Ariel's Vocalise - Reprise

I've been wanting to post my latest acquisitions for some time, but in purchase order. The piece I bought immediately after this has a major problem which I've had to address rather slowly. It's nearly ready for me to put the last words to the story (COVID lockdown is preventing me from taking the last step), but until then I may as well start:

I bought this from a seller who had recently advertised it on eBay. We haggled for price, and he tried to push some of his other pieces, in which I had little interest.

I chose this piece as it differentiates from the other cels in the shot by her eye lids, which are shifting in order to blink. While this frame doesn't ruin the look on her face, subsequent frames (three frames in total to complete her blink) aren't particularly desirable. Additionally, the slight close of her lids softens her expression from the otherwise wide-eyed surprise she shows when her voice returns to her, making this frame distinct among its peers.

I love this scene, as it builds up dramatically to the final climax. As a child, I found the concept of Ariel losing then regaining her voice captivating; the magical energy that visually depicts her voice was, I feel, a clever design choice (a sensible departure from the original, where she had her tongue cut out). In the process of writing this post, I've learned that singing using vowels instead of words, such as in this case, with Ariel's "Ah-Ah-AH!", is called a Vocalise(n).

This piece was previously sold through Hertiage Auctions in 2015 for about $1500. They also have a better photo of it:

I'd love to take some photos of my own (I have refined my technique significantly), but this is presently in the US with ArtInsights, who have matted it. I can't import it just yet, as COVID has disrupted all postal chains, and there is no way in Hell I'm putting this into the mail when I can't even get books in a timely manner (or in one case, at all!). If the global situation takes too much longer, I might just ask Leslie to complete the framing.

Obviously, some tampering has taken place since it was sold through HA, as they list it as framed with "a letter of authenticity". As you'll see in the next acquisition post, I have a lot to learn about which questions I should be asking before I make a purchase!

This piece cost $1614, including shipping within continental US. The purchase date is 12 April 2018. Seal (naturally), unframed (but matted by ArtInsights), and I don't think it came with a COA.

"Determination"

This cel first appeared on eBay a few months back for $1695 and I didn't have the money to buy it.

Then about two months ago Leslie Combemale from ArtInsights contacted me and showed me this cel, which I still wanted. I had a bit more money, but not quite enough, so Leslie made a deal with me and I paid $1000 up front and the rest ($695) within a month.

Anyway, the cel:

A beautiful, emotional expression on her face and a full body! Also, the lighting of the scene gives her a greeny-blue tail instead of an outright green tail, which I like!

The quirky thing about this cel setup is that the cels do not actually go together (i.e. Not a key setup). If you break down the cels into their original frames you get three separate images:

1. Flotsam and Jetsam

2. Ariel

3. Bubbles

 

As you can see, Ariel and the eels aren't supposed to have quite as much crossover. Of course, in such a mismatched setup, Ariel gets full priority and is placed on top of Flotsam and Jetsam, despite them actually being on top of her during the film. As for the bubbles, they were made by her tail. I'm thinking I may shift the bubble layer back behind Ariel so that they don't occupy her face.

Being mismatched, I'm not sure how this affects the value. $1695 is far better than $2300, which is how much this cel was offered by Animation Sensations (a.k.a Georgetown Frame Shoppe). Incidentally, they still have it on their site marked as "SOLD", as if they were the ones who sold it. Don't believe it!

This piece cost $US1695. Photographic background. Unframed. The authentication seal is in the bottom-right corner.

"Watch For Sharks"

At around the same time that a very popular Kiss The Girl cel appeared on eBay, Leslie Combermale from ArtInsights offered me a selection of cels from a private collector. I liked almost all of them, but some stood out from others.

In the end it came down to two: one of a large Ariel with an almost full tail, looking uncomfortable as she explain her collection to Sebastian (not in the shot). The fact that she gets into a better position later in the sequence, plus the fact that Flounder, who comes in about three quarters through the sequence, is absent, led me to pass it up for this one:

The smiles on both characters are fantastic. The dialogue I imagine between them is:
Ariel: "We totally going to get grounded for this. Are you okay with that?"
Flounder: "Hell yeah!"

Even though I know that's not actually the case, the though makes me smile :D

Really, the scene is where Ariel is telling Flounder he can sit out the adventure and "watch for sharks". Flounder smiles for a few seconds before realising what Ariel has just said.

