Warner Bros. Production Art, Part Two: Drawings

As a followup to my last post, Here are some rare animation drawings that have surfaced online for auction recently. These are actual drawings used in the making of the cartoons, before they were traced onto cels. I've also included some drawings that were concept sketches, and one that was drawn for a theatrical lobby card.


Animation Drawings of Elmer Fudd's flea-plagued dog from Bob Clampett's "An Itch In Time" (1943).

Animation drawings (trimmed, sadly) from "Yankee Doodle Daffy" (Friz Freleng, 1943).

Animation drawing from "Scrap Happy Daffy" (Frank Tashlin, 1943).

 Animation drawing from Chuck Jones' "Angel Puss" (1944).



 Animation drawing of Daffy Duck from "Duck Soup to Nuts" (Friz Freleng, 1944).

 Animation drawings from Chuck Jones' U.S. Army training film 'Private Snafu Vs. Malaria Mike" (1944).

 Animation drawing from "From Hand To Mouse" (Chuck Jones, 1944).



Animation drawing of Sylvester from "Peck Up Your Troubles" (Friz Freleng, 1945).

 Animation drawing by Virgil Ross from "A Hare Grows in Manhattan" ( Friz Freleng, 1947).

 Animation drawing of Bugs Bunny and Cecil Turtle by Hawley Pratt from "Rabbit Transit" (Friz Freleng, 1947). 

Lobby card sketch for "Two Gophers From Texas" (Arthur Davis, 1948).

Animation drawing of Yosemite Sam from "Southern Fried Rabbit" (Friz Freleng, 1953).

Animation drawing from 'The Abominable Snow Rabbit" (Chuck Jones, 1961)

Chuck Jones sketch of Wile E. Coyote, late 1950's

Animation drawing from an unidentified Friz Freleng Sylvester cartoon, early 1960's.

 

 Animation drawing of Speedy Gonzales from "The Bugs Bunny Show" (Circa 1961).

 Animation drawing of Sylvester from an unidentified Robert McKimson short, circa 1961.

Animation drawing from "Claws in the Lease" (Robert McKimson, 1963).

 

Production sketches of Yosemite Sam from "Devil's Feud Cake" (Friz Freleng, 1963). 

 

Soon to come: Cels!

Warner Bros. Production Art, Part One: Backgrounds

We haven't updated this blog for quite a while, but there really hasn't been much worth mentioning to share with you. Well, I think this will make up for that.

There has been a flood of original Warner Bros. cartoon production art turning up on auction sites lately. These one-of-a-kind pieces generally fetch thousands of dollars when sold and are prized by collectors, but their value to historians and fans is immeasurable. I don't have the deep pockets to purchase even a single one, but I can save a photo to my hard drive! Here is part one in a series of posts that will share some of these gems for internet posterity.

Let's start with a few backgrounds.

These beautifully rendered paintings were usually on screen in a film for only a few seconds, with the actual animation laid over them on clear cels for filming. Some were wider or taller than the standard frame size, so that the camera could perform the illusion of a pan shot, or depict a character covering a large amount of ground in a short time.

From "The Awful Orphan" (Chuck Jones, 1949). Layout by Robert Gribbroek, painting by Pete Alvarado.

From "Ain't She Tweet" (Friz Freleng, 1952). Layout by Hawley Pratt, painting by Irv Wyner.

From "The Long Haired Hare" (Chuck Jones, 1949). Layout by Robert Gribbroek, painting by Pete Alvarado.

  

From "The Scarlet Pumpernickel" (Chuck Jones, 1950).  Layout by Robert Gribbroek, painting by Pete Alvarado.

 

From "Scent-Imental Romeo" (Chuck Jones, 1951). Layout by Robert Gribbroek, painting by Pete Alvarado.

From "Zipping Along" (Chuck Jones, 1953). Layout by Maurice Noble. Painting by Phil DeGuard.

 

From "What's Up Doc?" (Robert McKimson, 1950). Layout by Cornett Wood, painting by Richard H. Thomas.

 

From an unidentified Chuck Jones Roadrunner short, circa 1960. Layout by Maurice Noble. 

 Concept painting by Maurice Noble for a Chuck Jones Roadrunner short, 1950's.

From "Martian Through Georgia" (Chuck Jones, 1962). Layout by Maurice Noble, painting by Phil DeGuard.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the next post, showcasing animation drawings and sketches.

Sylvester Risks His Life Again!

We've featured some commercials of Sylvester for 9Lives cat food here in the past (click here to see them) and here's another one.  This one is from 1979.

1971 Bugs, Yosemite and Fudd Thermos

Just a quick post to show off a recent flea market find, this 1971 thermos of Bugs, Yosemite Sam and Elmer (all three sides shown in the picture below).  A pretty nice piece to add to the old Looney Tunes shelf.  You don't run across vintage thermos bottles like these very often.

Warner Show

I've seen cels like the one above showing Daffy dancing with Porky pop up on various animation art dealer websites for years now, but was never quite sure where this scene originated. Thanks to YouTube, it appears it came from the opening to an Italian compilation television program titled Warner Show. The intro below suggests the show showcased the Looney Tunes and other popular WB animated shows of the day (Tiny Toons, Taz-Mania, Animaniacs).

Speedy Banking

From 2006, here's a commercial for Bank Austria featuring Speedy Gonzales.

"Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension" (1997)

In 1997, Warner Bros. released a short film produced in 3D for the Warner Bros. Studio Store in New York City. It was also shown at Six Flags theme parks and in limited theatrical presentation. While animated films in 3D are the norm now, it was a landmark then.

Unseen for many years since, it recently turned up on the Looney Tunes Platinum Blu-Ray release. Directed by Doug McCarthy and voiced by Joe Alaskey, the film features Daffy Duck as an actor playing hero Duck Dodgers. Marvin mistakes Daffy's overacting for a legitimate threat and brings him to Mars. It's not great, but it is a rarity, and worthy of mention and viewing here!