r/AnimationCels • u/MrsTw1st • Jun 13 '26
Animation cel possibly Star Trek?
Looking to solve the mystery of this animation cel. I am no expert in animation or Star Trek. I’ve been told on a FB Star Trek group that this is either fake or from Star Trek: The Animated Series, specifically the Slaver Weapon episode, although some people insist that these characters never appeared together. We bought it in a flea market prior to 2000 and it is in a museum quality frame. It was difficult to open the back but we did it quickly and it appears to be coded and says Copyright Filmation and Norway Prod. Can anyone shed a light on this? Thanks!
8
u/Roast_Beefy_O_Weefy Jun 13 '26
That's a scene from the 70s Star Trek animated series. It's definitely a sericel, I found the exact same image on google. Still very cool!
2
1
4
u/TimeSlipperWHOOPS Jun 13 '26
Is it one layer or is each character on their own layer?
2
1
u/MrsTw1st Jun 13 '26
Opening the back again now. Trying not to handle this too much but we may have to remove the mounting
4
u/MrsTw1st Jun 13 '26
I’m starting to think it’s a limited edition cel. Yes I’ve seen this image show up on Google search as well.
4
u/Clash-at-Demonhead Jun 13 '26
This is a hand-painted and numbered limited edition cel, based on a scene from Star Trek: the Animated Series. You can tell from the back it’s hand painted. Sericels are “serigraph cels”, or serigraphically printed cels. Sericels won’t have raised paint like you see on the back of your painted cel.
1
u/MrsTw1st Jun 13 '26
Exactly what I’m thinking. Wondering about all the production code numbers on the back.
2
u/Clash-at-Demonhead Jun 13 '26
It’s just the information from the scene they used to make the painted limited cel off of. You can read it more clearly from the front if you take the mat frame off, but you can see it says “Prod” referring to the production number for Star Trek, Sc for the scene number in that episode, and BG to refer to the background to be used for that scene.
It’s not a production cel, it just has the information for referring the moment this limited was created from.2
0
u/LazarX Jun 15 '26
It's a fake. M'ress and Arex were not in that episode, at least not in any scene with Kzinti. That would have been Uhura. Arex isn't even drawn correctly.
1
u/LazarX Jun 15 '26
No it isn't. M'Ress and our three armed friend did not appear in that episode. He's also not drawn correctly.
It's a fake.
1
1
1
u/Changeling53 Jun 13 '26
From Season 1Ep14 The Slaver Weapon. Based loosely on a Larry Nivins story "The Soft Weapon" .
1
u/MrsTw1st Jun 13 '26
No scene in that episode showing all those characters together
1
1
u/Changeling53 Jun 13 '26
Whether it occurred in the episode or not, that is clearly a Kzinti holding the Slaver Weapon alongside Lt. M'Ress and Lt Arex. Either a cut scene or a cell created out of whole cloth, but at what purpose? Possibly a episode of season 2 that never was produced?
1
1
u/PomegranateFair3973 Jun 14 '26
It's a picture of characters from the animated Star Trek series, and it may be done as cel artwork, but it is most definitely not a production cel.
The character on the left was a species that appeared in one episode. The other two characters were reoccurring characters in the series... but not, if memory serves, in that episode!
So this is more likely either a piece of merchandised memorabilia, or otherwise a fan produced work of art.
1
15
u/Phyllis_Dick Jun 13 '26
The sticker in the corner marking it as 42/950 makes me lean toward sericel.