Although there has always been a market for classic, key animation pieces, for many years it seemed as if the animation market as a whole was in the doldrums. That might no longer be a true observation as Heritage Auctions has announced the addition of animation expert Jim Lentz to their staff and an Animation Art Auction to their roster of specialities.

Scoop talked with Lentz about his background, the market and why it’s a good time for animation art.

Scoop: What was your first experience with animation art?
Jim Lentz (JL): Seeing hand painted cels at Disneyland as a kid.

Scoop: What made you look at it as business rather than just as a fan?
JL: I felt that animation art was one of the great American art forms we as a country had produced. I couldn’t believe you could own a piece of an animated short or feature film. When I was growing up Prime Time network animation was on every night: Alvin and the Chipmunks Monday night, Bugs Bunny Tuesday night, Bullwinkle Wednesday night, Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear on Thursday night, The Flintstones on Friday night, Disney and The Jetsons on Sunday night, and of course Saturday morning cartoons. Also I vividly remember the experience of my parents taking me to the theater to see Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, etc. I felt that the baby boomer was really a cartoon generation, and a gallery devoted to this type of artwork would thrive.

Scoop: How did you actually get into buying animation art?
JL: I was in Los Angeles in late 1980s on business and went to a collectibles auction called Camden House. I was looking at the handful of animation pieces they had when someone asked me if I knew anything about animation. He mentioned he had an estate from a woman who was a script reader at Disney and to look in Sunday’s newspaper to see the auction in East LA. I got the paper, and flew back the following week on my own money and I bought a few boxes of animation art. I bought scenes from Mickey short Canine Caddy, and wonderful storyboards and model sheets and drawings from Pinocchio. I met someone at a cel restoration house there, and paid him to teach me first hand about animation cels, drawings, authenticity, paint types, restoration etc. He became a lifelong friend.

Scoop: Prior to joining Heritage, you ran your own animation art gallery chain, Stay Tooned Galleries, in the mid-west. What was involved in that?
JL: I ran three galleries with my wife, Tracy, devoted to animation art. Two in Chicago land and one in Minneapolis area. I wanted to not be the biggest, just the best, so I started the Mid-West Animation Lecture Series and brought everyone in the business out to speak. Animators, directors, studio heads, writers, historians, voice talent, etc. It turned into a who’s who of animation both young and old. It was something to this day I am very proud of. It was free and the crowds were huge. It was like going to college of animation to hear these peoples stories first hand. I look back on it now and I’m in awe of who attended. I recently ran into June Foray at a UPA Film Fest in California, she was turning 95. She talked with me at great length at her appearances in this series!

Scoop: You also spent time with Disney Fine Art and as a consultant to Walt Disney Art Classics. What did those positions add to your experience?
JL: I learned so much about the rich heritage of Disney, the brand of Disney, and the respect they have for keeping an archive of their animation legacy. The quality in everything they do made an impact on me as well.

Scoop: What brought you to Heritage at this juncture?
JL: I noticed their unbelievable success in comic books and comic art as well as in all their collectible categories, and I notice animation was becoming a regular section in their comic book auctions.

Scoop: The animation art market has seen lots of highs and lows over the years. What are some of the notable ups and downs you’ve observed during your career?
JL: Well in the 1990s animation art went crazy due to the second Golden Age of animation. The market was driven by unbelievable success of feature films like Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Lion King, etc. Not to mention the creation of Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Toon Disney. The Roger Rabbit auction prices caught everyone off guard with its success. Animation art ran hot for a very long time. Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Rugrats, Batman, and Ren and Stimpy were all really well written cartoon shows. Quality was reigning supreme in both feature and television animation. Watching the interest in animation art for almost 15 years was a joy. The lows were really driven by poor economy, some poor box office films and the closing of Warner Brothers and Disney stores.

Scoop: To a casual observer, it seemed like the “manufactured collectibles” really put a damper on things years ago. Was that really the case or did it just seem that way?
JL: Nothing stays hot forever. Your audience got older, 3D and digital animation took over. The market like all collectibles had a glut of limited editions, like all collectibles in the 1990s. They were really well done. The reason for damper I feel was simply too much was produced, pure and simple. There are limited edition pieces today that are still in hot demand.

Scoop: How would you characterize the market at the moment?
JL: It seems like there is a renewed interest in animation art. With virtually everything going digital, the realization of animation art being hand drawn, hand painted is having real appeal. You see Disney releasing classic films in 3D and scoring big at the box office. Older animation shorts and features are coming out in Blu-ray and in box sets, and they are attracting new audiences once again.

Also you see Cartoon Network doing its second season of Bugs and Daffy and getting ready to start a new Tom and Jerry series, says that everything old is indeed new again. The book market is also really embracing animation with the Disney Archive Series on Animation, Story, Background and Layout not to mention new books on all Toy Story films, as well as a book called A Disney Sketchbook that is simply loads of Disney animation drawings.

New books on Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, the history of Peanuts animation and a stunning book on the making of Snow White all came out in 2012 time frame and I hear [they are] selling well. In fact a feature Peanuts film I hear is also in the works.

You now also have many studios making animated features. It’s not just Disney. You have Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony Feature Animation, and Fox all making major box office dollars via animation.

The bottom line is, some of the greatest artists this country has ever seen have worked in animation art. I personally find a vintage animation drawing of Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny or Snow White simply breathtaking. I watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas and Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol this year with my kids and there were as magical as they were when they first came out some 40 – 50 years ago.

Scoop: How much of this renewed appreciation to do you think can be traced to the notion that key players at Pixar and other firms are themselves fans of classic animation?
JL: I think this is very important. Talk to any of today’s animation filmmakers and they will tell you story, character development and understanding of traditional drawing methods are still very important today! In reading the four volume Disney Archive Series on Animation, Layout and Background, Design and Story, the introductions written by John Lasseter tell you how important it is today! I looked at great length over the amount of hand drawn character design and concept art in the Art of Hotel Transylvania book and it was simply amazing!

Scoop: What are some areas of the market you think deserve special attention from collectors or would-be collectors?
JL: I have always felt the animation drawing is so undervalued. Animation roughs breathe so much life. You can hold one drawing and see what Frank and Ollie called “The Illusion of Life” in your hand. I find all animation drawings something all collectors of any type of artwork should look into. I also feel the Hanna Barbera Studio is sometimes overlooked. They shaped American Saturday morning television as well as had a major staple of Prime Time shows (Johnny Quest, Jetsons, Flintstones, Top Cat, etc.). Vintage animated character storybook artwork I also see emerging as something special these days.

Scoop: Most collectibles markets benefit from getting the word out to their consumer bases. What are the best avenues for this in the animation market?
JL: Animation art auctions are on the rise again; this really gets people’s interest going. I think new art, never before seen brought to market, is something that stimulates big time. Web sites like yours, Cartoon Brew, mainstream Fine Art and Auction magazines, alerting the marketplace to animation art always helps as well. I can’t believe the amount of calls I’m getting once Heritage announced its first Animation Art Auction! People, collectors both old and brand new, seem very, very excited.

Scoop: If there was one misconception about animation art that you’d like to address head on, what would it be?
JL: That it’s dead! This wonderful hand drawn, hand painted artwork is a type of artwork that stirs emotions, brings back specific memories, and makes you smile. It never grows old…