(Walt Disney Studios, 1996) Original limited edition serigraph cel for One Hundred and One Dalmatians entitled ‘Hopeful Pups,’ signed in black felt tip by legendary Disney animator Marc Davis. The cel, which is triple-matted and framed to an overall size of 21.25 x 17.25, shows a group of seven happy Dalmatian puppies in a hay-filled barn. Total image measures 12 x 9, and the lower right bears a silver Walt Disney Company seal indicating an edition size of 5000. In fine condition.
One of Disney's Nine Old Men, the legendary core animators of early Disney films, Davis joined Disney in 1935 as an apprentice animator on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He continued to work on classic films like Bambi, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland, and then later transferred to Disney’s Imagineering team where he contributed whimsical story and character concepts for Disneyland attractions like the Haunted Mansion, It’s a Small World, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Davis is probably best known as the father of some of Disney’s most memorable animated women, including Cruella De Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and Tinker Bell from Peter Pan.
