Swedish Trading Cards - 1000th POST!!

Wow.  I never thought I'd get to 1000 posts!  And it only took 7 years.  Let the fireworks commence!

I know essentially nothing about these, other than they appear to be Swedish (Alice i Underlandet), and that they are about the same size as a business card.  This first card has no number on the front, and the print of the copyright is totally different than all the rest, it might be from a different series.

This second card is fairly amusing, as it depicts Alice having a day of beauty with Minnie Mouse and Chip the chipmunk doing her hair and makeup.  You'd think she'd look better after all that work.  This is number 234.

Next is #315, featuring Alice talking to the Tulips.  I'm sure she could pick every one of them if she were her right size.

The Mad Tea Party with the Mad Hatter and March Hare is on #570, presenting Alice with her very own unbirthday cake.  You know today is my unbirthday too.

And lastly, #607, featuring art lifted from the Dell comic book Four Color 331.

I have no idea who made these, how many there are (although it appears to be a fairly huge number) and if they are all Alice or a variety of Disney characters, but in my 25 years of collecting these are the only 5 I've come across.  I welcome any information on these from anyone out there.

Blog Follower Needs Some Assistance

I don' t normally do this, but a follower of the blog who teaches English overseas is looking for some help to get to her next gig:  Thailand.  If you can, give her some help so she can continue teaching and maybe spread the Alice word to Thailand :-)

Alice and Cinderella Book by Collins of England

Whereas yesterday's Dean book is one of the prettiest Alice books, today's Collins Alice/Cinderella is perhaps one of the ... less attractive books.

First of all, why the combo book?  Was Collins short of funds and needed to combine two stories in a single book?  Secondly, who in the hell is the artist on this?  Alice looks like a cross between the big-eyed kids and a Tijuana black velvet painting - no offense to Margaret Keane.

The cover is nice, and that's about all I can say for it.  Surprisingly this book was reprinted in at least two other countries:  Italy and Brazil.

Alice in Wonderland Book by Dean of England

Possibly one of the prettiest books to come out of England during the original release (that didn't use Studio art) is the Dean book.

Released in 1951 it uses art that appears to be taken directly from frames of the film, with the exception of the cover and end papers.  It is difficult to find in good condition due mostly to the spine - which has a tendency to come off entirely.

In 2006 Disney released a reprint of this book in conjunction with the 55th anniversary of the film.  It looks just like the original, but with a few small differences.

1. The reprint comes with a dust jacket
2. The dust jacket has a big gold sticker on it that states this is a reprint from the 1951 original
3. The word Dean has been removed from the grass in the lower right corner of the cover.  
4. The lettering on the spine is totally different; the original has Alice in Wonderland vertically printed with the Dean horizontal at the base
5. The back cover has a UPC code - a sure indication that it is not from 1951 ;-)

Don't be fooled..

Alice's Sister Full Figure Cel

Cels of Alice's sister are rare enough, she has so little screen time, but full figure images are very tough simply because she's only on screen for a few seconds at the very end of the film standing over Alice trying to wake her up.  I recently acquired this full figure cel and it is quite lovely, wouldn't you agree?

Alice Animation Drawing - Watching the March of the Cards

Another cool - and large - drawing, this time just of Alice's head as she's watching the March of the Cards.  This scene was mostly animated by Hal Ambro, and Alice's head is really the only thing moving, the rest of her body was on a still cel.  Neat, isn't it?

White Rabbit Animation Drawing Sequence

Now this is really cool.  A sequence of drawings of the White Rabbit as animated by Bill Justice.  Bill was a good friend of mine, and it was me who reminded him on one of his birthday's, lo these many years ago, that he did in fact do considerable animation of this character.  This sequence of 14 drawings is from the scene where Alice has just grown huge in the White Rabbit's house, and he rushes off to get help.  While not a very long sequence in time - slighly more than 1/2 second - it is still amazing to see exactly how much detail is in each frame of animation.

Using a little Photoshop magic I have been able to create an animated GIF of these drawings above, so enjoy!  The full sequence of individuals follows.

Back on the Horse

Time to get back on the horse as they say, or in this case, start posting again dammit!  The new year has gotten far too far along with so very few posts, so I'm going to rectify that.  Oh, and I've got one, maybe two surprises coming up this year or next, so stay tuned for those :-)

Tonight's the Night at the El Capitan

Wish I could be there, but Computer Girl sent me this photo of the marquee.

Alice on the Big Screen!

Too bad I won't be in LA until three days later, but Alice is going to be showing at the El Capitan theater on Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles for one night only February 12, 2015, as part of their Throwback Thursday series.  Don't be late if you want to see it!

Happy New Year!

