Some of the nation's top animators and print cartoonists recently held a special eBay auction of original artwork to help Tim Hodge, who has written and directed several videos of VeggieTales and the "3-2-1 Penguins!" series.

The auction, which ended Feb. 12, will benefit Hodge's 18-year-old son, Matthew, who has been in a coma since being injured in an auto accident last August, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The sale of more than 165 pieces included drawings and cels from Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and SpongeBob SquarePants as well as original comic strips of Mutts, Zits, Baby Blues and Pogo.

Twin animation artists Tom and Tony Bancroft, both of whom worked with Hodge at The Walt Disney Co., came up with the idea of the sale. "Tim's been working as a freelance storyboard artist. He doesn't have the resources they're going to need for Matt's long-term recovery," Tony told the Times. "We decided the best way for artists to give would be to give their artwork, which we'd put on eBay and turn into money. Tom and I have known Matt since he was a little boy. He's really one of our own."

Hodge worked in the animation department of Disney's Florida studio on The Lion King and Pocahontas, then did story work on Mulan and Brother Bear. He later went to Big Idea, creator of the VeggieTales films, moving to Franklin, Tenn.

The Bancroft brothers sought the help of the National Cartoonists Society Foundation, a charitable organization that helps cartoonists in hard times.

Click here for more information on the eBay auction.

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