 16, is a small paragraph that mentions the name of a man named Walter Disney and a new cartoon character named MICK(E)Y MOUSE .

The Great Depression was barely a year away from starting, and that mouse and his owner would soon shine a light of hope and joy during the dark years ahead.

Eighty years on not much has changed and another difficult time is upon us, but at least we still have the mouse and his friends, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICKEY.

WALT at PARAMOUNT

2008-11-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

A photo I recently picked up dated December 10, 1939. Reverse reads:

"CHILLY VISIT - Walt Disney all garbed in furs and galoshes, found the weather chilly when he visited with Patricia Morison, young Paramount actress, on the winter location set of 'Untamed', Technicolor drama of the north woods. Miss Morison plays the feminine lead opposite Ray Milland and Akim Tamiroff."

OBAMA VICTORY

2008-11-04T23:31:00.000-08:00

I just had to write about this historic day, and am inspired by Didier's blog of two days ago. Obama's win is America at it's finest, democracy in it's truest sense where anyone can rise to the top. With all the things happening in the world today we all need to see that hope.

For me this is a defining moment in American history if not world history, as important as the war of independence and the end of slavery during the American Civil War. It puts a lump in my throat to be able to witness the tears of joy among African-Americans live on TV, this is their day, and we on the other side of the world are the privileged spectators.

PLANE CRAZY 'storyboard' pages

2008-11-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

Back in late 1997 I bought a great drawing from PLANE CRAZY the actual first MICKEY MOUSE cartoon. At the time, the gallery I was dealing with in New York was also selling the PLANE CRAZY 'storyboard' pages (storyboards were not really used until about 1932, but these pages are a precursor) on behalf of the Museum of Cartoon Art which was trying to raise funds to complete construction of the museum itself. The $3.75 million price tag was a little beyond my reach, but I was lucky enough to be sent a prospectus.

The pages are drawn by Ub Iwerks and were originally found amongst the papers of THREE LITTLE PIGS director Burt Gillette. With the 80th birthday of the world's most famous mouse fast approaching, I hope enjoy this glimpse into his origin.