Dear Oion,

Actually, cels from the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Flight of
Dragons, and the Last Unicorn, are considered somewhat more
like anime!  The animators and designers for these classic
Rankin Bass films were all Japanese (like Rankin Bass'
animated T.V. shows that followed like Thundercats,
Silverhawks, etc.).  Cels from these Rankin Bass films often
pop up on anime cel sites.  I saw a couple of cels from the
Hobbit (although not of Bilbo) and Flight of Dragons on
Anime World Star's site once!  The markings and stuff should
be similar to what you find on your anime cels since they
were made by Japanese artists too!

I have a few American cels though in my collection, and the
only noticeable difference in markings in the few that I
have are that they are on the bottom edge of the cel and not
the top as most anime cels are.  There is also a different
marking number system too, but I have no idea how to
interpret them!  There are too many numbers and letters for
me to figure out any pattern (no A1s, ENDs, etc.).  It's
more like a serial number =6!  The registration holes are
along the bottom of some of the cels that I have though, but
some are on the top as well.  Also, MANY American cels I
have (especially the T.V. series ones) have evidence of the
xeroxing process along the bottom or top edge (a grayish
fuzzy line) that is used to transfer line artwork to the the
acetate.

As for the eBay cel itself, I have NO idea if that one is an
authentic cel or not!  It almost looks too good to be true
though (the shot is too perfect!)!  If it did come from the
Hobbit movie, it should (but I'm NOT sure) be a long movie
cel like the ones from the Last Unicorn (the cels are the
length of a standard sized cel book, but the width is about
2-3 inches shorter than the cel book!) since both were
produced by the same company (Rankin Bass) and were made
about the same time!

I hope this helps with the guess work!


Sincerely,

Sonia