(Walt Disney Studios, 1985) Wonderful grouping of five original character studies and concept drawings by Marc Davis for The Black Cauldron, featuring character sketches of Hen Wen, Gurgi, King Ellidilleg and Doli, Creeper, and The Witches of Morva, each signed in the lower right in pencil by Davis, who annotates the drawing with artist instructions, character names, and quotes. The Hen Wen sheet features six images of the small pig in states of calm and panic, with notation above reading: “Hen Wen, Keep her very feminine! The audience should feel concern for her as a character as well as her situation in the story.” The Gurgi sheet contains three drawings of the small ‘gopher wood troll creature,’ one of which has been taped to the left side, and an artist note: “Gurgi, He needs to feel like he has bones in his body!” The King Ellidilleg and Doli sheet shows the full-length characters in conversation; the Creeper sheet depicts the goblin being tripped under a dinner table as he and a mongrel go for the same plate of leftover food; and the witches sheet shows Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch laughing hysterically as a group, with a quote below reading: “‘A duckling destroying the cauldron – cackle!’” Each drawing is accomplished in graphite on untrimmed 15.5 x 12.5 animation paper. In overall fine condition. Originates from the Joe Hale Collection.
A massive new team of animators and artists were brought in to work on The Black Cauldron, and, as such, both Milt Kahl and Marc Davis worked on the film in character development, mentoring, and in training the new talent. This would be one of the last projects Davis worked on for Walt Disney Studios.
