To both celebrate and promote the release of Walt Disney's Babes in Toyland (1961), the Sunday comic page Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales showcased an adaption of the film. However, unlike most installments of the Sunday newspaper comic in that era, the Babes in Toyland pages were not drawn by regular Classic Tales illustrator Jessie Marsh but by veteran Disney artist Joe Hale. Joe spent more than 35 years at Disney, as an animator, special effects artist, story artist, layout man, and producer, spanning everything from Sleeping Beauty (1959) to The Back Cauldron (1985). Apparently Joe was enlisted as the artist for the Toyland installments of Classic Tales because the broad fantasy of the film called for a cartoony style for the strip. Enjoy this fanciful installment (click on the above image for a larger view) from November 12, 1961—and don't forget to check out the Babes in Toyland article, written by Jim Fanning, on the D23 website.
2 comments:
Jim! This answers a question I've had for a long time! Are the Sunday comics just rearranged from the comic books? And because of this post, and the arrival today of my Dell "Babes in Toyland" comic, I learned the answer..."NO!" They're redrawn and completely different. Now...does this mean I have to collect Sunday comics too?! Sigh.
Hi Bill! Yes, you are correct, the Sunday comics page adaptation of Babes in Toyland is a creation unto itself (and a delightful one at that, with a style and personality all its own). Did you know that a selection of the Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales Sunday comics adaptations (both animated and live-action) were published by IDW in hard cover volumes? Babes in Toyland is in volume 2/
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