I was momentarily concerned about the shape of Flounder's face, as he is in transition to smiling a bit wider, but I find that it's not really a problem after all. Not a full body shot of Ariel, but the tail is highly visible and the full set of Ariel's colours, plus the coupling of the two contrasting characters, makes this a terrific piece! This being from the shipwreck scene at the beginning, it is currently the earliest appearing cel in my collection.

The collection that I bought this from was apparently not made available exclusively to ArtInsights. Animation Sensations (a.k.a Georgetown Frame Shoppe) has listed many of the pieces shown to me by Leslie on their gallery's site. Considering they still list this piece on their site as available when it is safely in Leslie's physical possession on my behalf, I'm wondering just how many cels on their site are actually still available.

They have it listed at Animation Sensations for $200 more than what I paid for it. Looks like ArtInsights gives a better deal this time!

This piece cost $US2200. Photographic background. Unframed. The authentication seal is in the bottom-right corner.

Update:
As requested by one reader, and since I have the image anyway, here is the cel with the numbers at the bottom. I'll save you the trouble: they match!

I also discovered that this cel was sold a few months before I bought it on an auction site for $881.00. The price inflation would be due primarily to the additional costs of buying through a gallery, since they do need to make some money through the transaction. Even taking that into account, however, I'd guess the buyer/seller made several hundred dollars profit in the three months he had it for. Good for him.

"Practically Starving!"

Leslie Combemale does it again! This fabulous depiction of Ursula, including a gratuitous shot of her colossal behind, came from ACME (who are apparently running very low on LM cels at the moment).

The strangely truncated image is due to editing of a slightly poorer shot to bring the image into proper proportion. Hey, it's hard taking a picture of a cel with good lighting and at the right angle on an iPhone!

This piece cost $800. Photographic background. Unframed in an ACME cardboard envelope. The authentication seal is in the bottom right corner.

"Wedding Announcement"

This piece came from eBay as a Buy-It-Now. Slightly less spectacular than some of my other pieces, but it's still a great shot of the main character without too much distortion from mid-movement and a decent display of emotion. This appears after Ariel hears of the wedding and is about to rush downstairs to find Eric. Before she does, she turns and scoops up Sebastian and kisses him. This cel is when she is in transition from the former to the latter.

 

This was the first cel I bought that did NOT come with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA), but it DOES have a seal (trimmed image doesn't show it, but it's there). The seal is the most important. From what I have gathered, the COA isn't as important because it can be transferred to other pieces; a seal is branded onto the piece.

The real kicker is that this cel only cost me $60; my cheapest acquisition to date! The main problem was that the seller wasn't doing international shipping by default, and I had to POUNCE on this fast! So I had the cel sent to Leslie, who was quite happy to receive it, and rather surprised by the price too. The cel wasn't in an ACME envelope, and although all the pieces being sold by the seller came in the same cling-wrap-like packaging, Leslie couldn't find anything remarkable about the presentation to discern anything about the cel's past.

The seller was also selling two other pieces from this movie: one was a cel of Eric and Max dancing on the ship, and one was of the entire Under The Sea ensemble with the lobstering at the front, facing the fourth wall, claws up.

The first cel I didn't like, even though it was only $50, because Eric was in mid-motion and his hair was swooped over most of his face so that he looked kind of emo. The second cel, which was $60, I missed out on to someone else (don't know why they didn't buy this one too) who re-posted it on eBay two weeks later for $350.

That's still pretty cheap, but I'm not interested in giving someone a $290 payoff because they can hit the Buy-It-Now button faster. Naturally, some schmuck bought it and is probably happy with it. At that price, there's no reason not to, unless you know how the guy got it, how much he paid for it and you don't believe he deserves the money.

The reason these cels were being sold so cheaply was that they were being sold by someone who really didn't know their worth. From what I could gather, he was selling them for a friend who had divorced her husband. The cels were his but they seem to have been given to her in the settlement, and she was trying to get what she could for them. I hate to dance on someones marriage wreck, but it worked out good for me!

This piece cost $60. Photographic background. Unframed in plastic wrapping. The authentication seal is in the corner.

"Go On And Kiss The Girl!"

This one was bought at the same time as the "What Is It?" cel. I almost didn't get it because it was quite dim and the photograph they sent of it wasn't the best. Leslie convinced me that I would be happy with it, and I'm really glad she did! If you look at it in the right lighting (certainly not direct lighting!) it's a really good shot of the pair of them in the boat smiling, looking at each other and holding hands. It's also one of the few shots which actually shows both of them and some of the singing wildlife at the same time. I consider it a wonderful addition to my collection!

