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Thursday, July 27, 2017

Original Production Animation Cel of Dopey and Sneezy Set On A Courvoisier Background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937


Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Dopey and Sneezy; Set on a colored paper Courvoisier background from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Size - Dopey and Sneezy: 5 x 9 1/4", Image 6 1/4 x 10", Frame 17 1/2 x 21 1/2"; Framed using a silver wood frame, a blue linen mat, silver wood fillet, and plexiglass.


Development on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs began in early 1934, and by June Walt Disney announced to The New York Times the production of his first feature, to be released under Walt Disney Productions.  Before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Disney studio had been primarily involved in the production of animated short subjects in the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies series.  However, Disney hoped to expand his studio's prestige and revenues by moving into features, and he estimated that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs could be produced for a budget of $250,000 (this was ten times the budget of an average Silly Symphony).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was to be the first full-length cel animated feature in motion picture history, and as such Walt Disney had to fight to get the film produced. Both his brother and business partner Roy Disney, as well as his wife Lillian attempted to talk him out of it.  The Hollywood movie industry mockingly referred to the film, while is was in production, as "Disney's Folly."  Disney ended up having to mortgage his house to help finance the film's production, which would eventually ran up to a total cost of $1,488,422.74; an absolutely massive sum for a feature film in 1937!

Although the initial concept designing of the dwarfs was relatively easy for the Walt Disney animation department, the actual animating of them proved to be difficult. The animators, already finding human figures difficult to animate, now had to animate dwarfed human figures. The great Disney animator Vladimir Tytla noted that the dwarfs should walk with a swing to their hips, and Fred Moore commented that they had to move a little more quickly in order to keep up with the other human characters.


Framed original production animation cel of Dopey and Sneezy.

Due to Sneezy's severe hayfever, he sneezes very often throughout the film and this often prevents him from speaking. His sneezes can be gale force and will blow away anything and anyone in their path. As a result, the other dwarfs are quick to hold his nose whenever they feel he may have a sneeze approaching. The memorable scene in which the dwarfs tie a knot in Sneezy's beard was inspired by an early sketch by Albert Hurter, a concept and inspirational sketch artist at Walt Disney Studios. Various Disney artists were involved in the animation of Sneezy throughout the film including: Ward Kimball, Vladimir Tytl, Fred Moore, Shamus Culhane, and Les Clark. Billy Gilbert, an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines, provided the voice of Sneezy.

In the pre-production stages of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Dopey was simply called 'The Seventh'. His personality and role were finalized late in the process, after it was suggested that Dopey should move like burlesque comedian Eddie Collins. Collins began his career in vaudeville and went on to become a successful comedian, actor, and singer. He helped to define the character's personality through his live action filmed sequences, as well as providing the few vocal sounds that Dopey made during the film. He also provided the sounds of a sneezing chipmunk and a squirrel.

Dopey is the youngest of the dwarfs, as proven by his lack of a beard. But perhaps his most notable trait is his lack of speech. In the film Happy states Dopey is simply unaware whether or not he can speak, as he has simply never tried. In spite of this, he can occasionally be heard making various vocal sounds such as whimpers, hiccups, and a one-shot yell. The other dwarfs seem to have no problem understanding Dopey, and Doc was able to easily translate Dopey's blathering into a cohesive sentence. Various Walt Disney artists were involved in the animation of Dopey throughout the film including: Vladimir Tytla, Fred Moore, Frank Thomas, Shamus Culhane, Les Clark, Ollie Johnston, and Art Babbit.

This is an absolutely wonderful original hand painted and hand inked production cel of Dopey and Sneezy set on an airbrushed Courvoisier background. This is a very nice full figure image of both Dwarfs, and it is from the scene that occurs at the conclusion of Snow White singing the song "Some Day My Prince Will Come." Doc declares that Snow White will sleep upstairs, and this sends the Dwarfs scrambling downstairs to find a comfortable spot to bed for the night. In the end, Dopey lays his head on a single feather from a pillow, and Sneezy (resting his head on Dopey's bum) sleeps at his feet. A beautiful piece of vintage Walt Disney animation artwork, perfect for any collection!

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