Hand-drawn versus computer-generated cels: In 1989, The Little Mermaid became the film that put Disney’s tradition of hand-drawn and hand-painted animation to rest forever. “After The Little Mermaid,” Tumbusch explains, “everything was hand-drawn on paper and scanned into a computer. There were no hand-painted cels.”

While the shift was technologically revolutionary, it has had surprisingly little impact of the market value of hand-drawn cels. Market values have steadily increased over the past 25 years. The new, more cost-efficient computer-generated art has its devotees as well. According to Laine Ross, a California-based fine art specialist, giclées (digitized high-resolution art) of significant characters from current films like The Lion King (1994) continue to woo aficionados. Collectors seem to be driven more by characters and films than technology.

Film and era: Most big-ticket cels tend to be original works from landmark films. “Setups from films produced between 1946 and 1954 are rare and command high prices,” Tumbusch says. A setup consists of a scenic background and multiple cels, each containing a character and any special effects, such as rain or snow. Each cel is layered to create an action setting. Setup art from landmark films range in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the scene, characters and medium.

Production background: Background art determines the value of a scene, not simply the cel alone. A single background painting usually includes several cels. Therefore, a valuable group must include all of the cels used with the background. A single cel sheet can be auctioned as stand-alone art and will often command a high price if a buyer is looking for a piece to complete a scene.

Important scene, important animator: A different animator usually works on each scene, and the artist marks each drawing. “Value will be the highest for any given film if [the cel] is an important character at a key scene in the film, with the original background as they appeared together in the film,” Bailey says. Other factors also come into play, such as the animator’s skill and stature. For example, animator Freddie Moore was highly talented with female figures. “One of his little girl drawings sold for $32,000,” Tumbusch says.