With last week's first wave of announcements for 2008 Members Only releases, it had me reflecting on past members-only releases and keeping with the fall theme of this month's blog entries, thought of the Autumn Fairy from Disney's Fantasia.In 1998, the Walt Disney Collectors Society unveiled a new type of release, a Members Only Limited Edition. This was the first Society Limited Edition offered to Society members. They would end up doing a Members Only Limited Edition release, skipping a year in between each release, until 2004. The Autumn Fairy, sculpted by Kent Melton was released in an edition size of 5,000. The sculpture was a combination of bronze and porcelain done with opalescent paint highlights.
The Autumn Fairy is from the Nutcracker Suite portion of Fantasia. The Nutcracker Suite a personified depiction of the changing of the seasons; first from summer to autumn, and then from autumn to winter. It features a variety of dances, just as in the original, but danced by animated fairies, fishes, flowers, mushrooms and leaves; no actual nutcracker is ever seen in this version. Many elements are rendered carefully and painstakingly using techniques such as drybrush and airbrush.
The Dewdrop Fairy was released in 2002, a Numbered Limited Edition of 2,002 pieces released in honor of the 10th Anniversary of the Walt Disney Classics Collection followed in 2005 with the Frost Fairies, a Numbered Limited Edition of 500. Both were sculpted by Kent Melton.
The Nutcracker Suite musical score was done by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Animation Supervisors were Fred Moore and Vladimir Tytla and Animation by Art Babbitt, Les Clark, Don Lusk, Sy Young, and Robert Stokes.
As an added treat, below is a portion of the Autumn Fairy Sequence (courtesy of YouTube.com):
Nutcracker Suite portion from Disney's Fantasia is ©Disney
Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are two of my most favorite Disney films. The trio of Fairy pieces from the Nutcracker sequence have an honored place in my collection and are some of the most beautiful WDCC pieces ever produced.
ReplyDeleteI continue to wish for more pieces from the Nutcracker sequence!
I think the three fairies done to date are some of the most beautiful pieces of WDCC. Fantasia overall has inspired some of the most awesome, funny and beautiful sculpts. Keep them coming Enesco!!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. These pieces are both artistic and beautifully sculptured. These pieces are truly a work of art and hopefully the 4th & Final Fairy will be released in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be a week of film release anniversaries, with yesterday Song of the South and today being the 67th Anniversary of Fantasia, the first major film released in the United States in sterophonic sound.
Had forgotten about Fantasia Anniversary. Thanks for the reminder, Don. Typically, I watch the movie on its anniversary... even have it on my calendar... just have been a bit preoccupied and forgot.
ReplyDeleteThere are SO many pieces from the Nutcracker segment that I would still love to see portrayed by WDCC, including the snowflake fairy. I'm not sure that's the one you mentioned Don... which one are you thinking?
Hope you don't mind that I campaign once again for the Milkweed Ballet, and also the Arabian Ballet (with the beautiful fish) from this segment.