The Doorknob Getting Rained On by Alice's Tears Animation Drawing

This is a very cool, and unusual drawing.  I've never seen an animation drawing where the layout was portrait rather than landscape.  I wonder why they did that?

It took me a long time to find this particular image, I originally thought it came from the sequence when Alice was muttering to herself about poison, but it is in fact from when Big Alice is crying her eyes out and creates the Pool of Tears.

Card Wickets Layout Drawing

I really like this layout or story drawing, the scientist in me just loves the grid on which the characters are laid out.  Reminds me of Tron or The Black Hole, but without the crushing gravitational pull, despite the Card Wickets' unusual behavior.

I guess the multiple hedgehog balls are to illustrate the path they will take.

Caterpillar Layout Drawing

At first glance you think this is a layout of the Caterpillar's mushroom, since you see the hookah prominently displayed.  But in reality it is also a layout of his skin! <cue creepy violin music>

That's right, the Caterpillar has shed his skin and is now a butterfly, but we have this somewhat grisly remnant.  Ew.  But so cool too.

Big Alice in the Tulgey Wood with the Mother Bird Layout Drawing

This marks my 800th post, hard to believe!  This layout is a little rougher than most we've seen, but notice that the basic shape of the trees matches quite well.

My wife's least favorite part of the film with the annoying Mother Bird, and certainly the creepiest renditions of Alice in all the various incarnations with her hugely stretched neck.

Alice's Sister Gets Huffy

From the very end of the film, this beautiful drawing of Alice's sister, just after Alice has recited the Caterpillar's poem about the crocodile.

This drawing depicts the sister just before she makes an exasperated noise and throws her hands in the air.

Alice's Leg Background Layout Drawing

This just cracks me up.  Layout of Giant Alice's leg as it protrudes from the White Rabbit's house.

You can even see the outline of the fragment of wood on the underside of her ankle.

Alice Walking Away from the Mad Tea Party Animation/Layout Drawing

This layout drawing is interesting in that it shows the degree to which planning of a scene occurs, down to the  track a character makes across a background.

In this scene Alice is walking away - or rather stalking away - from the Mad Tea Party.

Alice with the Croquet Mallets Layout Drawing from a Deleted Scene

This is interesting, a layout drawing of Alice as she stands next to the bag holding the mallet flamingos.

What's interesting about this is that the scene for which this is a layout, Sc 316, was deleted from the film prior to animation, according to the Alice draft (courtesy of Hans Perk).

Alice in the White Rabbit's House Sneezing Layout Drawing

This is a great layout drawing, really almost more of a story drawing as it has so much character and movement in it.

The Dodo has just shoved Bill the Lizard down the chimney to pull out the monster, causing Alice to sneeze (poor Bill).

Alice in the White Rabbit's House on Fire Layout Drawing

Things don't look so good for Alice as the Dodo has lit a fire to burn the house down in this exceptional layout drawing.

I live the way the thatched roof of the White Rabbit's house evokes Alice's hair.

Alice Ducking the Accordian Owl Animation Drawing

The Tulgey Wood is a creepy place full of bizarre creatures.

Here we see Alice ducking after being swooped upon by the Accordian Owl.

Alice and the Drink Me Bottle Rotoscope Layout Drawing

These are the kind of drawings I just love, showing the full animation process at work.

Here we see how the animators are trying to work out how this scene will progress with Alice changing size,  starting with a rotoscope tracing of Kathy drinking the bottle, and finishing with drawing of Alice shrinking under the table.

Alice Chasing the White Rabbit out of the Mad Tea Party Layout Drawing

A perfect companion piece to this post which shows the sequence of drawings of Alice chasing the White Rabbit as he exits the Mad Tea Party.  This is a layout for the same sequence.

From the previous post, drawing 21 looks to be closest to the layout of Alice here as she approaches the gate.  Looks like the first image of Alice entering the frame is a few drawing before the earliest one in my sequence.

Alice at the bottom of the Rabbit Hole Animation Drawing

This is a neat drawing showing an extreme pose for Alice as she gets up having just landed at the bottom of the rabbit hole after a very long fall, and is off chasing the White Rabbit again.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe this sequence was animated by Don Lusk, although when I purchased this I was told it was by Eric Larson.

Alice and the Queen Animation Drawing "Let the Game Begin!"

This is something that I hadn't seen before, an animation drawing of two major characters together.  I had always assumed that characters like this were always animated separately and only combined at the cel level.  Clearly I was wrong!

