Propstore is offering Disney fans a rare glimpse behind the scenes — along with the chance to own a piece of animation history — in its winter Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction. Running from December 5-7, the sale features more than 1,300 rare lots, including a dedicated Animation Day on Sunday, December 7.
The collection showcases how hand-drawn animation comes together, step by step. Every Disney classic begins in the same place: early visual development. A standout example is Cinderella (1950) with Mary Blair’s Cinderella at the Palace Window concept painting (est. £15,000 – £30,000 / $19,800 – $39,600). Blair’s bold color styling shaped the entire look of the film, guiding everything that followed in the production pipeline.
Once the tone and palette are set, animators move into early planning drawings that help establish the rhythm and emotional flow of a scene. The Monsters, Inc. (2001) hand-drawn beat board signed by Jorgen Klubien (est. £1,000 – £2,000 / $1,320 – $2,640) illustrates how Pixar shaped the tone, timing and narrative cadence before animation began. Beat boards like this guided how character action and storytelling would unfold.
With those foundations in place, artists progress to more detailed story work. The auction includes rare materials from this stage, such as the Fantasia (1940) Little Faun and Baby Pegasus storyboard art (est. £2,000 – £4,000 / $2,640 – $5,280). Storyboards refine movement, staging, and emotional beats, mapping out each moment long before the final animation is painted.
Only after these layers of planning do the final hand-inked and hand-painted cels take shape. The auction features several exceptional examples of this craftsmanship, including the Sleeping Beauty (1959) Framed Maleficent and Diablo original production cel setup with production background (est. £12,000 – £24,000 / $15,840 – $31,680). These finished cels were photographed over hand-painted backgrounds to create the images seen on screen.
Additional highlights of the sale include:
- Pinocchio (1940) Pinocchio on Stage “I’ve got no strings” Original Production Cel on Hand-Painted Production Background est. £10,000 – £20,000 ($13,200 – $26,400)
- The Jungle Book (1967) Mowgli, Baloo and Shere Khan Original Production Cels on Hand-Painted Background est. £4,000 – £8,000 ($5,280 – $10,560)
- Fantasia (1940) The Sorceror’s Apprentice – Original Production Cel on Courvoisier Background est. £4,000 – £8,000 ($5,280 – $10,560)
- The Little Mermaid (1989) Hand-Painted “Poor Unfortunate Souls” Original Production Cel of Ursula est. £2,000 – £4,000 ($2,640 – $5,280)
- Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (1974) Winnie the Pooh Original Storyboard Drawing and Dialog Tag est. £1,200 – £2,400 ($1,584 – $3,168)
- Cars (2006) Filmore and Luigi Original Production Hand-Drawn Beat Board est. £800 – £1,600 ($1,056 – $2,112)
- A Bug’s Life (1998) Heimlich, Slim and Francis Original Production Hand-Drawn Storyboard (Signed by Jorgen Klubien) est. £700 – £1,400 ($924 – $1,848)
- The Little Mermaid TV Series (1992–1994) Ariel and Merfolk Original Production Cel est. £500 – £1,000 ($660 – $1,320)
- Robin Hood (1973) Little John Original Production Cel est. £350 – £700 ($462 – $924)
The three-day Live Auction will run from December 5–7, 2025 and will begin each day at 3 p.m. (GMT) / 7 a.m. (PST). The first day of the auction features in-room bidding open to the public at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London on December 5; subsequent days are online bidding only. Global online, absentee and telephone bids will be accepted throughout the event.
Propstore is also hosting a special two-day public exhibition at The Cumberland Hotel, London, opening Tuesday, November 25, where fans and collectors will have the chance to see highlight lots up close before they go under the hammer. Find out more about the event here.
Registration for the December Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction is now open, and the full catalog is available at propstoreauction.com/
