Welcome back to Disney Stuff. As Disney fans, one of the things we love to do is display our stuff, especially in our homes and on our walls. In the past, I’ve covered some great Disney sketches that came with special DVD gift set releases like The Lion King and Aladdin. I’ve also talked about Disney lithographs that usually came as a promotion for pre-ordering a certain animated classic on DVD. That’s where my basement playroom walls come into play. They’re the repositories of much of my Disney Stuff. There are subtle touches throughout the house, but you have to look for them. After all, we don’t want the whole house to be on Disney overload, now do we? Well, maybe some of you do.
Yet, there are certain items that have made it to the big time in my house. Certain items that are seemingly collectible enough to warrant prime wall space in our home. Call them fine art. Call them collectible art. Call them whatever you want, they just add the hint that, “Hey, a Disney fan lives here,” to the atmosphere in our place, without overpowering the whole theme. We have an old home, so the classic style of Disney characters works into the décor quite nicely. So, let’s take a look at some of the pieces of Disney art that grace the walls of this old house.
Here in our family room are two gifts that my wife and I have given to each other over the years. My wife is a big Tinker Bell fan. She kind of reminds me of Tink and shares the pixie’s, “Don’t mess with me!” attitude. For Christmas one year, I tracked down this wonderful rough-sketch-looking-print on the Internet. Diane’s also a graphic artist, so I thought the rough draft sort of look suited her well. It’s a great image of Tink and has been gracing our walls for a long time.
Tinker Bell purchased from the old Main Street Megastore. Photo by Chris Barry.
Across from Tink is a reciprocation of sorts from my wife. I’ve been skiing since I was young and the sport is a huge part of my life. What better gift to give a Disney fan and lifelong skier but a sericel from the 1941 Goofy short The Art of Skiing. A sericel is a reproduction of a scene from an animated film. They are not the actual cels that are photographed for an animated film. They are essentially high quality copies of animation cels. Original production cels and background art is used as a reference in creating a sericel. Here Goofy is seen in several different poses as he skis his way down a slope, admittedly in his own goofy style. It was the perfect gift for me and hangs proudly in our family room.
The Art of Skiing sericel. Photo by Chris Barry.
I wonder if I can match his style on the slopes? Photo by Chris Barry.
Similar to Goofy is a sericel my wife received from her mother as a birthday gift years ago. Diane is also a big Tigger fan and I remember going with my mother-in-law to an animation art gallery and helping her to choose something special for her daughter. It’s a sericel created from original artwork from 1968’s Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. It hung in our first apartment, our second apartment, then for about 10 years in my daughter’s room from the time she was an infant, only to be recently replaced by pictures of Hannah Montana and the like! Currently Tigger is awaiting a comeback in the house after we do some rearranging of furniture.
The Bouncy Trouncy Fun sericel. Photo by Chris Barry.
The one and only actual Disney production cell I own is here on our bedroom wall. It’s a cel of Goofy from what appears to be 1980’s era Disney Television. That's just a guess because, oddly enough, it is authenticated on the back by Walt Disney Studios, but no title is given. If someone out there recognizes it, help me out. I love Goofy’s classic expression and enjoy looking at this cel each day when I wake.
Can anyone identify this cel? Photo by Chris Barry.
Nearby on the wall is part of what I gave my wife for her 40th birthday. We were in Walt Disney World and I was off on my own shopping for a special gift for her big birthday. I found just the thing in Uptown Jewelers on Main Street. There was a Disney artist sketching a character there, surrounded by framed examples of his and other Disney artist’s work. You could “commission” a drawing from one of these artists. There was a book of characters and poses to look through. You could then choose several different stages of completion for your drawing, starting with a rough sketch and going all the way up to full color and finished. They would then frame it for you and on top of that, they would turn your drawing into a watch face. I chose, who else for her, but Tinker Bell. I opted for more of a rough sketch look with a slight shading of green to finish the drawing off. She still wears the watch and still sees Tink everyday on our wall. It’s really one of my favorites because, I was really able to choose how it should be finished and it was a very special birthday for her. On the back it's inscribed, Edition Size: One of one. It’s a one of a kind gift and we both enjoy its presence in our room.
Tinker Bell watch face art by David Mitchell. Photo by Chris Barry.
Hanging in my second floor hall is a wonderful print juxtaposing two classic Mickey Mouse shorts, The Wayward Canary and The Band Concert. We bought this in one of my favorite long lost shops, The King’s Gallery in Cinderella Castle (Don’t you miss that place?) and had it shipped home. It’s classic but yet has a sort of modern overlapping design layout. I love the colors and it’s in an enviable position in the house. It’s really the first thing I see when I walk out of my room each morning and the last thing I see before I shut the hall light out each night before turning in. My wife and I both picked it out and agreed where it should be placed, so it’s truly ours.
The Wayward Canary/Band Concert print purchased in the Magic Kingdom. Photo by Chris Barry.
As you can see, there are really only a select few pieces of Disney art that have made it onto my walls in the main part of my home. The basement, of course is another story, but we’re pretty selective about what goes on our walls. As a matter of fact, we just finished a total redesign of our living room. We’re in the process of looking for two prints or paintings to hang in our special new room. It’s special because it’s ours. The kids have taken over the family room and the basement rec room for that matter. The Disney stuff on the walls fits perfectly there. This is our room to get away quietly, build a fire, watch a movie or just sit and be together. We’ve both agreed to definitely not choose a Disney related print for this room and each choose something else that defines us. Perhaps a vintage travel poster from Germany for her. Perhaps a classic image from Vermont or a vintage surfing print for me. Whatever we choose, it’ll say something about us and who we really are.
Our guests and visitors can then walk through our home and say, “Hey, there’s definitely a Disney fan living here, but there’s more to them than just mice and pixie dust.” Maybe I’ll pick something really obscure, just to keep them guessing.
But, one of those vintage Disneyland attraction posters or a rare production cel from Fantasia would really be cool wouldn’t it?
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time with some more of that great Disney Stuff.