2015 is finally (thankfully) upon us.  I, for one, couldn't be happier to see a new year.  Whew!  And to celebrate, enjoy this Don Williams New Year's Eve print from the Disney Cruise Line.

Animation Model Sheet 550-8006 - Peed's Dodo Suggestions

Well I'll be damned...a newly discovered model sheet.  How cool is that?  And this one is extra special, it mentions a specific artist by name!

That's right, this model sheet is specifically by Bill Peed (later Bill Peet) who was a story artist on Alice and did a lot of storyboard work on this and many other features before leaving the company in the late 1960s to pursue his solo career in children's books and illustration.  Boy that was a long sentence.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my faithful readers out there.  I promise to get back in the saddle in 2015 - after all it is the year of Alice, being the 150th anniversary of her publication.  Until then, enjoy this Christmas figurine from 1996.

Cinerevue December 1951 from France - Holiday Cover

Beautiful Christmas cover on this issue of Cinerevue magazine from France in 1951.  Alice was released at Christmastime in France, and this was one of several Christmas themed Alice items from that part of the world.

Original Pan Background Auction Result

On Friday December 19th, 2014, Profiles in History held a major animation art auction in conjunction with the Van Eaton Gallery.  In it this beautiful pan background was sold for a whopping $65,000.00 + buyer's premium, totaling $81,250.00.

According to the auction listing:

In the feature, the camera pans across this spectacular master background of house and grounds, with a view of gardens, flowering forest beyond and incredible starry sky. Disney Studio created the pan cel for exhibition purposes. This set of originals was included in The Art of Animation exhibits shown in America, Europe and Japan in the 1950s into the early 1960s. The Art of Animation was the last major touring exhibition of Disney Studio art sponsored by the Disney Company. This artwork is also published on page 55 of The Art and Flair of Mary Blair book by John Canemaker.

While the auction says that the cel was created by the studio, one wonders why they got her legs wrong?

The auction had hundreds of amazing items, including many Alice cels, paintings and drawings.  The full catalog can be viewed here and here.

I was fortunate enough to acquire two items in this auction, more on those when they arrive after the holidays!

Ed Wynn's 128th Birthday - Live Action Reference Photo A-SPEC-160C

Today is Ed Wynn's 128th birthday, born Nov 9, 1886.  He passed away only 6 months before Walt on Jun 16, 1966 at 80.

This live action reference photo is classic Ed Wynn and Mad Hatter.  I can just hear that thilly lithspy voice, can't you?

That Was a Much Longer Break Than I Had Intended

Wow.  Sorry about the 2-month break there folks, real life just has this annoying habit of getting in the way.  But with the holiday season rampaging towards us, I will try to have the odd post here and there, but probably won't be back into the full swing of things until the New Year.  Until then, here is a cool photo of NPH and his family for Halloween.

Happy Halloween - And Happy Birthday to Me

So I have the coolest friends on the world. Check out my birthday present - real lanterns from Disneyland's Mad Tea Party! Soon to be refurbished and lit :-)

Dalla Magazine #1 1953 from Germany

From Germany comes this children's magazine I've not heard of before, Dalla.  Seems to be typical of the children's magazines of the times, very short stories on a variety of topics suitable for younger readers.

But wait, here is a one page article on Disney's Alice, complete with color photographs from the film.  All are pretty standard fare except the first, which is unusual and not familiar to me from any other publications.

The last picture too is unusual in that it has been reversed for publication.

Parents magazine September 1951

Thanks to Jerry Beck over at Cartoon Research for alerting me to the existence of this magazine, although it did take me nearly 5 years to locate a complete copy of it.  The September issue is a trove of Alice content, both large and small.

First up is a tiny tiny blurb for Alice in the Family Movie Guide section.

Apparently it is an excellent film for adults and youths but children need some preparation.  And it is a Parents' Magazine Family Medal Award film to boot!

Next up is an ad for an Alice school bag.

While not the Disney bags we saw back in this post, it nevertheless exhibits a phenomenon that still occurs today:  third party merchandising.  Seemingly for every Disney movie ever released, there is a slew of other merchandise that is NOT Disney, but riding the publicity wave caused by the Disney film.  In this case, other Alice merchandise not licensed by Disney but still Alice themed.  One of the problems with filming stories in the public domain.

Next up is this great ad for Children's Digest magazine, which I blogged about way back in the first year of the blog, nearly six years ago!  Wow, has it been that long?

And finally another great ad, this time for Alice in Wonderland themed children's clothing.

Togs like toys for girls and boys.  What a great tag line.  And this ad solved a mystery that had eluded me for nearly 20 years.  It mentions picture buttons.  I have one of these, but have never been able to figure out from where it came.  Now I know!