DALLAS, TX.- Never-before-seen storyboards from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, hand-colored Toy Story storyboards, original Monsters, Inc. artwork and deeply personal career artifacts from the family archive of Disney Legend Joe Ranft will make their public debut when Heritage Auctions presents The Art of Disney Signature® Auction, Aug. 21–23.
The three-day event features more than 1,300 lots spanning nearly a century of Disney artistry, but its emotional centerpiece is the extraordinary late Joe Ranft Family Archive. Comprising more than 100 fresh-to-market works and personal artifacts, the archive chronicles the remarkable career of one of animation’s most influential storytellers—from his early days at Walt Disney Studios and Skellington Productions to his pivotal role as a member of Pixar’s legendary Brain Trust.
Alongside the Ranft collection, the auction showcases museum-quality works by many of Disney’s greatest artists, a remarkable selection of rare Disney Parks attraction posters and one of Heritage’s strongest offerings of original Carl Barks artwork.
“Joe Ranft’s creativity touched nearly every corner of modern Disney and Pixar storytelling,” says Jim Lentz, Heritage’s Vice President and Director of Animation & Anime Art. “To present his family’s archive is both an honor and an extraordinary opportunity because so much of this material has never been available publicly before. When you combine it with works by Disney’s legendary artists, rare Disney Parks attraction posters and exceptional Carl Barks originals, this becomes one of the most comprehensive Disney art auctions we’ve ever assembled.”
The imagination of Joe Ranft
Posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2006, Joe Ranft was revered throughout the animation industry for his extraordinary gift for storytelling. After studying at CalArts alongside future Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, he joined Walt Disney Studios in 1980, contributing to projects including The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver & Company, The Rescuers Down Under and the beloved cult classic The Brave Little Toaster, which he also co-wrote. He later reunited with director Henry Selick at Skellington Productions, serving as storyboard supervisor on Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, before becoming one of the four influential members of Pixar’s famed Brain Trust, helping shape every feature from Toy Story through Cars.
The Ranft Family Archive reflects every stage of that remarkable career through original storyboards, concept art, production artwork and deeply personal memorabilia.
Among the auction’s highlights are extraordinary storyboard drawings attributed to Ranft from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, including dramatic sequences from the beloved “Town Meeting Song,” where Jack Skellington introduces the citizens of Halloween Town to the wonders of Christmas. Also featured are hand-colored storyboard sequences from Pixar’s groundbreaking Toy Story, capturing Woody dispatching the Army Men to scout Andy’s birthday party in one of the film’s most memorable opening scenes.
Collectors also will find storyboard groups from Monsters, Inc. that reveal Ranft’s creative process across several pivotal scenes, along with original concept artwork from The Brave Little Toaster, including haunting pastel-and-gouache designs for the film’s unforgettable junkyard sequence. The archive also includes artwork from James and the Giant Peach, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Cars and other productions that benefited from Ranft’s remarkable imagination.
Beyond the artwork itself, the archive offers an intimate portrait of the artist through career-defining honors and personal keepsakes. Among them are Ranft’s Disney Legend Award, Annie Award and Pixar service awards, including a poignant bronze Woody memorial sculpture created by his brother, Jerome Ranft, inscribed, “Remembering All Your Years of Passion & Commitment – Joe Ranft.” The collection also includes production maquettes, personal memorabilia and even selections from Ranft’s cherished collection of books and magic tricks, reflecting the warmth, humor and boundless curiosity that made him one of animation’s most beloved creative voices.
Recognizing the archive’s extraordinary significance, Heritage has devoted a separate auction catalog exclusively to the Joe Ranft Family Archive.
The artists who defined Disney’s visual legacy
The auction also celebrates the remarkable artists whose individual styles collectively shaped the look of Disney animation across generations.
