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Nintendo Power Aladdin Lunchbox Artwork
If
you were going to school without a Nintendo lunchbox
in the late 80's because your mom thought you would
like the Mickey Mouse pail more, you probably got
your ass handed to you by the bullies at recess. I
know. I was there in the next stall when they were
administering the whirly swirly. Remember this always:
they may have crushed your glasses at school, but
they'll never crush your soul.
Even
if the sight of a plastic lunchbox sends shivers down
your spine, you still have to admit this is one hell
of a non-game prototype collectible. Certainly it's
cooler than Mickey Mouse any day.
One of my favorite items
in my collection, this is the original 14" x
14" hand painted artwork used to make the stickers
that were applied on the Aladdin Industries plastic
lunch pails back in 1989. For its age, the colors
are incredibly bright and vibrant. You have to love
the image, too: the Mario Bros. lounging with NES
controller in hand, playing the recent video game
hit Zelda II: The Adventure of Link on the
TV set (WOAH! NICE GRAPHICS! I'D LIKE TO GET MY HANDS
ON THAT GAME!). Link appears to be battling an Ironknuckle
inside of a crumbling palace and we can see a glimpse
of Hyrule Kingdom in the distance.
I cannot explain why
this piece seems oddly familiar to me. It has a strangely
comforting and nostalgic effect on me even if though
I never owned the lunchbox as a kid (I was, admittedly,
a Mickey Mouse lunchbox carrier, myself). Whenever
I look at it, it brings back a stream of memories.
Similar to the process
of overlaying animation cels for cartoon shows, the
logos and lettering are placed over the art on a piece
of velum paper later during the printing.
There are two handwritten
notes on the velum. One makes a note on the paint
that should be used: "mustaches hair [and] eyebrows
must be black on both Mario [and] Luigi". The
other is more cryptic, appearing next to the Zelda
II: The Adventure of Link logo: "af you use
a TM here, eliminate the one inside".
On the bottom right hand
corner is a fading stamp (or is it handwritten?) spelling
out "Aladdin", which also appears on the
final sticker.
You probably noticed
already the paint color chart (or "color space").
Pantone, Inc. is a company that many industries use
for their painting and printing needs. Their Pantone
Matching System allows the artist to pinpoint and
keep constant the colors used in the original art
so that it carries over successfully when it is time
to be printed.
Before (Artwork w/o
Velum and Lettering)
After (Printed Sticker)
Note:
This is an early mock up of the later released sticker.
The Super Mario Bros. title is missing a "2"
in this version. The velum paper above, however, does
contain the "2".
More Photographs
 Note
#1
Note
#2
Closer
Look At Colors
Velum
Paper
Attached
To Cardboard Backing
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