Thursday, January 3, 2013
David Hall Story Art Stills - All Cards Lead Away from the Castle
Our journey is finally at its end, this is the last of the stills of David Hall story art. Here we see Alice on a path of cards looking at a castle in the distance. The supporting structure of the castle appears to be disintegrating, one assumes this is from the sequence where Alice is beginning to wake up. This watercolor is unfortunately not reproduced in the David Hall book, nor have I been able to locate it anywhere else in color. Labeled 'VIII'
So that's it, 114 stills later, we've come to the end of our story. I hope you've enjoyed this journey through Disney's Alice in Wonderland of 1939 as seen through the eyes of David Hall. I know I have. It is hard to imagine what a film based on these concepts would have looked like, but it sure would have been fun to see.
Well done, Matt! It's been quite a journey!
ReplyDeleteI really wish I had had access to ALL the images you have reproduced when I edited the David Hall illustrated edition of AAIW.
I was shown a great deal of Hall's art in the archives (and found some more in the files for Peter Pan!) and was sent photocopies of what I was assured was EVERYTHING. Now I know that was not, in fact, the case...
I really wish Hall's art could have been published in a book in its own right (without having to worry, as I had to, about departures from Carroll's text) and it is depressing to think how much of the Hall artwork went to auction during the Eisner years.
What still staggers me about the planned project is just how radical and daring it was in 1933.
Could it have ever been made in the way Disney, Hall and the others originally imagined? Who knows? But it remains an extraordinary legacy of Disney (and fantasy) art by an amazing talent...
Anyway, thanks again, Matt, for leading us through Mr Hall's weird and wonderful Wonderland!
What an amazing collection, I wonder if Disney has all of these, even as black and white stills?
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I kept visiting this blog of yours (even though I may have forgotten to check some days/weeks), because I too have the book and WISH there was a book that showed EVERY SINGLE 400 image of David Hall's art.
ReplyDeleteI thought I had seen a colour version of the Queen's Procession with the headsman too (unless I'm mistaken) but couldn't find it . . . however I was able to find one of the other blogs that has other david "Wonderland" Hall art, here: http://lukefarookhi.blogspot.com.au/2008/08/david-hall-and-alice-in-wonderland.html
At least some of this art (and some of what you haven't shown) are on the DVDs/Blu-Ray.
Pleasure to come across you too, Mr Sibley!
@Brian - I, too, wish there could have been a book of nothing but David Hall, I think almost everyone interested in Disney history and animation in general would like to see the same. It is shocking to me that Dinsey let so much go in the past, I know for a fact that the current ARL team actively try to reacquire art when they can.
ReplyDelete@Major - I think the answer is probably no, as Brian said there are several here that he did not see, mostly likely because they don't have them. I personally own 8 David Hall pieces, one of which is pictured in this series, so presumably the others reside in other private collections.
@Sam - I found that site too, pretty cool stuff, and some images I hadn't seen before either. As far as the Blu Ray is concerned, I do wish they had included all the material that was on the Laser disc box set, since there is a lot of material on there that isn't anywhere else. Come to think of it, perhaps that's where I saw the color procession image...I'll have to look.