Animation Art: Cels Bring Big Bucks

A few years back, I bought an animated art cel featuring what else but the Coca Cola Polar Bears. I paid $50 for two featuring the bears on a boat fishing in the water. I haven't as of yet framed them for display, but I had no idea back then that the value of cels would skyrocket.

Today, some cels featuring figures like Disney's Lion King, Lady and the Tramp and Peter Pan go for somewhere in the five figure range. Some older ones are worth even more.

One reason for the increase in price is the demand. Many people now use cels to decorate rooms instead of paintings. Kids rooms in particular make a great spot to put a Disney cel as decoration.

When seeking cels, it is usually a good idea to seek a main character from a movie. Most people want someone they recognize. A set of cels from the Lion King sold for over $2 million in 1995. An original Pinocchio cel sold for over $250,000.

But, beware hand-painted sericels are now being made in quantities of 100 to 5,000. Those are not as valuable as original one-of-a-kind cels.
So what is the difference between a sericel and a cel? A sericel is a non-production silk screened piece of an animated art movie, TV show or commercial. None of it is painted by hand. An original cel is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation productions.

Cels are much more valuable as through the years companies tossed early animated drawings on celluloid. That makes the old ones extremely valuable. The first time animated art was used was in the early 1900s.

For example, a cel from Bambi is worth around $5,000. A sericel from Bambi is worth around $200.

Today, the most common cels or sericels you will find will probably come from either Disney or Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Taz are quite popular.

Animation art from Japan is also growing as are Saturday morning TV show cels.

A look at eBay shows Batman animated cels featuring Batman himself going for over $1,000 each. A limited edition sericel featuring Star Trek is worth around $700. While, sericels featuring Mickey Mouse are valued around $100 apiece.

The prices range all over the place and you must read carefully to see if it is a real cel, a limited sericel or just a copy.

Care Bears are selling for as little as $25 each and can make a great theme for a child's bedroom.

You may also want to look for various types of cels. A "Production" cel is a cel created for a production, but was never used in it. A "Pan" refers to a cel or drawing that is a large 12 by 30". A "Master Background" cel is the background of a film used for various scenes or sometime never even used.

Another thing to beware of is what the cel has on it. Is it a famous scene? Are the characters looking at the cameras? Are they blinking. A cel featuring the behind of Bugs Bunny may not be quite what most people are looking for. This makes the scene in a cel vital to the value of the piece. About 80 percent of cels are not worth selling. Although, if you get one, keep it as who knows what the future may hold.