Where all of the magic is stored, and preserved the Disney Animation Research Library #frozenbluray #piratefairybloggers

****Disney provided  an all-expense paid trip for me to cover this great event Pictures provided by Disney. All opinions are 100% mine. ****

On our recent blogger trip to explore the world of Frozen, The Pirate Fairy, and Saving Mr. Banks, we were all treated to a visit to the Disney Library. Now this is unlike any library you have ever imagined. 

 This was the home of the magic, the home of original cells, paintings and just about all you need to make a Disney animated movie. Imagine, original drawings from Walt Disney, original cells from Disney classics such as Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, and all others.

The Disney team is currently working on organizing and scanning the drawings in the library… This may seem like a simple goal, but if you really think about all of the Disney films that were made, the hours and hours of painting drawing that is needed to make a move.. You will see that this is a task that will take a generation to finish. Why scan the drawings? 

 Walt Disney knew the importance of saving and preserving the artwork, when saving the art was not a common practice, Walt still kept the work. When some movies art was put away and stored, they were just put in a folder or a box, with no organization… the drawings are all there but not in any order. 

 The Disney teams are in the process of organizing the drawings, then they are scanned cataloged and checked again for accuracy. All while giving the art the utmost respect, and white glove treatment. The scanning is essential, to preserving  these drawings for future generations. Having the drawing scanned will also make locating them, that much easier as well. 

So what if there is a fire? What happens to protect all of these priceless archives in the library?  Well water would ruin the artwork, so what is used ? A form of gas would be released throughout the building, to extinguish the fire and save the artwork. This is a fascinating way to put out the flames. Gas? How would the people in the archives survive, well they would have a few moments to get out of the building before the gas is released.

 The room where the animation is stored is filled with movable fried proof cabinets, that are filled with paintings, drawings and cells all separated numbered and labeled. I knew it look a lot of drawings and paintings to make a hand drawn animated movie, but I was amazed at how many rows and rows of cabinets that were filled with Sleeping Beauty artwork. 

Seeing a peak of the Sleeping Beauty artwork, just gets me even more excited to see the new upcoming movie Maleficent.  The room temperature is set for the survival of the artwork, a chilly 40 odd degrees, the cold helps keep the papers and the paintings safe, keeping them alive for future generations.

 From the very beginning  of Disney animation, when artists would either draw, sketch or paint their work, the art that they made was never signed. Walt Disney saw them all as Disney artists, not as individual artists. Even to this day the older Disney drawings pairing and animation work…. The artists are unknown. I asked if this was still a practice in Disney animation today? Well from the mid 90’s to today the artwork is signed, so the artists can get the credit they deserve.

We saw a lot of great artwork from “Disney Artist”, it was magical to see an array of paintings and artwork from Peter Pan, including original “Skull Rock” paintings, and Captain Hook, and Tinkerbelle cells.  Unfortunately we were not able to take any pictures, so I do not have a lot of photos of the artwork to share, but here is a sneak peak of what we saw..

 Here are other examples of what is stored in the library:

This was an amazing experience, seeing the classics and where they are stored, was a bucket list item for me. This is something I will never forget, and each time I see a Disney animated film, I will still be in awe because I got to see where all of this magic lives.

 You can now get some Disney magic for your home too, make sure to pick up a copy of Frozen, and Saving Mr. Banks available on DVD now.  

 


Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions . No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising .

My experience at the Walt Disney Studios Archives and the Saving Mr. Banks exhibit #savingmrbanksbloggers

On my recent blogger trip we  visited the Disney Animation Studios, and were treated to a tour of Walt Disney Studios Archives and a special exhibit tied to  the Disney film, Saving Mr. Banks.   As a huge Disney fan, there is nothing better than getting to see behind the curtain of the ins and outs of Disney, and this was an amazing experience.  

Sure I have done a lot of things Disney in my life from visiting Disney Land for the first time, to checking out some great Disney dining experiences, they were great times that I will never forget. But imagine walking down the same street as Walt Disney walked? Being in the building were great classics like Sleeping Beauty were drawn and brought to life? Well I was very fortunate to be able to do such a thing.

