Gazooks ! A Can. Animation Art Gallery ?
James Hall
add another level /gallery.
Go ahead think of getting someone an unusual gift.
Before informing you of our gallery here is a tidbit that I "picked" off
the net that I found enlightening.
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"DreamWorks has been particularly aggressive--some say too aggressive--
raiding Disney's easels. "Prince of Egypt's" music is from "Pocahontas"
alumni Stephen Schwartz and "The Lion King's" Hans Zimmer.
The tunes for DreamWorks' "El Dorado: City of Gold" (a comedy set against
the conquest) come from "The Lion King" scorer Elton John and lyricist
Tim Rice. Key DreamWorks animators include James Baxter (Quasimodo in
"Hunchback"), Duncan Marjoribanks (Ratcliffe in "Pocahontas," Sebastian
in "The Little Mermaid"), Finn (Cogsworth in "Beauty and the Beast," head
of story on "Hunchback") and Kathy Zielinski (Frollo in "Hunchback").
"Prince of Egypt" is co-directed by Brenda Chapman, head of story on "The
Lion King."
About time there's more than one quality studio on the planet! This is
wonderfull!"
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Hello and welcome to the world of animation, a business just like any
other where there is always more than one player. No, Disney does not
rule the animation airwaves or digital pallet, just the marketing end.
More & more animation fans are becoming aware that it is individual
talent working together behind the "magic names" that makes the product
work and that moving from one studio to another does not diminish this
talent.
"Duncan Who ?", say many Disney fans (a subset) and animation fans (the
whole), with the sound of glee in their voices.
What is a Marjoribanks. A bank that is merry or what ? No, just
another guy who is able to think and draw at the same time. Oh, by the
by, I believe that Mar... is pronounced Marchbanks.
Animation enthusists may now realize what a few, very few, people in
Ottawa have known for over 25 years. Duncan does the job when it comes
to animation. Duncan, a Canadian, started the Ottawa segment of his
animation career with Atkinson Film-Arts where he remained for a short
period of time before moving on. In 1984 Jerry K. signed Duncan to a
Disney contract. A contract that lasted for 10 years. In 1994 Duncan
became a free agent and Jerry, now part owner of Dreamworks, jumped all
over him.
In fact, Duncan was the first animation director hired by "the Zimmer"
for Dreamworks. And Duncan was hired the moment his 10-year deal with
Disney (also orchastrated by "the Zimmer" when he first joined Disney)
ended. What goes round comes round or "The Circle of Life". The Disney
Corp. gave us that little truism, non ?
Celebrities Gallery has the cels, with their matching drawings, from a
commercial that Duncan did in 1976 to promote that year's edition of the
Central Canada Exhibition. It was Duncan's first solo piece and in his
words, "a really rotten little 30-second spot". So we have 30 secs x 16
frames/sec = approximately 480 cels/drawings.
Ask yourself, "How often does a collector find, let alone have the
opportunity to purchase a piece of artwork that was done in the early
stages of an artist's career ?". Add in the facts that Duncan's work is
well recognized by most of his peers and colleagues and he is responsible
for creating many instantly recognized characters, well I would say ...
The commercial has the character, a farmer done by Duncan, introducing
the all-star cast of celebrities and entertainers (such as Roy Rogers,
Dale Evens, Tammy Wynnet and Johnny Cash) for that year's Ex, as it is
called in Ottawa. The farmer was also the fair's mascot for 1976.
Celebrities Gallery also carries animation artwork from the following
Canadian produced shows;
1. "Return To Oz" (1964) cels only
2. "Curious George Goes To ..." (1978-80) all facets of the artwork
3. "Care Bears Battle The Freeze Machine" (1984) cels, drawings,
model sheets, colour model cels & backgrounds
4. "Raccoons On Ice" (1981) cels only and a few backgrounds
5. "The Bestest Present" (1986) based on the newspaper comic strip
"For Better of For Worse" all facets of prod. work
6. "Babar & Father Christmas" (1986) won Gemini (Can. award) for
best animated television feature - cels, drawings & backgrounds
7. "The Tin Soldier" everything
8. "Rumplesiltskin" cels & backgrounds
9. "The Misadventures of Icahbod Crane" cels & backgrounds
10. "The Adventures of Hiawatha" cels, drawings & backgrounds
11. "The Velvetine Rabbit" cels & backgrounds
12. "The Meerkats" (1986-87) everything
13. "The Trolls And The Christmas Express" cels, drawings & backgrounds
Barrie Nelson, who was the director for the "B-17" segment of "Heavy
Metal" was one of the principal animators for the "Oz" artwork. It is
interesting to note that the feature film "Return To Oz" was based on
the Canadian TV series "Wizard of Oz" (1960-61) which was the first TV
cartoon series produced for Canadian TV and the first animation done
(and seen) based on Frank's characters. "Wizard of Oz" was seen in the
U.S. (1961-62) as "Tales of The Wizard of Oz" and was the first successful
production venture for Rankin/Bass (who are still at it).
We also have hand-painted limited edition cels based on the TV show "The
Wizard of Oz". There are 9 different scenes with an edition size of 250
each and are done by B. Clarke who worked on the original production back
in the early 1960's.
Pino Van Lamsweerde who directed the "Harry Canyon" segment in "Heavy
Metal" also directed the "Care Bears ..." film.
We do have some artwork from the many U.S. Studios. However, rather than
compete with the studios themselves (very bad business) and other animation
galleries (selling unique pieces that are from the same shows) we promote
excellent work that is exclusive to our gallery.
Just for fun ask your animation source about the possibility of obtaining,
say, a "complete scene" from Atkinson Film-Arts' "The Tin Soldier" or any
Disney production completed before 1986 (remember in 1986-87 studios began
saving absolutely everything, including used pencils, from any animation
production because Wall Street had just discovered that vast untapped
investment market called "animation art"). Thank goodness we are done
with them and that.
We at Celebrities Gallery also take great pride in promoting Canadian, eh !
Our prices average $200.00 U.S. for cels from the features (most with their
drawings and a colour copy of the matching background) while Oz production
cels start at $300.00 U.S. and the limited editions at $175.00 U.S.
As with any other reputable gallery you have 14 days (upon receipt) to
return a purchase for any reason. However, the art must be in the exact
same condition it was when it left our gallery and you must purchase
another piece that is equal or greater in price (buyer pays the difference).
We insist you to return any piece for a full refund including all shipping
charges if you determine that the piece does not match it's certificate of
authenticity.
We have just opened our web site and to make life interesting we are
offering the following discounts;
friends and family - 60%
animation students - 50% (or 2 for 1)
galleries - 40% (volume only)
celmail members - 30% (not galleries)
collectors - 20%
all others - 10%
For answers to any questions or for more information concerning a
particular feature or type of artwork please contact us at your
convenience. Thanks again and hopefully we have a piece of art that you
will consider as an addition to, or the start of, your collection.
Be well ..................................... animated, Jim
Celebrities Gallery: animation art, fine art, Canadian coins & stamps, old
books, collectibles and games, cards, toys and comics from your childhood.
For more details please contact jh...@achilles.net or (613) 729-9158