"Pinocchio" (1940)-Early Concept Work

In looking over some of the items in the Ingeborg Willy scrapbook, I noticed that there were two Production Number groups for "Pinocchio": F-3 and "2003." In communicating with Dave Smith at Disney, he noted that the "F-3" was an initial reference the "Feature-3."

I went through some of the items in the collection and pulled out early storyboard/concept items relating to "Pinocchio."

Here is a "Figaro" concept piece by Shamus Culhane. As you can see, Figaro has a more sinister look than the final Figaro. It is my understanding that Culhane's inability to come up with a "cute" Figaro was one reason he left Disney.

SeqID-0114

Here is a early Jiminy. The "look" is closer to some of the characters from "Woodland Cafe."

SeqID-0235

Here is a Photostat of concepts for Gepetto's house.

SeqID-0505

An interesting concept for Pinocchio. It has some of the same feel as the concepts for Jiminy.

SeqID-0506

Another Photostat of Pinocchio.

SeqID-0507

A great concept of the workbench. Highly detailed...

SeqID-0508

While many of the concepts I've seen have to do with the lead characters, I thought this concept of the fish was interesting. [Note: this sheet is signed by Ken Anderson.]

SeqID-0509

Ken Anderson (1909-1993) Artist; began his Disney career in 1934, contributing to many animated classics as art director beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Since he had an architectural background, he came up with innovative perspective on such Silly Symphony cartoons as Goddess of Spring and Three Orphan Kittens. Specializing in character design in later years, he designed such characters as Shere Khan in The Jungle Book and Elliott in Pete’s Dragon. He was production designed on such films as Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, and The Aristocats. He also designed many parts of Disneyland, including major portions of Fantasyland, the Storybook Land Canal Boats, and others. He retired in 1978, but continued to consult at WED Enterprises. He was honored with the Disney Legends award in 1991. [Smith, Dave. Disney A to Z. NY: Hyperion, 1998. ISBN: 0-7868-6391-9. Pages 26-27.]


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SeqID-0505. From “Pinocchio” (1940). A stat of the interior views of Gepetto’s house. Preliminary layout sheet. Notes: "F-3" "862-34" Circa 1938. Tear on upper left corner. [Item: 15"W X 12.25"H] Acquired 2000. SeqID-0505 Updated: 1/21/2000

SeqID-0506. From “Pinocchio” (1940). First generation Photostat. Notes: "Second revised model sheet"; "F-3"; "E 48 22"; "19-21-4"; "Battaglia"; "OK Joe Grant" Note: “Battaglia” in blue in on Photostat. Circa 1938. Back: AR 19-21-4 [Item: 15.5"W X 12.5"H] Acquired 2000. SeqID-0506 Updated: 1/21/2000.

SeqID-0507. From “Pinocchio” (1940). First-generation Photostat of Pinocchio. Mechanical construction of Pinocchio's head. The “F-3” is the Disney Production Number (according to Dave Smith, “Feature-3”) Notes: "Special poses E4720"; "F-3"; "19-21-1" Note: “19-21-1” in black ink on the page. Circa 1938. Fold/crease along horizontal center line. [Item: 12.5"W X 15.5"H] Acquired 1/21/2000. SeqID-0507. Updated: 5/18/2008

SeqID-0508. From “Pinocchio” (1940). A stat model sheet of Gepetto’s workbench. The “F-3” is the Disney Production Number (according to Dave Smith, “Feature-3”) Notes: "F3"; "Seq 1A"; "Okd by CEP"; "Number M79-A-"; "Date 9-26-38" [Item: 14"W x 11"H] Acquired 1/21/2000. SeqID-0508 Updated: 5/18/2008

SeqID-0509. From “Pinocchio” (1940). A stat model sheet of the fish. Mounted on cardboard. The “F-3” is the Disney Production Number (according to Dave Smith, “Feature-3”) Notes: "F-3"; "6-30-38"; Ink pen "7"; Pencil signed: "Ken Anderson" [Item: 14"W X 11"H] Acquired 2000. SeqID-0509 Updated: 1/21/2000

SeqID-0114. From “Pinocchio” (1940). A series of pencil Figaro concept poses done by Shamus Culhane. Note: “Shamus Culhane” The cat is more "evil" than the final version. [Image: 11.5"W x 9-5/8"H. Frame: 18-7/8"W x 17-3/8"H] Acquired 4/7/1987. SeqID-0114 Updated: 5/18/2008. Side notes: Shamus Culhane (1908-1996) was the lead animator on Snow White -- Heigh-Ho sequence, animated Woody Woodpecker’s Barber of Seville (1944) classic at Lantz, started his own production company in the late 1940’s and produced the first animated TV commercials. Animator on "Hoppity Goes to Town"

SeqID-0235. From “Pinocchio” (1940). Very early model of Jiminy Cricket with 7 full body images. Top left image is a thoughtful Jiminy. Good range of expressions. Possibly done by Ward Kimball. [Item: 12"W x 10"H] Acquired 6/8/1998. SeqID-0235 Updated: 7/17/2005

Seller's comments: "Early concept piece from the late 1930's. Probably done by Ward Kimball. Paper foxed at edges, but does not harm the artwork."