Value of animated films comes to life

Animation cels from animated films and cartoons are popular collectibles in the US. Although they are rarely seen as yet at Irish auctions, they are becoming increasingly sought after in Britain.

Ms Cary Wallace, consultant to the entertainment department at Christie's in London, explains that an animation cel measures about 12 by 14 inches and is a "painting on celluloid used in the actual production of the film. You have a static camera (that is, a camera that's stationary) and the cels are whizzed in front of the camera. I think you have up to 1,500 cels per minute and they give the illusion of movement."

Clearly, there are a lot of cels created while making an animated film but they didn't always survive. For instance, because of plastic shortages during the second World War cels were often re-used. "They washed off the paintings and re-used the celluloid. And there are stories that the Disney artists had no `reverence' for them. There are stories of them sliding down the corridors at the end of the production of the films and things like that, which is tragic when you think about it today," she says.

Christie's next animation art and collectibles auction takes place on Monday, June 14th. It includes some cels from the "very first feature film", Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) which is "remarkable really because (they) survived such a long time", she says.

Nowadays, the drawings are "computerised so they don't produce cels anymore. That's partly what makes them valuable and then there's the appeal of the film, the character and so on that's depicted. It all adds to the value", she says. What a single cel is worth varies depending on whom it depicts. "If it's Snow White herself, if she's looking forward, if she's got her eyes open and a nice expression, that all adds to the value," Ms Wallace says.

Of the four cels in the forthcoming auction, one is "a lovely cel of Snow White herself singing to a bird, which has an estimate of £4,000 to £6,000 sterling (€6,147-€9,221)", she says.

Another is a "beautiful cel of Dopey running for a bar of soap", which is expected to realise £4,500 to £6,500. Part of its value is that it has what's called a production background. The backgrounds were painted, they were usually gouache (a type of water-based paint) and watercolour," she says. Even recent cels can be valuable. "We've got a very exciting collection of TV cels from The Simpsons. They're all dated January 1999. But The Simpsons are very popular nowadays and we've got some great cels of Homer and Bart and Marge and all the different characters from an episode called `Sunday Cruddy Sunday', " she says. Their estimates range from £300 to £600.

A cel of the pink and purple striped Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland (1951), eyes open and smiling, is expected to fetch £1,000 to £1,500. From the same film, a cel of the Queen of Hearts playing croquet with the pink flamingos, "a wonderful cel, and that's again a watercolour production background" is estimated at £3,000£5,000. Meanwhile, a cel of the King of Hearts with a watercolour production background is expected to fetch £2,000£3,000 and the White Rabbit with a production background - also from Alice in Wonderland - should fetch £2,000 to £2,500, she says. The earliest animation drawing in the auction is of Mickey Mouse from The Cactus Kid (1931). Its estimate is (£600 to £800). [SBX]

Readers interested in animation art are welcome to contact Ms Cary Wallace at Christie's, South Kensington, 83 Old Brompton Rd, London SW7 3LD. Telephone: 0044 171 321 3281.