"Melody Time: 1 Once Upon A Wintertime" (1948) [3/16] - Cel of Joe & Jenny 1

There were two cels of Joe & Jenny ice skating. Both were great.

Here's the original scan of the scrapbook followed by the final framing that used a background from an unknown 1940's Disney production. Anyone know what film it's from?

Cel of Joe & Jenny

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From “Melody Time: Once Upon A Wintertime” (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of Joe & Jenny spinning on skates on a 1940’s production background from an unknown Disney film. [5.5"W x 6"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1437 8/4/2005

"Melody Time: 1 Once Upon A Wintertime" (1948) [4/16] - Cel of Joe & Jenny 2

Here's another great cel of Joe & Jenny ice skating. This one features Joe and an excellent expression! Again, the original scan of the scrapbook followed by the final framed image using a background from an unknown Disney film of the 1940's.

Cel of Joe & Jenny

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From “Melody Time: Once Upon A Wintertime” (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of Joe & Jenny spinning on skates on a 1940’s production background from an unknown Disney film. [5.75"W x 6"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1438

"Melody Time: 1 Once Upon A Wintertime" (1948) [5/16] - Cel of Horses on Paul Terry Background

A nice cel of the horses, chipmunks and blue birds. The Disney employee that put together the scrapbook used chalk on the construction paper to indicate the feet in the snow. The final framing used a background from a 1940's Paul Terry film

Cel of Woodland Creatures

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From “Melody Time: Once Upon A Wintertime” (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of the horses, a blue bird and chipmunks on a winter production background from a 1940’s Paul Terry film. [5.5"W x 6"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1439 8/4/2005

"Melody Time: 1 Once Upon A Wintertime" (1942) [6/13] - Cel of Rabbits & Blue Birds On Fleischer Background

This cel has some nice sized images of the rabbits and blue birds. We used a background from a 1940's Fleischer/Paramount film -- one of the first backgrounds drawn by Davey Binus for Paul Terry.

Cel of Rabbits & Blue Birds, then on Fleischer Background

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From “Melody Time: Once Upon A Wintertime” (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of the rabbit couple and blue birds on a cabin exterior production background from a 1940’s Fleischer/Paramount film (one of the first backgrounds drawn by Davey Binus for Paul Terry). [6.25"W x 6"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1440 8/4/2005

"Melody Time: 2 Bumble Boogie" (1948) [7/16] - Cel of Bee

A wonderful image of the Bee -- large, with a confused look. Mounted the cel with a background from an unknown 1970's Disney film.

Bewildered Bee

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From "Melody Time: Bumble Boogie" (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of the Bee and moths on 1970’s production background from an unknown Disney Film. [6.25"W x 6"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1436 8/4/2005

"Melody Time: 3 Johnny Appleseed" (1948) [8/16] - Cel of Johnny With Apples

A great cel of Johnny holding apples -- a nice moment that speaks to his name! Put the cel over a background from a 1940's Disney film.

Johnny And His Apples

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From "Melody Time: Johnny Appleseed Sequence" (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of Johnny Appleseed & wagon train on a production background from an unknown 1940’s Disney film. [5"W x 6"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1428

"Melody Time: 3 Johnny Appleseed" (1948) [9/16] - Cel of Johnny and Animals

This is a younger Johnny. As you can see from the animals, everyone thought he was crazy. However, I'm not sure if the focus point is the concept of planting apples or wearing the pot on his head... The cel was framed over an unknown 1940's Disney background.

Johnny As A Pot Head

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From "Melody Time: Johnny Appleseed Sequence" (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of Johnny Appleseed planting with the forest creatures watching on a production background from an unknown 1940’s Disney film. [5.5"W x 6"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1429

"Melody Time: 3 Johnny Appleseed" (1948) [10/16] - Cel of Johnny's Angel

"The voices made me do it!" I guess we can chalk all of this up to Johnny's Angel! A big cel framed over an unknown 1940's Disney background.

Johnny's Angel

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From "Melody Time: Johnny Appleseed Sequence" (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of Johnny's Angel on a production background from an unknown 1940’s Disney film. [5.5"W x 6"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1430

"Melody Time: 4 Little Toot" (1948) [11/16] - 10 Pastel Concepts

I heard the story of Little Toot before ever seeing the movie. But I don't recall very many cartoons showing in the small theater in Altoona, Iowa. Here are ten pastel concepts.

Maybe the reason why this story hit home was that I felt I was a little like Little Toot -- trying to make Dad proud, but it never quite worked out the way I wanted...

Pastel Concepts from Little Toot

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From “Melody Time: Little Toot” (1948; 1954). An extraordinary set of 1948 pastel story concepts on Little Toot. Very close to the final version. Released in 1948 as a segment of Melody Time. Re-released on August 13, 1954 as a short. Some individual items and some in precise sequence. Sequence where he is playing and doing figure-8's. [Image: 10 sections of 8-3/16"W x 5-7/8"H. Total art area: 41-13/16"W x 12"H. Frame: 49-11/16"W x 19-13/16"H.] Acquired 1993. SeqID-0067 8/3/2005

"Melody Time: 4 Little Toot" (1948) [12/16] - 4 Pastel Concepts

Here is another set of great pastel concepts...

Pastel Concepts from Little Toot

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From “Melody Time: Little Toot” (1948; 1954). An extraordinary set of 1948 pastel story concepts on Little Toot. Very close to the final version. Some individual items and some in precise sequence. Bridge sequence. Released in 1948 as segment of Melody Time. Re-released on August 13, 1954 as a short. [Image: 4 sections of 8-3/16"W x 5-7/8"H] Acquired 1993. SeqID-0160 8/3/2005

"Melody Time: 7 Pecos Bill" (1946) [13/16] - Cel of Pecos Bill

I don't have any cels of Bill smoking, but this is a pretty good example of what Bill was all about -- skilled and a show-off! The cel is framed over a background from Chip an' Dale's "Winter Storage" (1949). Note the rope-like carving on the frame to match the texture of the Bill's rope.

