Animation Art

Disney Animation

Animation - in particular, animation art is a popular collecting area, with often high prices justified by good 

investment prospects. the emperor of the craft is Disney, whose artefacts, artwork, and

Disney Animation

 

When Mickey Mouse first appeared in the black-and-white cartoon short Steamboat Willie in 1928, who  could have foretold that this endearing little rodent would one " day become a collectable with extremely good investment potential?

The mouse that roared

Mickey Mouse's creator, Walt Disney, must have had some inkling of his invention's commercial potential,

since the great Disney merchandising bandwagon started to roll as early as 1930.






 This was due to a wealthy New York businessman named George Borgfeldt. Luckily for Disney, who was struggling financially, Borgfeldt had two young children who liked the early Mickey and Minnie shorts. So he decided to license their image from Disney and started producing toys,books, and items of clothing. They sold spectacularly well.

Disney Animation

If you want to start collecting Mickey memorabilia, it's worth familiarising yourself with his changing looks over the years. Generally speaking he has become more rounded and cuddly in appearance. 


Mickeys that have eyes shaped like pies with one slice removed usually indicate an early date. But this effectcan be faked, so also check for signs of ageing, such as old scratches or chips. 



Genuine scratches acquire grime and dirt over time, while chips on old ceramics are less sharp around the edges than new ones.

Disney Animation

A golden decade

Any piece of merchandise from the first 10 years of Disney output - much of it made in Germany and Japan - is collectable and can fetch high sums, provided it is all in one piece. Most such items are in the USA, where Disney dominates popular culture.

Look for printed marks indicating Disney's copyright details, as these help to date pieces. Mickey and Minnie wind-up toys, ceramic figures, dolls, and utility items such as egg cups and toothbrush holders from this period are very scarce today. Ceramic figures of characters from early Disney feature films are also highly sought after - for example, a good, vintage set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs can fetch more than .t 1,000.

Disney for the masses

Because of the increasing scarcity of pre-war Disneyana. collectors have turned to merchandise from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. During this period Mickey Mouse became even less mouselike, and plastic overtook tin as the devoured material.

Disney Animation

 Other Disney characters, making their screen debuts in films such as Pinocchio (1940),Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), The Lady and the Tramp (1955), 101 Dalmatians (1961), and The Jungle Book (1967), also became major subjects for merchandising.

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Mass-market merchandising arrived in the 1950s and 60s, so don't expect your treasured 1980s plastic Pluto lunch box to be worth much more than you paid for it originally. But if you're lucky enough to have a scarcer 1950s metal box depicting

Mickey Mouse, expect it to fetch up to .£200 if it's in



 

Inexpensive and commonly found items such as badges, pens, rubbers, and greetings cards, may rise in value in the long term, particularly if from the 1930s-50s. But the best investment potential for modern pieces lies with larger or more unusual items and limited editions, provided they are in mint condition with original packaging.

Computer creatures

Is it worth keeping merchandise and memorabilia from the computer-generated cartoons of today, such as Toy Story, Dinosaur, and Monsters Inc.? It certainly is - provided you keep the presentation box and the item is well preserved, be it a cuddly toy or a comic book. Such classic animations represent the nostalgia of tomorrow.