Heritage Auctions Lets You Own a Piece of LAIKA Animation History

Detail shot of an original Coraline puppet.

LAIKA, in the humble opinion of this FJI writer, is the best animation studio working today. Disney and, increasingly, Pixar can be inconsistent with the quality they deliver, DreamWorks films are generally solid but rarely blow-your-socks-off amazing and Sony Pictures Animation released The Smurfs. And sure, LAIKA hasn't had many opportunities to fall on their face when they've only put out three films. Stop-motion animation takes time. Still, the trio of Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls are a trio of modern masterpieces, combining striking visual style with humor, drama and important messages tackled in a more nuanced way than even many so-called "adult" films would dare.

Fellow LAIKA lovers will have a chance to get their grubby paws on puppets, original artwork, unused poster designs, props and more from the studios' trio of films when Heritage Auctions puts nearly three hundred lots up for bidding in Beverly Hills next Thursday, February 12th.

Heritage brought part of their "The Art of LAIKA" collection to their New York City office this week, and the FJI office was fortunate enough to take a field trip and check out the goods. There was the Other Mother puppet from Coraline, a stunning Angry Aggie concept art piece from ParaNorman and Archibald Snatcher's Boxtrolls extermination truck, among many other wonders. All puppets sold in the auction, explains Heritage's Director of Animation Art Jim Lentz, were used in production of the film. They're not cheap, so LAIKA doesn't make them just for show and tell.

The limited nature of LAIKA's offerings means "There will be not be a second Coraline auction. There will not be a second ParaNorman auction," warns Lentz In fact, LAIKA wasn't sure they even had original art for Coraline kicking around until Lentz asked for it. They dug some up from a crate in LAIKA's descriptively named "Storage Facility by the Swamp," and yes, it is by a swamp.

"The Art of LAIKA" has led to an unprecedented level of interest from the public, both on social media and in-person; Lentz describes people coming up to him and thanking him for the chance to see part of LAIKA's archives when Heritage made a stop in Dallas. Indeed, some of the objects up for auction are breathtakingly detailed when viewed them up close, like the puppet of Lord Portley-Rind (left) from The Boxtrolls. With all the hand stitching, you'd think LAIKA was preparing for a high-class fashion show. Even things that are part of the background, like a manhole cover or cheese vendor's stand, are painstakingly given details that most moviegoers won't notice, like a town logo on the former and a board with cheese prices on the latter.

"The studio's legions of die-hard fans regularly ask LAIKA for the opportunity to own some of the masterfully engineered puppets, props and other artwork used to make these beloved films," says Lentz. "So the studio is finally offering a specially curated collection of items from its production archives. This is the chance that those fans, and animation and film collectors of all stripes, have been waiting for."

ParaNorman Face Concept Sketch Original
Artwork by character designer Heidi Smith

For those with money to spend, you can bid one of nine ways; early Internet bidding ends on February 11th, and the auction itself starts on February 12th. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Los Angeles-based charity organization The Art of Elysium, which has as its mission "enriching the lives of artists and critically ill children" by hosting arts-based programs for hospitalized youth. If you're in the Los Angeles area from February 10-12, stop by Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills to see selected items in-person.

For more information, visit the Heritage Auctions website. You can see details and pictures of all the lots here.