Pecos Bill, Then Over Chip an' Dale 1949 Background

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From “Melody Time: Pecos Bill Sequence” (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of Pecos Bill, his horse and rope on a 12-field production background from Disney’s Chip an’ Dale film “Winter Storage” (Jach Hannah DD 1949). [6.25"W x 7.25"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1423

"Melody Time: 7 Pecos Bill" (1946) [14/16] - Signed Cel of Slue Foot Sue

I've always been partial to Slue Foot Sue. An early example of a fairly independent female that continues through today. Certainly it was unusual for the late 1940's. I think you can see elements of Slue Foot Sue in Ariel and a number of the other current female leads.

This cel of Slue Foot Sue is signed by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. While the cel is production, the background is custom made.

Slue Foot Sue Cel Signed by Thomas & Johnston

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From “Melody Time: Pecos Bill" (1946). Production cel and non-production custom background of Slue Foot Sue powdering her face. Signed by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. [Bg: 17.5"W x 14.5"H; Cel: 16-field] Acquired 2000. SeqID-0656

"Melody Time: 7 Pecos Bill" (1948) [15/16] - Cel of Slue Foot Sue As Bride

Here's Slue Foot Sue making the transition from Tom-Boy to Bride. I think it shows the dual aspects of Disney's strong female characters. The cel is framed over a background from an unknown 1940's Disney film.

Slue Foot Sue As A Bride-To-Be

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From “Melody Time: Pecos Bill Sequence” (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of Slue Foot Sue dressed as a Bride on a 1940’s production background from an unknown Disney film. [5.5"W x 7.25"H] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1424 7/30/2005

"Melody Time: 7 Pecos Bill" (1948) [16/16] - Cel of Slue Foot Sue Riding Fish

A great image of Slue Foot Sue riding a Cat Fish. Certainly speaks to Sue's independent nature! I couldn't seem to find a background that worked with this, so it remains in the drawer, unframed...

Slue Foot Sue Riding A Cat Fish

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From “Melody Time: Pecos Bill Sequence” (1948). Cel from a scrapbook compiled by an unknown Disney employee of Slue Foot Sue riding a fish. [Item: 6.25"W x 6"H; Unframed] Acquired 2003. SeqID-1425

"Mandrake The Magician" [2 of 2] - 1998c NCS 29-Inch Poster Signed by Falk and Fredericks

As long as I'm talking about "Mandrake the Magician," I'll post one of the posters in a limited edition series (run of 100) published by the National Cartoonists Society circa 1998. All of them are 21"W x 29"H and signed. They are all fantastic items. Unfortunately, I've never had the real estate to frame and hang all of them!

"Mandrake" 29-Inch National Cartoonists Society Signed Poster Signed by Falk & Fredericks

Historical Notes

After posting the above, I did a search on "Mandrake the Magician" and found some interesting hits. Here are two of them...

From "Ask Yahoo" 5/3/2007:

Dear Yahoo!:
Who was the first superhero?
Kevin
Indianapolis, Indiana

Dear Kevin:
Definitions of superheroes vary widely. One person's hero is another person's Hercules. For the sake of simplicity, we're going to define a superhero as someone who fights crime in disguise and is blessed with superior strength, powers, or (in the case of Batman) gadgets.

This excellent blog entry from kottke.org offers up plenty of theories about who the first superhero was. The author concludes that "Mandrake the Magician" may have been the first true superhero. Toonpedia agrees, calling Mandrake "the first super-powered, costumed crime fighter in comics." [Bob: Bolding is mine] Created by Lee Falk, Mandrake made his debut in 1934, approximately four years before Superman landed on Earth.

So what sort of powers did Mandrake have? King Features Syndicate explains he was a master of hypnotism and illusion. Like all the great superheroes who followed him, Mandrake used his powers to combat evil. But unlike other superheroes, Mandrake appears to have been based on a real person, a stage magician named Leon Mandrake.

Eat your heart out, Superman (and David Copperfield).

From Wikipedia:

Mandrake the Magician is a U.S. comic strip created in 1934 by Lee Falk (also creator of The Phantom) and mainly appearing in syndication in newspapers. Falk soon gave the job of drawing the comic strip to artist Phil Davis, while continuing to write the storylines. Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964 [Bob: see next posting for Falk & Davis]; Falk then recruited current artist Fred Fredericks. On Falk's death in 1999, Fredericks took over writing the strip as well. Mandrake is widely believed to have been the first bona fide superhero.

Mandrake was an illusionist whose work was based on an impossibly fast hypnotic technique. As the narrator informed us: "Mandrake gestured hypnotically" and the subject or subjects of this hypnosis would suddenly see the illusions he wanted. Mandrake fought criminals and other villains in his spare time. This would include common gangsters, mad scientists, and aliens from outer space or other dimensions.

After the series existing in cartoons, radio plays, and serials, a movie based on Mandrake with magician Criss Angel is set to start filming in 2008.

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

From “Mandrake The Magician,” a National Cartoonists Society poster by Lee Falk & Fred Fredericks (circa 1998). A National Cartoonists Society L/E signed Lithographs -- 93/100 (Circa 1998). Signed by Lee Falk & Fred Fredericks [Unframed Item: 21-1/8"W x 29-1/8"H] Acquired 1998. SeqID-0303 8/4/2005