As you can see, really hard to get a good photo of. In the movie, the fireflies had airbrushed cels, which are missing here. The cel setup is curious too: One for the water, one for the boat, one for the couple, and two for the fireflies. I think that the overall thickness of the cels makes it that much more difficult to take a decent picture, and the flies are on the top. Removing them gives a clearer view of Ariel and Eric. Maybe it is best there's no airbrushed cels; you mightn't see anything at all! The thickness also makes the whole setup heavier to hold.

This piece cost $1500. Photographic background (original background sold at Sotheby's in 1990). Unframed in an ACME cardboard envelope. The authentication seal is on the right, towards the bottom.

"What Would I Give...?"

I almost didn't get this piece, not because I didn't like it, but because I couldn't afford it at the time. It was shown to me at the same time as my second and third pieces, but I could only afford two and I initially chose the other two.

The reason I managed to get this one in the end was because ACME accidentally sent me this one instead of the "Gee, You Must Have Really Been Through Something" cel. By the time they had realised their mistake, sent me the correct one and waited for me to get back from my holiday (they were pretty nice about it) I could feasibly afford this piece. I made a deal with Leslie Combemale to pay it off under a layaway plan (and managed to pay it off well ahead of schedule).

ACME was happy; they didn't have to reacquire the piece. But I must note: This was an exceptional situation. Neither ACME nor ArtInsights are in the habit of sending off pieces of artwork that you haven't bought in the hopes that you will buy it :P

I like this piece because it's another beautiful shot of Ariel, in a tender moment with Eric. Her eyes are full of love and she's actually singing (her mouth is forming the "v" in "give").

This piece cost $1800. It has no background, just a white sheet backing (the original background was a pan background and was sold with another cel at Sotheby's in 1990). Unframed in an ACME cardboard envelope. The authentication seal is in the bottom right-hand corner.

"Gee, You Must Have Really Been Through Something..."

My second/third piece (bought at the same time as the "Look At Ya" cel) which I bought through Leslie Combemale from ArtInsights. When I saw this one, I knew immediately that I wanted it. While waiting for Leslie to get back to me with prices (she showed them to me first to see if I was actually interested) I was losing sleep wondering when she was going to reply (she being approximately 13 hours behind me; and hence is on a completely different timetable) or even IF she had replied as I was lying in bed, trying to sleep.

This is one of my very favourites. It has that tender gazing into the eyes and closeness of the two main characters. The expressions on their faces accurately capture their feelings: concern and helplessness on Eric and Ariel respectively. I've seen other cels from this scene, and none of them have captured the mood as well as this one.

This cost $1800. Both characters are on the same cel. Photographic background (original background was sold at Sotheby's with another cel from this scene in 1990). Unframed in ACME cardboard envelope. The authentication seal is on the right, around the middle.

"Look At Ya!"

This was the second piece that I bought, at the exact same time as my third. It was found by Leslie Combemale from ArtInsights especially for me through her contacts at the ACME Archives. She actually contacted them looking for any Little Mermaid cels still lying around. Of course I had a list of favourites, and of course they've run out of shots from those scenes, bu they did have some beautiful ones I had never thought of before!

It's another nice shot of Ariel with a happy expression. Not the best pose of Scuttle but his gesture captures what he's saying.

This piece cost $2200 and is the most expensive on in my collection to date. It's actually an interesing setup as each component is on a separate cel (4 total): Scuttle, Ariel, Ariel's Reflection and one just for the ripples in the water. Photographic Background (original background was sold at Sotheby's in 1990 with another setup). Currently unframed; came in a cardboard envelope that ACME uses to distribute cels. The authentication seal is on the bottom left.

"You Monster!"

This was my first cel ever. I bought it on eBay in May, 2010. It turns out that I actually purchased from a gallery, Animation Sensations (a.k.a Georgetown Frame Shoppe), who use eBay as a tool for offering some of their products at discounted prices.

It wasn't what I would call a "HAVE to have" moment, but I am happy with it all the same, and feel excited to look at it and have it displayed. It's an excellent moment in the film, one of the few times that Ariel is genuinely full of hatred. It's a full body shot (so head-to-tail; none of the rest of my current collection is like that) with a clear, emotional expression.

