Friday, December 28, 2012

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic

Walt Disney Family Museum, 12.27.2012 Snow White drawing on door at Walt Disney Family Museum.This special exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum commemorates the 75th anniversary of Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs. It's in a separate building, a short walk behind the museum's main building. The show includes posters, concept art, background paintings, animation ruffs, & cels. There are a few interactive kiosks & brief movie clips. All the artwork is beautifully executed, & much of it is exquisite.

I was surprised that so much archival material still exists, though it was not clear to me which pieces, if any, were actually photographed & appear in the final film. A museum staff member explained that while some of the cels in the exhibit are reproductions, cels mounted on a slanted, as opposed to vertical, surface are originals. Interestingly, Courvoisier Galleries in San Francisco began marketing cels from Snow White almost immediately after the film was released. Another staff member drew our attention to a poster featuring characters from the movie advertising a Swedish laundry detergent. He pointed out Happy, who delightedly handles one of Snow White's undergarments & winks at us.

§ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic
The Walt Disney Family Museum
November 15, 2012–April 14, 2013

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