Then let the game begin!

Dayton Disneyana Show - June 29-30, 2013

It's official, I will be exhibiting at the Dayton Disneyana Show this June 29-30, at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Miamisburg, Ohio.  For details on the show visit the show page for the Dayton Chapter of the Disneyana Fan Club.

Oh so many years ago I used to setup a small table of stuff with Paul from DHI at the NFFC shows in Anaheim, but this will be the first solo show for me and my wife, so please come on down and buy lots of stuff!  We will of course have a wide variety of Alice stuff, plus a smattering of other Disneyana, something to please everyone I'm sure.

Disney historians Jim Hill and Jim Korkis will both be giving presentations during the weekend, sure to be fascinating as always.  See you there!

Layout Drawing of Alice Asleep Under the Tree

Nicely rendered layout drawing from the end of the film when Alice is asleep and her sister wakes her up from her Wonderland dream.

Final image tracks pretty well with the above layout.

Alice on the Stand Peeking Through Her Fingers Hand Colored Character Study Animation Drawing

Quite possibly the prize in drawings is this, a beautifully hand colored drawing from the same sequence (and purchase) as yesterday's.

Fantastic!

Screencap courtesy of disneyscreencaps.com

Alice on the Stand Exasperated Character Study Animation Drawing

Another fantastic expression on this drawing, with Alice's face all smooshed up in her hand.

This drawing and the one tomorrow have a long history with me.  I first became aware of them nearly 20 years ago when they were first offered to me.  At the time there was no way I could afford them so I let them go.  But a few years ago they found me again, and this time I snapped them up.  Thank goodness!

Screencap courtesy of  disneyscreencaps.com

Alice Talks to the Caterpillar (?) Animation Drawing

Cute drawing of Alice, in what appears to be a scene where she is interacting with the Caterpillar.  Can't find the exact frame, but looks right.  Perhaps Mad Kiwi can confirm or deny :-)

Character Study Drawing of Alice in 3/4 View by Clair Weeks

The second of my two Clair Weeks drawings shows Alice in 3/4 view, looking sleepy.  In reality she is probably mid-blink or changing expressions, but I love the feel of this drawing.  It's as if we've caught Alice nodding off.  Beautiful.  Thank you Clair Weeks, you were a sweet and generous man and I'm glad I had the opportunity to get to know you.

Character Study Drawing of Alice in Profile by Clair Weeks

The next two drawings in this series are some of my favorites.  I acquired them directly from Clair Weeks whom I met back in the 1990s in Los Angeles. Clair was a genuinely good person, and took time to chat with me on several occasions. He led a truly interesting life, spending a lot of time teaching animation in India!

Today's drawing shows Alice in profile, presumably from the nesting bird sequence.   The image on this is huge, taking up nearly the full sheet of 16-field paper.  Even on my tabloid scanner I had to scan it in two parts to get the top of her head!

Alice Chokes Her Flamingo Animation Drawing

And that's not a euphemism.  I think we can all learn a lesson here:  Never end up on the wrong end of your flamingo.

Alice Wields a Limp Flamingo Animation Drawing

I love this drawing because of the expressions on both Alice's face and the flamingo's.  Not sure what the two notations mean (ditto and what looks like Bal of Flamingo)

This screencap is a couple of frames away, but was the best I could do.

Alice Looks Annoyed Animation Drawing

Another Alice, this time looking quite stern, or in reality annoyed, as she has just been told by the doorknob that she is simply impassable.  Thanks again to Mad Kiwi, I now know that this drawing is just a few frames earlier in the sequence from the one posted yesterday!

You can see how the scene was cropped to the registration line at the bottom of her skirt, making the screen image much larger than the original drawing.

Image courtesy of http://disneyscreencaps.com

Alice and the Doorknob Animation Drawing

A very pretty drawing of Alice, who is interacting with the doorknob, looking to her left, just after his 'simply impassable' speech (thanks to reader Mad Kiwi for identifying the scene).

Alice Animation Drawing - "I Mean My C - A - T"

I think I'll start another series, drawings again, but this time the larger "16-field" drawings as they are colloquially known, starting with this first one of Alice at the Mad Tea Party.

Here she can be seen whispering to the Mad Hatter when he doesn't quite grasp who "you know who" is.  I love the expressive quality to Alice's eyes in this drawing.