This cel from Raggedy Ann and Andy (1977) is huge – 16 1/2″ inches long by 8″ high. Not all of the cel is shown, because my scanner does not have a Panavision setting. Most of the cel is taken up by “The Greedy,” an amorphous glob of taffy liberally suffused with lollipops, ice cream, gum balls, cherries, fudge sauce, and “Butterscotch and nuts that never stop.” As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, The Greedy constantly scoops up delectable parts of himself and eats them.
I wrote about the desire many of us have to see this film released on DVD. Its episodic nature is usually cited as one of the film’s faults (the other being too many songs) but this did allow for the creation of “set pieces,” some of which were star turns by legendary animators. None are more incredible than the Greedy, as animated by Emery Hawkins.
The cel above, like all Greedy cels, is only partially painted. Rather than laboriously apply huge amounts of orange-yellow paint to each cel, a large piece of colored paper was cut to match the Greedy’s outline. This also eliminated the potential for unwanted, distracting swirls of motion within large areas of paint. The jet-black sky was created with another piece of colored paper (this cel has been mounted on a white background).
I’ll link to the YouTube clip for those of you who want to see this scene in all its incredible motion, but be warned: the beauty of this scene is in the details as candy emerges from the taffy pit, is swallowed, and re-emerges. YouTube doesn’t have that kind of resolution, and doesn’t have widescreen, so you’ll be missing a lot. Another reason we need that DVD.
