No animated character is more recognizable or beloved than Mickey Mouse, who was created in 1928 under the name “Mortimer Mouse.” A veteran of more than 130 movies, Mickey Mouse has entertained generations of loyal fans, and will be featured prominently in Heritage Auctions’ July 1-2 Animation Art auction in Dallas. Among the top Mickey Mouse-related items:
1. A Fantasia Mickey Mouse as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Production Cel Courvoisier Setup (Walt Disney, 1940) (est. $15,000 and up) captures Mickey Mouse’s greatest on-screen role was as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice in Fantasia. He strikes a classic pose, wearing his “borrowed” sorcerer’s hat in this rare Courvoisier setup. The Courvoisier program created beautiful works of art using actual production cels and custom-painted backgrounds to produce pieces that were sold to the public in the late 1930s and ’40s.
2. A Mickey Mouse Magazine Giveaway V1#1 Bound Volume (Walt Disney Productions, January 1933) (est. $10,000 and up) is one of those Mickey Mouse rarities that always are in demand with Disney collectors, but this item is one of the most unusual. The very first Mickey Mouse Magazine was a digest-sized pamphlet that was intended as a giveaway, even though it carried a five-cent price on the cover. The pamphlet itself is incredibly rare, but this prototype hardbound edition was created only as a publisher’s sample; this example is one of just two known to exist.
3. This Mickey’s Man Friday/Monkey Melodies Mickey Mouse Production Cel (Walt Disney, 1930/35) (est. $10,000 and up) reflects the era up until 1935, during which Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts were produced in black and white. Finding original art on cels from these early cartoons is tough, as the nitrate stock used in the process was somewhat unstable, and many have been lost due to improper storage. This delightful cel of Mickey swinging on a rope has been enhanced by pairing it with a hand-painted background from a Disney Silly Symphony cartoon, making it a great setup any collector would be proud to own and display.
4. Disney’s two most popular animated stars share the spotlight in this Magician Mickey Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse Production Cel Setup (Walt Disney, 1937) (est. $5,000 and up). The duo was very popular with movie-going audiences in the 1930s. This setup features the pair in nice poses, and is particularly nice for those who also have an interest in magic acts.
5. Before an animated cartoon is painted on sheets of acetate (cels), they are hand-drawn in graphite and color pencils on paper. This Fantasia Mickey Mouse “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” Animation Drawing (Walt Disney, 1940) (est. $2,500 and up) is an original drawing created for Mickey’s classic role as “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” in the ground-breaking feature-length film Fantasia, a film that remains enormously popular to generations after it was made in 1940.
Written by: Steve Lansdale