My Snow White cel look shriveled!

Hi. I have a cel of Snow White that’s been in my family since the 40s, and it is very wavy looking. Do I need to get it restored?

Thanks,
Cel Fan in San Antonio

Dear Cel Fan:
The cels from Snow White are nitrate cellulose, which shrinks and expands with the moisture in the air. It is just the kind of cel they used to paint on at the time. All the cels from Snow White could look like that, and especially those that were sold without being trimmed to the outline (what they often did with the Courvoisier cels they sold back then) will have a sort of “shrinky-dink” quality to them. It usually doesn’t get in the way of enjoying the art, but since many of the cels from that movie look that way, it’s “love it, and leave it alone”…Unless there’s paint coming off of it, i’d leave it alone.

Hope that helps!
Leslie Combemale, for Animated Advice