Bonhams & Butterfields next entertainment memorabilia auction, on Sunday December 9th, will contain animation art from the Estate of Bill Tytla, one of the greatest animators of all time. According to their press release:

The collection includes a cel, animation drawings and preliminary drawings including a celluloid of the character “Chernabog” from Fantasia. The 1940 gouache on celluloid, a close-up of Chernabog’s face (above) from the Night on Bald Mountain sequence, is matted and framed, the 10 x 12-inch work expected to bring $600-800 at auction.

Click on cel above for a larger image. All items for sale in this auction will be posted next month on this page.

It seems I can’t escape animation no matter where I go. For example, take last week when I was in San Francisco attending an advertising conference in the beautiful Presidio. During a break from the activities, I decided to take a little walk around the grounds. I noticed there was heavy construction going on around a couple of the buildings so I decided to check out what they were doing. It turns out that it’s the future home of the Walt Disney Family Museum, which is scheduled to open in August 2009.

The idea of situating a museum in a city in which Walt had few connections to may seem like a poor idea, but having seen the location in person, I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly the buildings being used for the museum capture the spirit of Walt Disney. It’s not just that they’re old buildings but their setting in the Presidio creates a sense of good old-fashioned Americana that simply feels right. Such a brilliant decision about where to place the museum leads me to believe that the Disney Family Foundation, run by Disney’s grandson Walter Elias Disney Miller, will be making other intelligent choices about the museum in the future, which offers a reason to look forward to their activities.

Here are a few more pics from my walk. The building below, #104, is a 19th century military barrack that will house the main musuem, cafe, gift shop and 115-seat lecture hall. (Click on the pic for a bigger version.) Some of the items that will be on display in the museum can be viewed at the museum’s website.

This next building, #122, originally a gymnasium built in 1904, is located behind the first building. It will rehabbed to house the Foundation’s research, archive and education functions, and to provide a gallery space for visiting exhibits.

I didn’t see the third building but apparently that will be used mostly for housing mechanical equipment and providing behind-the-scenes support to the two main buildings . Here’s an info sheet posted by one of the buildings. Click on it for a readable version.

I’m not sure what’s going on here, but something tells me this isn’t the type of family entertainment Walt had in mind when he started Disneyland.

(via Boing Boing)

I like Disney cartoons. And I like Disney music. So here’s a new Disney blog that pays unique tribute to the songs: Covering the Mouse, a blog dedicated to musicians and singers who have covered Disney songs.

Webmaster Kurtis Findley has just started blogging, posting Disney tunes by the likes of Usher, Bobby McFerrin and LL Cool J. My hope is that he delves into the stranger stuff from the past - like Louis Prima singing Supercalifgragilisticexpialidocious! and Satchmo covering Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.

Jeff Pepper of 2719 Hyperion offers up a well annotated who’s who of celebrity caricatures in the Disney short The Autograph Hound (1939).

Some believe that the art of classic character animation is dead. So perhaps it’s quite fitting that the Forest Lawn Museum in Glendale is currently hosting an animation exhibit entitled Visions: The World of Fantasy Art.

Crystal Mora (of the Platform Animation Festival) checked it out:

Knowing very little about the exhibit, I was not only delighted to find some amazing fantasy illustrations on display, but also many pieces on loan from the Walt Disney Animation Studio. Some of the work on display includes maquettes from The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, original character sketches by Glen Keane, storyboards, backgrounds, and concept art from Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan and more!

The entire exhibit itself was not very large, but it’s completely free to enjoy. Having the location be at the top of a large cemetery was a bit questionable, but the drive was lovely (and slightly creepy).

The exhibit is currently running through January 6th, 2008. For more information check the website.

Notice anything animated about this room?

According to Drexel Heritage, this is furniture inspired by Walt Disney! The Disney Signature Collection is what they call a “life-style brand”. There are over fifty pieces in the collection, none of them featuring any characters, but all inspired by the Moderne office decor of the Burbank studio of the 1940s (with names that make reference to famous locations in Disney history - like the “Kingswell Chair” and the “Marceline Mirror”). Some of these pieces are really nice - but this behind-the-scenes sales video is, at best, a bit pretentious.

So grab your copy of Mike Barrier’s The Animated Man and get comfortable in the “Storyteller Sofa”, grab a drink from the “Buena Vista Bar Cabinet”, and put your feet up on the “Animators End Table”. After a hard day of mocap and key framing, you deserve it.

(Thanks, Brad Constantine)

Got a spare fifteen grand? You might be interested in this killer item.