Original hand inked and hand painted production animation cel of Lucifer set on a lithographic background from "Cinderella," 1950, Walt Disney Studios; Production numbers in ink lower center; Size - Lucifer: 4 1/2 x 6 1/2", Image 11 1/4 x 15 1/4"; Unframed.
The 1950 Walt Disney feature film "Cinderella" was based on the French version of the tale by Charles Perrault, entitled "Cinderella" and written in 1698. The film was the second in the series of great Princess films developed by Disney, the first being Snow White in 1937. The character of Cinderella is usually front and center in the pantheon of Disney Princess merchandise, perhaps because she is the only Princess not to be of a noble blood line who ended up marrying a Prince and becoming royalty.
Lucifer was the name of the pet cat of Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's evil Stepmother. The name Lucifer, a synonym of Satan, was chosen by Walt Disney himself probably due to his known hatred of cats. Lucifer was largely created for comic relief from the main storyline of Cinderella. Ward Kimball, the animator for Lucifer, was also responsible for the comedic subplot of the cat-and-mouse chase scenes between the cat and the two featured mice of the film, Jaq and Gus. His design for Lucifer was largely inspired by a pet cat belonging to Kimball himself; and Kimball's excellent animation skills have made Lucifer one of Disney's greatest Villains!
Lucifer was voiced by the very well known voice actress, June Foray. Foray worked for many different animation studios and is probably most well known as the voice of Cindy Lou Who, in Chuck Jone's holiday favorite "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," 1966. Chuck Jones is reported to have said, "June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc, Mel Blanc was the male June Foray."
This is a very large and expressive original production animation cel of Lady Tremaine's wicked and sinister cat, Lucifer. Original artwork of Lucifer is very rare and this is a great piece. He has his green eyes open, sporting a great wicked smile, and he is licking his lips with anticipation. This is a full cel with ink production numbers and Lucifer is a large 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 inches big. A rare and beautiful piece of vintage Walt Disney animation artwork from the full length feature film masterpiece "Cinderella!"