It's funny, because soon after I acquired this one I managed to find Leslie Combemale and started talking to her about cels from this film. I mentioned a cel of her cowering under Ursula, which she said was a "Lady in a Muzzle" shot (referencing Lady and the Tramp, a shot undesired by most collectors because it shows their beloved heroine in distress). She then added "But that's not the worst in this movie. There's this one shot of King Triton as a plant creature. That goes beyond a Muzzle shot. That's just... ewww!" My response was to show her this piece XD.

There is a small problem in the framing: apparently the Disney Store used to use a certain type of sticky tape to bind the cel to the background. This tape has been found to pose a threat to the cel over a period of time. As far as I know this hasn't been corrected and so I'll need to get it fixed sooner rather than later!

This piece cost me $1100, not including postage and handling. It was a little annoying, because the seller advertised the item with a $50 postage charge for international postage, and then found out that it was actually $150. They asked me to meet them half-way ($75). I obliged, but reminded them that it was their responsibility to make sure their listing was accurate.

It's on a photographic background with silver Disney Store framing. The authentication seal is in the bottom right-hand corner. Two cels: one for Ariel and one for the Polyp.

ArtInsights and Leslie Combemale

After I purchased my first cel through eBay, I found that it was sold through a gallery (I guess they were trying to get rid of it, becasue they certainly don't list their whole stock on there).

Anyway, I began looking for more information about galleries that sold animation art. Naturally, I wanted to see more of what was out there! I also started doing general research into cels. At this point in time I became aware of the abiliy to ask a gallery to seek specific artwork.

Eventually I stumbled upon some YouTube videos by a woman named Leslie Combemale, who owns ArtInsights: Animation and Film Art Gallery (http://artinsights.com/). These videos, known collectively as the ArtInsights Collector's Education Series (ACES) seek to teach collector's more about their hobby, including thisngs to think about when collecting.

The first video I watched is below:




You will note that she mentions The Little Mermaid specifically at the end in regards to seals. These authenticity seals (or lack thereof) are the bane of collecting these things! If the cel does not have a seal, and its provenence cannot be traced back to a specific set of animators (who got a few cels as part of their contract for the project) then it was highly likely removed illegally from the studio.

I am not interested in building up a collection of stolen artwork, but I see soooooo many pieces being carried by other galleries. One even appeared on Amazon.com!

After watching a few ACES videos (Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/artinsights) I decided to contact Leslie with a small list of requests (in reality, there's something from almost every scene I'd be interested in, but I did have a few favourites on my mind), who replied and actually got right onto my request! Naturally, all these scenes were gone from the achives, but she found me some BEAUTIFUL pieces, which I bought (and will upload when I get the scanning thing figured out) and am VERY happy with.

I mainly deal with Leslie and ask my questions of her. Not only does she not touch those nasty unsealed pieces with a forty-foot pole, but she is extremely knowlegeable about Disney and the artwork she is dealing with (you'd be shocked at how little some galleries know about the stuff they're selling). There's also that personal touch she adds, which is becoming harder and harder to find with the advent of e-commerce.

Occasionally a piece will appear on eBay or somewhere else which has nothing to do with ArtInsights, but I still generally consult Leslie and keep her involved in my growing collection.

So if you collect production artwork from ANYTHING Disney, or you'd like to start, certainly get into contact with Leslie!

Introduction

It's time I started writing on this thing. And like any good story, the best place is to start at the beginning!

This is my first blog (well, I started this one simultaneously with my video games blog: http://vidgamedev.blogspot.com/)so hopefully it will get better as I explore the potentials of having these spaces to write in.

This particular blog is about my passion for collecting production cels from my all-time favourite movie: Disney's The Little Mermaid (1989).

My interest started in early 2010 and I bought my first cel in April of that same year. Since then my collection has grown quite a bit (at the time of writing, I own 9 different cel setups).

I owe most of my collection growth and mentoring on the subject to Lesile Combemale, owner of ArtInsights Animation and Film Art Gallery (http://www.artinsights.com). Through her, not only have I purchased more than half of my collection, but I have also learnt a lot of valuable and interesting information about animation (production and collecting). I'll write a separate post about her and her wonderful gallery soon.

As for the cels themselves, I will start making individual posts for each piece as soon as I figure out the best way to capture them digitally. Photography doesn't work: without the flash it's too dim; with the flash the light reflection ruins the shot. The best way I have heard of is scanning, though I'm not sure of the best way to do this (if you think a flatbed scanner will do it, you're on your own with that!). I will advise when I figure it out!

For now, the background is "Ariel" by the late John Alvin, though I may have to change this due to copyright issues. I do like it's effect though, and will leave it up until I can find something adequate to replace it.

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