More than 40 original works represent many of the studio’s most influential creative voices, from early visionaries such as Gustaf Tenggren, Albert Hurter and Ferdinand Horvath—whose artwork helped establish the visual language of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio and Disney’s groundbreaking Silly Symphonies—to the unmistakable color and design innovations of Mary Blair and Eyvind Earle.
Few artists transformed Disney’s visual identity as dramatically as Blair, whose vibrant palette and imaginative compositions became synonymous with classics including Song of the South, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, while ultimately inspiring Disneyland’s beloved it’s a small world. Earle later elevated background design to new artistic heights, creating the richly stylized look that made Sleeping Beauty one of Disney’s most visually distinctive features.
Animation itself is equally well represented through original works by Disney Legends Fred Moore and Andreas Deja. Moore’s expressive draftsmanship helped define the studio’s character animation during Disney’s Golden Age, while Deja carried that tradition into the modern era through unforgettable performances by characters including Gaston, Jafar, Scar, Hercules, King Triton and Mickey Mouse. Additional works by artists including Ralph Hulett, Floyd Gottfredson, Nick George and Imagineer Eddie Sotto further underscore the extraordinary breadth of creative talent represented throughout the sale.
“When people think about Disney, they naturally remember the characters and the films,” Lentz says. “Behind every one of those unforgettable moments is an artist whose imagination shaped what audiences would see on screen. This auction celebrates those remarkable creators as much as the stories they helped tell.”
Disneyland’s first invitations to adventure
Long before guests experienced the magic inside Disneyland, they first encountered it through the attraction posters displayed near the park’s entrance.
Among the auction’s highlights is an outstanding collection of more than 20 original Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris attraction posters, including exceptionally rare examples promoting Rocket to the Moon, The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan’s Flight, Astro Jets, Tom Sawyer Island, the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad Grand Canyon Diorama, Submarine Voyage and an exceedingly scarce proof for Casey’s Hot Dogs created for Disneyland Paris.
Originally produced as hand-pulled serigraphs, these posters were never intended as souvenirs. Instead, they served as visual invitations into Walt Disney’s revolutionary concept of themed entertainment, introducing guests to the adventures awaiting them beyond the park gates. As attractions evolved, many original posters were discarded, making surviving examples among the most coveted works of Disney graphic design.
“The Disneyland attraction posters represent the moment guests first imagined the adventures waiting for them inside the park,” Lentz says. “They’re beautiful works of graphic design, but they’re also remarkable pieces of Disney history.”
Carl Barks and the enduring appeal of Uncle Scrooge
Another major highlight is one of Heritage’s strongest offerings of original artwork by Disney Legend Carl Barks, the legendary writer and artist whose storytelling forever transformed Donald Duck and created the incomparable Scrooge McDuck.
The auction features 20 original Barks works, including 18 original drawings and two preliminary paintings that reveal the master’s creative process. Among the standouts is a vibrant preliminary painting created for the celebrated 1987 lithograph First National Bank of Cibola, inspired by Barks’ beloved 1954 Uncle Scrooge adventure “The Seven Cities of Cibola.”
Known affectionately to generations of fans as “The Duck Man,” Barks elevated Disney comics into an enduring art form, and his original artwork remains among the most sought-after pieces in the hobby.
Beyond its four principal collecting categories, The Art of Disney Signature® Auction spans virtually every era of Disney history, with outstanding production art from Golden Age classics including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood; Disney Renaissance favorites such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King; original Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh artwork; pieces signed by Walt Disney; Disney studio maquettes; rare Disney-on-vinyl recordings; historic Disney furniture; and an extraordinary selection of animation art and Disneyana across more than 1,300 lots.
“Whether your passion is early Disney animation, Mary Blair, Carl Barks, Disneyland history or Pixar, this auction offers extraordinary opportunities across every era of Disney storytelling,” says Lentz. “Animation art preserves the imagination of the artists who created these worlds, and we’re proud to bring so many important works to collectors in a single event.”
The Art of Disney Signature® Auction will be held Aug. 21–23 at Heritage Auctions.
