The Sericel is different from the production cels and the limited edition cels as well as the lithographs. A SERICEL looks like any other cel, but it is actually a silk screen print on polyester material. It is not hand painted and is not printed on acetate like production cels or limited edition cels. Sericels are mechanically printed and are usually produced in large editions ranging from 2500-9500 (or more). Sericels are usually very detailed and display high quality, rich colors. Sericels are usually more detailed because they DO NOT have to be hand painted. The rich colors are usually the result of the advanced silk screening techniques used today.
The first "Peanuts" sericel was created in 1995. It was entitled "A Celebration," and had an edition size of 4,500. It commemorated the 45th anniversary of "Peanuts" as a comic strip. With its depiction of all the main characters and a relatively low prince, (due, in part, to the large edition size) it was very popular.
"A Celebration" was a sericel that was created without input from or the knowledge of Charles Schulz or Bill Melendez. It was not related in any way to any television special, movie or comic strip. It is a sericel that was purely art driven. The producer of the sericel created a design using the "Peanuts" characters but did not obtain a license from United Features Syndicate, Inc. to sell the product. This makes it a fraudulent piece of animation art by the estate of Charles M. Schulz and the studio of Bill Melendez. How this affects the value of the piece to collectors is unknown however.
Not all sericels are only art driven however. Recently two new "Peanuts" sericels have been produced that depict actual scenes from "Peanuts" specials. "It Was A Dark and Stormy Night," features Snoopy on top of his dog house typing the famous introduction to his never finished novel. It is a scene from the television special "Snoopy, The Musical." "It's An Honor, Charlie Brown," features Lucy holding the football and Charlie Brown deciding whether he should kick it or not. This is a famous scene from the television special "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."
It's important to remember though, that sericels were not actually used in the making of these specials and are not hand painted. Many "cels" sold by Disney are actually sericels and depict actual scenes from many of their very popular films. Disney most likely uses sericels for two reasons. First, production cels from Disney's films are hard to find and are VERY expensive. Sericels of the same scenes are more affordable and easier to obtain. Second, recent Disney films (starting with film like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin) have been produced with the aid of computers, and very few, if any, production cels were actually used.
Written by Eric A. Wildgrube. From "Knott's Camp Snoopy Peanuts Animation Art Training Guide."
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