This week, we hit 1,500 likes on The Mouse Castle Facebook page. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm cleaning out the gift closet and giving away a bunch of Disney stuff. You could win one of these very cool prizes:
Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong by Michael Labrie, companion book to the current exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum plus two tickets to the museum.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film by J. B. Kaufman, signed by Lella Smith, creative director with the Walt Disney Animation Research Library and curator of the former WDFM exhibit.
The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by J. B. Kaufman.
The Sword in the Stone 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Robin Hood 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Combo Pack.
Disneynature's Chimpanzee Blu-ray/DVD.
Oz the Great and Powerful DVD.
Disneynature's Crimson Wing DVD.
To be entered in the drawing, all you have to do is LIKE our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/themousecastle and JOIN our event at www.facebook.com/events/180775945440694/. You must be a U.S. resident to enter. Only one entry per person, please. Winners will be announced on our Facebook page after the entry deadline. Thanks for supporting The Mouse Castle and The Mouse Castle Lounge. Good luck!
Tens of thousands of crazed Disney fans converged on the D23 Expo in Anaheim last weekend and I was one of them. And oh, the people I talked to: the voice cast of Phineas and Ferb and Gravity Falls, singer/actress Susan Egan, Disney Animation Research Library creative director Lella Smith, video game developers for both Disney Infinity and Fantasia: Music Evolved and more. It's a random and thoroughly entertaining hour-long romp through the D23 Expo. Cocktails forever!
It's been a busy week of travel for me, so I haven't been able to pour over the tons of pictures I took last weekend. Rest assured, I'll get through them and post the best ones this weekend. Also, I'm super excited about the next episode of the MCL. On Tuesday, I was able to meet the extraordinary Tyrus Wong, the 102-year old Disney legend best known to fans for his evocative artistic design of Bambi. A retrospective of his work, "Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong" opens today at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Very soon, I'll share with you my conversation with Tyrus as well as other Disney notables like Pete Docter, Tony Anselmo and J.B. Kaufman as we celebrate the life of a master artist.
For now, however, it's all about the Expo. Crowded, crazy and oh so fun. Enjoy your visit today to The Mouse Castle Lounge.
The Mouse Castle Lounge can also be heard on iTunes and Stitcher.
A new exhibition celebrating the 75th anniversary of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs officially opens today at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to preview the exhibit, which contains over 200 pieces of concept art, pencil sketches, cel setups, watercolor backgrounds, original posters and other items used in the production of the classic film.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic is housed in a separate two-story building behind the museum's main galleries. The building used to contain a basketball gymnasium in the historic Presidio.
On the second floor foyer, Walt Disney and Shirley Temple greet you with the special Oscar presented to Walt in 1939 for his achievements in making Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The award consists of a regular size Oscar, accompanied by seven little Oscars.
At Tuesday's preview, Walt's daughter and museum co-founder Diane Disney Miller was on hand with museum CEO Gabriella Calicchio to introduce the exhibition.
Said Calicchio, "For me, this exhibition is so special because it tells the story of the animation process, about this extraordinary film...But, what's really special to me is that it showcases the artistry that went into this film. There were some amazing artists that participated, and in this exhibition, you'll see amazing pieces of art."
Walt Disney once said, “Of all the characters in the fairy tales, I loved Snow White the best, and when I planned my first full-length cartoon, she inevitably was the heroine.”
The exhibition includes interactive kiosks that allow you to delve deeper into the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Charlie Chaplin, no slouch to comedy himself, once called Dopey "one of the greatest comedians of all time."
The exhibition takes you through the film scene-by-scene, often showing works-in-progress juxtaposed with the final product. Here, a cleanup drawing of the queen's transformation by animators Campbell Grant and Stan Quackenbush is presented with a video clip from the film.
Concept art by Samuel Armstrong of the hag in a rowboat is paired with two production cels.
While the exhibition does include some original production cels from the film, many of the cels were too fragile to transport to San Francisco, so reproduction cels were created at the Walt Disney Studios by its still active Ink & Paint department.
Diane Disney Miller (l.) views some artwork with exhibition curator and Walt Disney Animation Research Library creative director Lella Smith. In the next episode of The Mouse Castle Lounge, coming this weekend, I'll have interviews with Diane, Lella, Gabriella and an in-depth conversation with author J. B. Kaufman about the exhibition and his two new books about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic will run through April 14, 2013.
