In 1960 little value was placed on artwork from animated films, and cels were sold at Disneyland for a few US dollars apiece. Today animation art is prized by collectors, and a top-quality Earle background from Sleeping Beauty might sell for US$20,000 to US$30,000. Given the rarity of some of the pieces, it is hard to assign a value to the collection because nothing comparable has been offered for sale.
"There is no way to put a price on these works - they represent our artistic heritage," Smith, of Disney, said. "That said, their value as archival materials for study and research is very high." She added that when the works were discovered, they did not have much commercial value because of years of accumulated damage from mold.
Kozai said that Chiba University would channel the donated money into its overall educational programs and into research on art and animation and what he called "the sound growth of children."
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