The Sorcerer's Apprentice Concept Painting: Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse

MEDIUM: Original Concept Painting - Gouache on Board
IMAGE SIZE: 6.5" x 6.5"
PRODUCTION: Fantasia, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1940)
SKU: CCV5955

ABOUT THE IMAGE: This artwork was created as conceptual, visual development art during the production of Walt Disney's 1940 animated classic Fantasia.

ABOUT THE FILM: Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. With story direction by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer, and production supervision by Ben Sharpsteen, it is the third Disney animated feature film. The film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Music critic and composer Deems Taylor acts as the film's Master of Ceremonies, providing a live-action introduction to each animated segment.

Disney settled on the film's concept in 1938 as work neared completion on "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", an elaborate Silly Symphonies short designed as a comeback role for Mickey Mouse, who had declined in popularity. As production costs grew higher than what it could earn, Disney decided to include the short in a feature-length film with other segments set to classical pieces. The soundtrack was recorded using multiple audio channels and reproduced with Fantasound, a pioneering sound reproduction system that made Fantasia the first commercial film shown in stereophonic sound.