Tuesday, September 22, 2009

An Evil Eruption!

Mistress of All Evil sees her terrible plot unravel as valiant Prince Phillip approaches King Stefan’s castle. Furious, Maleficent blocks Phillip’s path and, in a massive explosion, transmogrifies into a horrifying
dragon.


Plussed with glass and pewter, this magnificent piece, one of the most unusual and elaborate sculptures ever crafted by the Walt Disney Classics Collection, captures every fearsome detail of Maleficent’s terrifying transformation, reflecting the sublime artistry of Walt Disney’s animated classic Sleeping Beauty.

Maleficent's Transformation, a Numbered Limited Edition (NLE) of 500 was sculpted by Ruben Procopio. This marks the Dragon's second appearance in the collection. Prince Phillip, a Numbered Limited Edition (NLE) of 1,000, sculpted by Dusty Horner is the 3rd release in the Heroes & Heroines Series.
Product Info Update: The initial photo used in this blog entry, I created in Photoshop with official images. The above photo is an actual photo of the two sculpts, untouched. The Dragon's wing span is 10" wide and the height of the Dragon and Clouds is 7". The majority of sculpture is porcelain (Dragon at top, Clouds on top and bottom, etc.). There's a connection point at the top and bottom of the glass that is resin, the Maleficent sculpture inside the glass is resin. The glass used is smooth and tinted green but there are vertical striations air-brushed onto the surface as a special effect.

For your viewing pleasure (courtesy of YouTube.com) is the sequence from the film the sculptures were chosen:



Sleeping Beauty ©Disney

9 comments:

Koen said...

I'm not sure. It does compliment Philip better than the original dragon (that i didn't care for), and i like it, sometimes...but sometimes i wonder if it's something that fits my collection. Need to see this first.

jmbunkyjr said...

I love the idea of this. I have Philip but I also have Mal as the Dragon with this piece right now. They go kinda nice together. This one will deff go better. I'm pretty sure I'll get it and just shuffle stuff around a bit.

Jimi

Matthew said...

I absolutely LOVE this piece. This is one of the pieces that when I first saw it my jaw dropped and I thought "WOW"! For me it's in the same class as my holy grails, Monstro and "Big Trouble"... very unique and very dynamic!

I love that this is a really a progression piece... and it works for me. I'm particularly drawn to the glass forming the "magic" of Maleficent growing. I see the exact movie MOMENTS in this piece.

Congratulations, WDCC! This is amazing!

Gregory said...

WOW! A stunning and artistic piece. No doubt. Kudos to the WDCC for taking on such a unique scene in the film. It really does mimic the scene from the film spot on.

That said, I think this piece is going to have to win me over in person. The round green tube effect is going to have to be done perfectly in order not to look too much like a simple glass tube. I'm not sold on this portion of the piece based on pictures. I do love SB though and I really want to love this piece. I'm very eager to see it in person.

Hopefully breakage wont be an issue either since the piece is very wide at the top and the bottom with the delicate center section.

All that said, I do really have to applaud the WDCC again for taking on such an artistic piece.

Jason S. said...

I've gotta agree with the write-up on this one; it's certainly one of WDCC's most unusual and elaborate pieces yet. As with Matthew, I was kind of in awe when I first saw the piece. I know a new Dragon has been requested by collectors, but did not imagine WDCC deciding to go about releasing one via the tranformation sequence. Definitely thought of last year's Alice Sig piece and how they are both progression type pieces.

Needed to see how well this compared to the film, so popped in the dvd to check and have to say Ruben did an excellent job in bringing the sequence to sculpture form. Of course, there is no way to capture all the special effects occuring during this scene, but the gist of the sequence is there (watched it in slow motion to be able to see everything). The base's smokey clouds look like they literally jumped off the screen and have to say the use of the green tube does mirror the shaft of light that Maleficent transforms in. Congrats to Ruben and the WDCC team for figuring out a way to bring this scene to life!

Really appreciate seeing the additional angles on this one, especially that close-up of Maleficent in the tube. Phillip looks like a good match for this piece. Nice job on putting those two together, Don; of course, my pocketbook does not thank you as now you have me considering him for a purchase.

Herc said...

At first, I was not sure, but after seeing the youtube clip that Don posted, I think I'm sold. Ruben really did capture that particular moment.
Cannot wait to see this one so I can study it more before deciding to purchase. Oh heck, you know me, I'll get it anyway. Great progression piece to go with the event Mal and the dragon on bridge.
I must really commend WDCC for really pushing the limits with this one. Bravo.

Jason S. said...

Nice to see an actual photo of the two pieces together as they do appear to complement each other. Really appreciate the additional sizing information and the info on the glass special effects as well. Was thinking the clouds at the bottom were possibly resin, based upon their look, so interesting to hear they are porcelain.

I think this could end up being a popular piece eventhough it is fairly unusual in its execution.

Bob said...

Don great job with the photos. Was on the fence at first look. But after viewing the pieces together and watching the clip, I think we will be adding this to our collection.
Still want to see the piece in person before final decision.
Thanks WDCC for going above and beyond.

Jehna (AliceGirl23) said...

I love this one. I like original and unique. while this piece isnt for everyone its great for the person that likes those pieces that brings out the curiosity in a visitor the "huh?" factor. I love it and cant wait to get it!