The Walt Disney Studios Archives are filled with fun Disney mementos and props from times past.  I even had a brush with greatness, the man himself John Lasseter walked past our group while we were in the court yard! (I would have loved to ask for a picture with him but he was chatting with another cast member and I did not want to interrupt) Yes, he was wearing one of his trademark Hawaiian shirts!  Aw well, at least I got to see him in person.

We were in for a treat there was a special walk through exhibit, The Saving Mr. Banks walking tour this was all about the recently released to dvd, Disney movie Saving Mr. Banks. Before entering the exhibit we were treated to  showing of the merchandising for Mary Poppins, they had just about everything from, dolls to bags to even soap!

Here is a sampling of the fun merchandise that were tied to the original movie in the 60’s.

 This walk through featured props from the film, Photos from “Walt Disney’s” office, featuring  Tom Hanks as Walt.

Walt Disney’s screen office, replicated for the movie:

This tour also had some genuine items from Walt Disney’s actual office, this chair and office decorations were from Walt’s Actual office, they were used as inspiration to decorate the office in the film.

As a Mary Poppins and Saving Mr. Banks fan,  there was nothing like seeing props from the movie, pictures from Mary Poppins  they just put you in the scenes of the movie and were a lot of fun to see.

While on the lot we were able to listen to PL Travers recordings that she made with the Mary Poppins filmmakers. These were the tapes that PL Travers wanted to record so that there was no mistaking what she wanted for Mary Poppins. We heard previously unreleased tapes that were fascinating… She really knew exactly what she wanted and  did not have any issues making her needs known. 
The one tape we listened to was about a particular song she liked, but ended up not making it to the movie. Unfortunately we were not able to record these… but if you would like to get an idea of what we heard, just check out the end credits of Saving Mr. Banks you will get to hear a bit of the recordings from PL Travers.

After checking out this exhibit were given a tour around the lot, by  Jeffery Epstein, Marketing Manager for D23. We began to walk in Walt’s footsteps, and see what it was like to work on the lot when he was there, this was filled with history and made you feel like you were a part of the Disney team, a wondrous place that was amazing to see.

Walt Disney’s Office was on the top floor of this very building.

 The original animation building, where Walt worked, and made the magic:  

 The new animation building where hits like Wreck It Ralph  and  Frozen were made.

Would you like to go on a similar tour? Well it may seem impossible right? Unless you work for Disney or are invited…? Well you can do this tour as a D23 paid member you can purchase tickets for you and a friend to visit the lot and have this grand tour.

With D23 you can take the: Walt Disney Studios and Archives Tour - Location: The Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California. D23 Members will have the rare opportunity to enjoy a two-and-a-half-hour tour of The Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Archives, hosted by D23 and the Archives staff. On April 5 only, see a piece of Disney history from Darby O’Gill and the Little People. 

April 5^th is the next date of the tour, the cost is $60.00 a person. So this is just another reason to sign up for D23! When my family visits Anaheim next year we  will surely schedule our trip around the date of this tour and we will be taking the tour again then.

D23 has a great free membership, where you get email updates to keep in the Disney loop. D23 also offers membership tiers: D23 Gold Membership is $74.99 a year, and D23 Silver Membership is $34.99 a year.   So if you are in the Burbank area and are a paid member of  D23 I would highly suggest taking the Walt Disney Studios and Archives Tour, the cost is affordable, and this will be a tour you will never forget.

My husband is pretty easy going, when I have a blog trip or something that I have to do, he just says go be safe and have fun. But this particular event he was jealous of, being the ultimate Disney fan (he even has the tattoos to prove it, no joke) he so wanted to be me for this trip, so I made sure to take lots of pictures so I could share the experience with him too and you all as well. I hope you enjoyed a sneak peak of this fun tour.

Be sure to check out D23.com  site, to see all of the great perks you can get with the free membership, and the even better perks you can get with the silver or gold membership.

Buy it:

You can purchase the Saving Mr. Banks  dvd in stores and online on Amazon now.

Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions . No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising .