1989 Rare Walt Disney The Little Mermaid Ursula Original Animation Drawing Cel

URSULA PRODUCTION DRAWING WALT DISNEY STUDIOS GRAPHITE, RED, & BLUE PENCILS ON PEG HOLE PAPER, 1989. Original production animation drawing of Ursula in blue, red, and graphite pencils from "The Little Mermaid, " 1989, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 86 lower right; Unframed. "The Little Mermaid, " is an American animated musical fantasy film and the 28th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures to theaters on November 17, 1989. The film was based on the Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, which tells the story of a beautiful mermaid princess who dreams of becoming human.

The film was written, directed, and produced by Ron Clements and John Musker; with music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. The voice cast includes: Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E.

Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Buddy Hackett, and René Auberjonois. Aside from its main animation facility in Glendale, California; Disney opened a satellite feature animation facility in Lake Buena Vista, Florida that was within the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World. Their first projects were to produce an entire Roger Rabbit cartoon short, "Roller Coaster Rabbit, " and to contribute ink and paint support to The Little Mermaid.

Another first for Disney films of recent years, was the filming of live actors and actresses for motion reference material for the animators. Broadway actress Jodi Benson (who was predominantly a stage actress when she was cast) was chosen to play Ariel, and Sherri Lynn Stoner, a former member of Los Angeles' Groundlings improvisation comedy group, acted out Ariel's key scenes. The Little Mermaid's supervising animators included Glen Keane and Mark Henn on Ariel, Duncan Marjoribanks on Sebastian, Andreas Deja on King Triton, and Ruben Aquino on Ursula. Originally, Keane had been asked to work on Ursula, as he had established a reputation for drawing large powerful figures, such as the bear in "The Fox and the Hound, " 1981 and Professor Ratigan in "The Great Mouse Detective, " 1986. Keane however, was assigned as one of the two lead artists on the petite Ariel and oversaw the "Part of Your World" musical number. He jokingly stated that his wife looks exactly like Ariel without the fins. " The character's body type and personality were based upon that of Alyssa Milano, who was starring on TV's "Who's the Boss? The effect of Ariel's hair underwater was based on footage of Sally Ride when she was in space; and scenes of Sherri Lynn Stoner in a swimming pool were used in animating Ariel's swimming. A challenge in animating Ariel were the colors required to show her in various changing environments, both under the sea and on land.

By the end of the film, the animators required a total of 32-color models; not including costume changes. The sea-green color of her fin was a hue specially mixed by the Disney paint lab, and the color was named "Ariel" after the character.

"The Little Mermaid, " 1989 was the final Disney film using hand painted animation cels. Disney Studios, specifically Ron Clements and John Musker, adapted the Hans Christian Anderson story to give the villain a much bigger role. The first choice to voice the character was Beatrice Arthur who turned down the part. It was eventually accepted by veteran stage actress Elaine Stritch; however she clashed with the music stylist. The role was finally given to Pat Caroll who described the role as, part Shakespearean actress, with all the flair, flamboyance and theatricality, and part used-car salesman with a touch of con artist.

Caroll also served as the live action model of the character. Although I would have loved to have heard Arthur and Stritch sing "Pour Unfortunate Souls, " Ursula is the absolute embodiment of Caroll and I think she was the best choice! Measurements: Size - Ursula: 3 1/4 x 10 1/4", Sheet 12 1/2 x 17". Condition: See pictures of the actual drawing which is in excellent overall condition as shown above! All items we sell are from a smoke-free/mold-free home/workplace and are in excellent condition unless otherwise noted. I own every work pictured for sale and I stand behind every item. Please follow/bookmark me as a favorite and keep and keep checking back for more items for sale in the coming weeks. For now, please check out my other Animation Drawings and Cels and other original modern and contemporary artwork for sale!