"Gulliver Mickey" (1934)-Pencil Background & Cutout

This "Gulliver Mickey" (1934) shows a couple of interesting items. First, let's deal with the cut-outs. There was a time (maybe 20 years ago) when well drawn cut-outs were added to a background to improve the background's sale price. Since backgrounds were not too "sexy," the characters were added. I was OK with it at the time (since I didn't know too much), but I'm probably more 50-50 right now. I will say, this kind of set-up does work well when the guests don't know much about the animation process -- this approach does let them start to see how all the elements work together.

"Gulliver Mickey" (1934) - Pencil Background, Cut-outs & Tech Notes

What's really neat is the 2-hole attachment at the bottom. Good technical detail that can be folded into the discussion about the piece and it becomes a "teachable moment." Few people have any kind of feel for the amount of time and effort that goes into the animation process. I know a number of people that would not have included the production data in the framing, but I think there is a huge difference between "exhibiting" art and "hanging" art on the wall. I enjoy the entire educational process that surrounds exhibiting art -- framing these unique elements provides me with another "talking point" and a chance to explain why I love animation art and the entire creative process that included not only the art, but the technical skill required to make it all work together to fool us into believing that these 2-dimensional characters are, in fact, REAL!

[Note: Click to enlarge]

After posting this, I realized that you can't really see enough detail in the bottom section, so I've included an enlargement of just that portion of the image...

[Note: Click to enlarge]

----- DATABASE NOTES -----

From “Gulliver Mickey” (1934). A cutout of Mickey and Nephew pasted on a pencil background. The nephew is dangling a spider down in front of Mickey. A very interesting combination. From the end of the film. Signed: “HAM” has his name written in the direction section. [12”W x 13”H; 2-hole]

Seller's Notes: Original pencil layout with matching animation drawings. Trimmed figures are placed as seen in the finished cartoon.