A Guide to the Best of Southern California : COLLECTING : ‘Tooning Up

Just because a cel depicting Cinderella went for $88,000 at a recent auction, you don’t have to be discouraged from collecting animation art, insist the authors of “Cel Magic.”

The new book (Laughs Unlimited, $29.95 for the hardcover, $19.95 for paperback) by R. Scott Edwards and Bob Stobener is a consumer’s guide to buying the painted acetate cels that make up cartoons. It covers the market--prices range from about $100 for a Scooby Doo production cel to $284,000 for a Donald Duck cel on its original background--as well as offers tips on restoration, framing, how to find a good dealer and how to spot a bad cel. All this and dozens of pictures of Rocky, Bullwinkle, Bugs and company.

“Cel Magic” is available by mail order from Cartoon Galleria, 1107 Firehouse Alley, Sacramento 95814; (800) 767-0928.