« Mickey's Parrot »Mickey Mouse Original Animation Publicity Drawing (Walt Disney, c. 1938/1940s).
While Pluto watches on in spite, Mickey's eager to teach his new parrot pal his A B C's in this publicity drawing inspired by the Bill Roberts-directed short Mickey's Parrot and attributed to Disney Legend inductee Manuel Gonzales (1913-1993). Gonzalez was a two-time Mousecar award-winning artist who was one of the few artists chosen to help complete Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs after applying at Rockefeller Center in New York 1936 and soon took over penciling the Sunday Mickey Mouse comic strip for Floyd Gottfredson. He continued to pencil and ink the strip after returning from the army, took on promotional comic strips for Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Lady and the Tramp among other 1950s feature films, and created publicity artwork for multiple Disney properties. Crafted over 80 years ago, this drawing was used to create publicity artwork which could have been used in theatrical posters, lobby cards, press materials, or books.
From the Disney Legend Manuel Gonzales Archive.
The paper used by Disney studios in the 1920s-1930s contains a distinctive watermark, visible in one of the photos, which further attests to its authenticity.