Friz Freleng Pink Panther, and Animation History

By Leslie Combemale | April 20, 2023

For those who love Pink Panther, and for those who just love a good origin story, do I have an animation yarn for you! Perfect to file under “the incredibly true life of a longtime animation art gallery owner”, I’m going to share how I wound up with a box of original production cels and …

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The Artistry and Art of Beauty and the Beast

By Leslie Combemale | January 27, 2023

At ArtInsights, we have as many fans of Beauty and the Beast as we do for The Little Mermaid, and that’s saying something. Since we’re heading into Valentine’s season, the season of love, as it were, I thought I’d talk about the history, art, and fun facts about the tale as old as time. IT’S …

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10 Lesser-Known Christmas Cartoon Shorts for the Holidays

By Leslie Combemale | November 25, 2022

The holiday season is upon us, once again! It’s time to watch some Christmas cartoon shorts to get us all in the mood. There’s much trouble in the world, of course, but this year it seems we can actually spend time together and celebrate love and light, whatever that might mean in terms of belief, …

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Tim Rogerson Making Movie Magic: In His Own Words

By Leslie Combemale | September 24, 2022

The Story behind Tim Rogerson’s New Art: “Bros in Business” and “Making Movie Magic”. I asked Tim Rogerson to give us a little insight into the new pieces just released that made a huge splash at D23 this year, Bros in Business, featuring Oswald and Mickey, and Making Movie Magic, starring Mickey and Minnie, Goofy, …

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The Art of Snoopy Come Home: Snoopy at his Best

By Leslie Combemale | August 11, 2022

I’ve talked a lot about Snoopy Come Home here on this blog, especially HERE. If you read my blog regularly, you know it’s one of my favorite cartoons. It has a lot going for it, and is unique a lot of ways, in terms of Peanuts animated history. For one thing, it’s one of only …

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20th Anniversary of Lilo & Stitch: Celebrating the art and story of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch

By Leslie Combemale | June 25, 2022

Time sure goes by fast for Disney fans. It’s the 20th anniversary of Lilo & Stitch! It seems like only yesterday Disney put out their 42nd feature film, introducing the world to the blue alien “Experiment 626” and the concept of Ohana. Stitch, as Experiment 626’s human friend Lilo Pelekai calls him after adopting him …

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The History and Art of Disney’s Haunted Mansion

By Leslie Combemale | March 17, 2022

I can’t believe after more than 30 years selling Disney art, this is the first time the art Disney’s Haunted Mansion has become available. It inspired me to write about my favorite Disney attraction. In the many times I’ve gone to Disney World and Disneyland for work or for fun, the Haunted Mansion has always …

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How George Sanders Made Me Love Disney & 10 Things You Might Not Know about Disney’s The Jungle Book

By Leslie Combemale | March 4, 2022

The Jungle Book was my gateway drug into the addictive world of Disney feature films. I had always been a movie geek, from the first time I can remember watching a movie. As a Gen X baby, I was generally unsupervised in my viewing, often to my detriment, but I was also a very stubborn …

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Celebrating Stuart Craig and Harry Potter Art:

By Leslie Combemale | January 14, 2022

In the just-released HBO Max releasing Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: A Return to Hogwarts, Harry Potter film franchise production designer Stuart Craig is mentioned and called up fondly by a number of cast members. For good reason! Apart from the cast, Stuart Craig, who worked on the entire series, is one of the players that …

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Worldwide Holiday Exclusive Alex Ross Black Panther #1 and Batman #50 Catwoman Art Release!

By Leslie Combemale | November 18, 2021

We’re so excited about our Alex Ross Black Panther and Catwoman art! On November 24th, just in time for the holidays, and perfectly timed for the official release of the new Black Panther #1 created by Oscar winner John Ridley and Juann Cabal, ArtInsights is releasing the gorgeous cover art by Alex Ross as a …

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Halloween 2021: Celebrating The Art of Disney Villains

By Leslie Combemale | October 14, 2021

It’s almost time for Halloween, and if your family is anything like mine, it’s at least equal to Christmas in importance and excitement. In our house, we have The 31 Days of Halloween. We watch a horror movie or a movie with a great villain, listen to soundtracks like Psycho, Halloween, and, of course, songs …

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2021 Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival in Reston Town Center

By Leslie Combemale | September 9, 2021

This weekend Reston Town Center is hosting the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival from Friday through Sunday, with over 200 artists displaying and selling their original and limited edition art and craftwork. Straying from the usual date in May because of COVID, this weekend promises to be great weather, and since the entire event happens …

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PEANUTS PROFILE: The History and Art of Peppermint Patty

By Leslie Combemale | July 8, 2021

Peppermint Patty is not just a quirky kid with, as she herself puts it, ‘hair full of split ends’, she’s an icon, and rightly so. In this Peanuts Profile, we take a look at the art of Patricia Reichardt, or as she’s better known, Peppermint Patty.  Here’s Peppermint Patty, coming in hot from the very …

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PEANUTS PROFILE: The Art of Franklin Appreciation for the iconic Black Peanuts character

By Leslie Combemale | July 7, 2021

Ah, the art of Franklin…When Franklin made his first appearance in a Peanuts comic strip on July 31st, 1968, he did it without any fuss. He showed up at the beach, having found Charlie Brown’s beach ball. “Is this your beach ball?” were his first words. He notices Chuck is attempting to make a sandcastle, …

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Super Dads on Celluloid: Film Art for Father’s Day Gift Guide

By Leslie Combemale | June 8, 2021

With all the Father’s Day gift guides out there, I thought it was time to create a Father’s Day gift guide specific to animation and film. Dads love movies and cartoons, so we’ve curated a collection of fun images of superlative cartoon dads and great characters the whole family will love. You can see them …

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Memorial Day at the Movies: Memorial Day Cartoons Saluting the Military

By Leslie Combemale | May 20, 2021

Another Memorial Day is here, and it’s always a good time to celebrate our brothers and sisters, both veterans and those actively in the military with Memorial Day cartoons. At first I was going to write about the many really impressive propaganda cartoons of WW2, because I’ve always been fascinated by propaganda of all eras. …

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