The Funny Folk of Disneyland in Playtime Fun
London: IPC Magazines Ltd, 1977. Item #04143
Playtime in Disneyland
Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, Baloo, Goofy, Pluto, Pinocchio, Tigger and Friends
Original Walt Disney Artwork for Disney Time No. 2
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS. The Funny Folk of Disneyland in Playtime Fun. Original hand-painted artwork for the double-page center spread of Walt Disney's Disney Time, No. 2. [London: IPC Magazines Ltd.], February 5, 1977.
Original gouache on artist's board. Image size 9 5/8 x 16 5/8 inches (244 x 422 mm.). In fine condition. Matted, framed and glazed.
Together with a copy of Walt Disney's Disney Time, No. 2, published February 5, 1977, in which the present artwork appeared as the double-page center spread.
A superb and wonderfully crowded piece of original Walt Disney publication artwork, bringing together an exceptional gathering of Disney characters for “playtime” in Disneyland.
Across a brilliantly colored expanse of green, virtually every inch of the composition is occupied by a familiar Disney character engaged in some form of game, sport or comic mishap.
At lower left, Minnie Mouse sits at her easel attempting to paint, while a ball comes bouncing dangerously toward her picture. Nearby Baloo dances exuberantly, Mickey Mouse watches the proceedings, and Winnie-the-Pooh sits contentedly beside his beloved pot of “Hunny.”
In the foreground, Goofy has - as the accompanying text explains - managed to become hopelessly entangled in a skipping rope. Piglet looks on nearby, while Pluto energetically digs into the ground and a small black dog joins the fun.
Elsewhere Pinocchio strides through the crowd; Tigger bounces enthusiastically from a horizontal bar; Little John dominates the center-right of the composition; and characters from The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Alice in Wonderland and other Disney films crowd the field. Some skip, others play leapfrog or blind man's buff, while still others appear to be contributing to the general confusion simply by being there.
The published text explains the premise: “If you go to school, I expect you have a playtime every morning and one every afternoon. Well, so do our cheerful chums, the funny folk of Disneyland.”
Every morning at half-past ten, readers are told, the Disney characters abandon whatever they are doing and rush out to the play park. Some play football, others blind man's buff, leapfrog or skipping games—with predictably chaotic consequences.
As with the other Disney Time and Disneyland Magazine artworks in the collection, the composition incorporates a hidden-object game. Young readers were challenged to locate a boot, ball, cap, hammer, bell, candle and milk bottle concealed among the characters and scenery.
The artwork appeared as the double-page center spread of Walt Disney's Disney Time, No. 2, dated February 5, 1977.
The British weekly was published by IPC Magazines Ltd. and had an exceptionally short life: just twenty-one regular issues appeared between January 29 and June 18, 1977.
That brief publication history makes the survival of the original artwork particularly interesting. Unlike artwork devoted to a single film or character, the present composition functions almost as a Disney ensemble portrait, gathering characters from numerous films and stories into one wonderfully exuberant scene.
The accompanying copy of the original magazine is especially desirable, documenting the artwork's publication and allowing the finished gouache to be compared directly with its printed appearance.
A wonderfully animated piece of original Disney publication art, remarkable for the sheer number and variety of classic characters assembled within a single composition—and an exceptionally cheerful evocation of the Disney universe in the 1970s.
Price: $2,500.00