The CableCartoon took a detour thru La La Land last week, and got a sneak preview of a terrific show at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences that’s running until August 24. Yes, CGI can be great, but the Academy’s new exhibition “Ink & Paint” highlights the work of artists who have devoted decades of their lives to creating the characters, storyboards, color keys, backgrounds, layouts, cels and thousands of other process artworks that are needed to assemble a traditional animated film.

The exhibition showcases artwork mainly from the 1950s through the 1990s and features such animated classics as Alice In Wonderland, Gay Purr-ee, Charlotte’s Web, The Secret of NIMH, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as from Oscar®-winning shorts from Warner Bros., UPA, M-G-M, DePatie-Freling and the rest. Seeing a beautiful gouache background from Peter Pan or a pencil sketch from Bob Clampett’s Book Revue is an amazing experience not to be duplicated by squinting at your computer monitor.

There are concept paintings, character sheets, cel setups and more from artists including Álvaro Arce (The Prince and the Pauper), Kelly Asbury (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Mary Blair (Cinderella), Paul Carlson (Gay Purr-ee), Bob Clampett (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Tweety), Ron Dias (The Secret of NIMH), Eyvind Earle (Sleeping Beauty), Michael Giaimo (Pocahontas), Ann Guenther (Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Too), Art Leonardi (Pink Panther), Abe Levitow (1001 Arabian Nights), Maurice Noble (What’s Opera, Doc?), Walt Peregoy (101 Dalmatians), Bob Singer and Iwao Takamoto (Charlotte’s Web), and Gloria Wood (Gay Purr-ee).

You’re not likely to see as extensive a public collection of genuine animation art like this any time soon—and it’s FREE! The Academy’s Grand Lobby Gallery is at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in beautiful downtown Beverly Hills, open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from noon to 6 p.m.  Please note the Academy will be closed May 24-26 and July 4-6 in observance of Memorial Day and Independence Day.