All his life, Walt Disney has drawn on French heritage to make his animated films. In New York, an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art examines for the first time the influence of European decorative arts on the cartoons that rocked our childhood.
“Inspiring Walt Disney : The Animation of French Decorative Arts“ is articulated around 60 decorative works of art and European design of the 18th century such as tapestries, Boulle clocks and Sèvres porcelain. They are presented alongside a hundred production drawings and works on paper from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, the Walt Disney Archives, the Walt Disney Imagineering Collection and the Walt Disney Family Museum.
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The exhibits allow visitors to the Met to discover the references to European visual culture that are hidden in Disney animated films. Walt Disney punctuated “Cinderella“many nods to neo-Gothic architecture, while”The beauty and the Beast” s’inspire du style rococo.
An entire section of the exhibit is devoted to this animated classic from Disney studios. Walt Disney had proposed to adapt the fairy tale, proposed in its first modern version by the novelist Suzanne-Gabrielle Barbot de Villeneuve, from the 1940s. It was not until 1991 that “The beauty and the Beast” sort to the cinema. “Inspiring Walt Disney“presents to the public a selection of preparatory sketches for the film as well as 18th century clocks, candlesticks and teapots, which evoke the characters of Big Ben, Lumière and Madame Samovar. So many objects that illustrate the way Disney animators and artists rococo sought to breathe life into what is essentially inanimate.
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“Disney animated films and rococo decorative artwork are both imbued with elements of playful storytelling, fun and wonder“, said Max Hollein, director of the Met in a statement.
“Through exquisite objects and Disney artifacts, this exhibition will offer an unprecedented look at the impact of French art on the productions of Disney Studios, from the 1930s to almost today.“.
Walt Disney maintained a personal relationship with France, land of origin of his ancestors. His repeated trips to Europe have not only strongly inspired his audiovisual creations, but also awakened his passion for collecting and building miniature furniture and dollhouses. A selection of these miniature objects will be on display, as will personal films of Disney and his family visiting Paris and Versailles.
Visitors to the Met will be able to experience “Inspiring Walt Disney : The Animation of French Decorative Arts“from December 10 to March 6, 2022.
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