Do you like art? Collecting stuff? Anime, cartoons, or animated films? You don’t have to like all of those things, because enjoying just one of them is enough for you to consider collecting animation cels.
Before I dive into why I think this is great for anyone and everyone, let me first define what exactly an animation cel is, as it isn’t exactly the technology of today, though most of us grew up on it.
Cel is short for celluloid, which is the transparent sheet on which “animated” drawings were once painted or drawn. I wrote an entire post just about the dying art of the animation cel if you are interested in more of a history lesson, but as for the collecting…
Why should you consider collecting these things? Aside from potentially aligning with one or more of the interests I previously mentioned, there are three specific but distinctly different reasons: art, history, and investment.
The first two overlap quite a bit. You might think a cel looks cool so you hang it on your wall, or you might appreciate that it’s a piece of history from a show that you enjoy or a fandom you are a part of. By collecting cels, you now own a piece of that history.
The third reason, investment, is the trickier of the three. This is because there is no guarantee that these cels – or any cels, for that matter – will appreciate in value. Plus, in order to get value at all, you need to prove their authenticity.
For example, I have an unframed cel of Orko from He-Man on a hand-painted background that looks authentic enough. But I bought it at the low, low price of $25 and it came without any authenticity paperwork. For me, this isn’t that big of a deal because when it gets framed it’ll look cool, and I’ll have Orko on my wall!
As a direct note to Bill Sweeney of The Wicked Theory Podcast, who has picked on Orko in the past, may I remind you that this is the best kind of Orko because this one is permanently muted!
Anyway, what you are looking for within the realm of “animation cel” is more than just the acetate you see on screen that moves the characters. You’ll also find pencil sketches, digital or hand-painted backgrounds, and more, including replica cels, giclees (essentially digital lithographs or reproductions often made by the companies themselves), and serigraph cels, which are another form of reproduction.
Even though the reproductions and replicas can also have certificates of authenticity, they are not the real thing. So let’s talk about cost.
As with everything, the cost of these varies greatly, even more so, because they vary in rarity. Some of the more obscure fandoms may have more cels available, while others may be so popular that stock can be scarce. As such, you have to pay attention to where you are buying these. While eBay is a common place, it’s also the most accessible for anyone who just wants to window shop.
My aforementioned Orko was purchased on eBay. I’ve also bought cels from Ralph Bakshi directly on eBay, where his daughter runs the store. On a whole, it depends on what you are trying to find.
Sure, there are some third-party sellers on Amazon, but eBay will net the most results with the largest selection for you, though that selection is not exactly growing. Cels, when not stored properly, can be easily damaged or just fall apart.
What you’ll find out there are cels from both the big and small screens. Basically, anything animated before the early aughts will probably be hand-drawn, and anything before 2000 is almost assuredly so, but that doesn’t mean those cels actually exist. The older the animation, the harder it may be to come by. At one point, the acetate was washed and reused to help animation houses cut down on material costs.
The shows that fall within the range are diverse; Transformers, ThunderCats, Smurfs, Real Ghostbusters, Beavis & Butthead, Pink Panther, X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Looney Tunes, Merry Melodies, Batman: The Animated Series, the Back to the Future cartoon, Captain N: The Gamemaster, Beetlejuice, Bravestarr, early Simpsons, Rocko’s Modern Life, Doug, Rugrats, Alvin and the Chipmunks, GI Joe, My Little Pony, Aeon Flux, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tiny Toons, old Disney cartoons and feature animations, classic Don Bluth animations, Hanna Barbera classics like The Flintstones and Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Star Trek, Dragon Ball, Scooby Doo, and tons of anime. If I haven’t listed it, it is still probably out there if you’re willing to look hard enough.
Even retro commercial cartoons like the Honey Nut Cheerios bee, Charlie the Tuna, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry are available. And while you search, you’ll find countless unidentified random miscellaneous backgrounds that look pretty cool in their own right.
Again, it all depends on what you want to pay and why you want to collect this stuff. This variety and the scale of the cost can be great for collecting, because the entry level is so low, but it’s less so for investing. For investing, you’re looking for what you want plus the letters COA for Certificate of Authenticity. If you’re in it for the art, it’s easier to get started; otherwise, you have to invest more time or money to research the authenticity yourself.
On the whole, what you get out of collecting animation cels, backgrounds, replicas, or reproductions is completely based on what you want out of it in return.
If you want to make an investment, that’s up to you. If you, like me, just want to own a piece of something you love that also happens to be a cool piece of art, it’s as easy to start as adding it to your online shopping cart.