Pink castles, talking sofas, and objects coming to life: what sounds like fantasies from the pioneering animation of Walt Disney Animation Studios were in fact the figments of the colorful salons of Rococo Paris. The Met’s first-ever exhibition exploring the work of Walt Disney and the hand-drawn animation of Walt Disney Animation Studios will examine Disney’s personal fascination with European art and the use of French motifs in his films and theme parks, drawing new parallels between the studios’ magical creations and their artistic models.
Sixty works of 18th-century European decorative arts and design—from tapestries and furniture to Boulle clocks and Sèvres porcelain—will be featured alongside 150 production artworks and works on paper from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, Walt Disney Archives, Walt Disney Imagineering Collection, and The Walt Disney Family Museum. Selected film footage illustrating the extraordinary technological and artistic developments of the studio during Disney’s lifetime and beyond will also be shown.
The exhibition will highlight references to European visual culture in Disney animated films, including nods to Gothic Revival architecture in Cinderella (1950), medieval influences on Sleeping Beauty (1959), and Rococo-inspired objects brought to life in Beauty and the Beast (1991). The exhibition also marks the 30th anniversary of the animated theatrical release of Beauty and the Beast.
To access the booklet of all in-gallery labels, click here.
Exhibition Preview
Lead corporate sponsorship is provided by
Additional support is provided by The Florence Gould Foundation, The Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation/French Heritage Society, and Beatrice Stern.
The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Wallace Collection.
The catalogue is made possible the Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund.
Additional support is provided by Irene Roosevelt Aitken and Marilyn and Lawrence Friedland.
How did European decorative arts inspire Walt Disney and his production teams? Hear an insider’s perspective from Angela Lansbury and others who made the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast.
Exhibition Objects
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Latest reviews
Through the lens of Disney, The Met tells the tale of a small but mighty facet of its collection in a way that is fascinating and accessible….
‘It’s Disney, but is it art?’ This exhibit clearly, educationally and entertainingly shows that it is.
The perfect balance of pixie dust and panache.
Sure to capture the imagination of Disney fans young and old.
Replete with demonstrations of wizardly animation techniques
Should Disney movies be considered works of art? … in the spirit of the tradition of the French decorative arts, the point is not to overanalyze -- and enjoy the show.
Effervescent and slyly profound
Can’t-miss exhibit
Mightily clever, spinning lots of conjectures into a persuasive whole.
Illuminating
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