Q: My siblings and I recently helped my parents, now in their 80s, unpack items that have been in storage for many years. We discovered two original hand-painted movie cels. They both have a circular stamp with the written letters “WM” in the middle. The first is of Eeyore and the other is of Mickey Mouse inside a house with a bare-boned Christmas tree on a barrel, wood floors, a wooden chest, and table with a bowl and spoon. Only Mickey is in color.
Leslie, Burlington, Vermont
A: Your second cel is from Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983). During the 1970s and 1980s, when these films were made, Disney was selling cels through art dealers throughout the country. The initials “WM” stand for Wendall Mohler, who was one of the Disney executives in charge of the cel sale program. You can check eBay to find out what similar cels are bringing at auction.
Dave Smith