{Not Quite} Susie Homemaker

Las Vegas Mommy Blogger, Foodie, Brand Ambassador & Product Reviewer

A Peek Into The Vaults at Disney’s Animation Research Library!

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Disney covered my travel expenses for the #LittleMermaidEvent & #DisneyPlanesPremiere event. All opinions are my own.

Last month when I was in LA for the #LittleMermaidEvent, I got into a black van with a group of bloggers. On the way we were warned not to “check in” to any social media platforms to keep our whereabouts top-secret, and after a few minutes we pulled up to what appeared to be an old &mostly abandoned warehouse. It sounds like the beginning of a spy movie, and that’s because what we were going to see is very highly protected. So what was it? The original artwork from every animated Disney movie!

The Disney Animation Research Library {ARL} is just what it sounds like- a giant “library” full of everything Disney. It includes drawings, paintings, props, puppets, and more from every Disney movie! There are several vaults throughout the building, all meticulously organized & each equipped with fire protection. {Unfortunately, everything in the ARL is top secret & I was unable to take photos of the actual artwork, so you’ll have to use your imagination.}

DSC_1242One of several rooms dedicated to preserving the drawings & paintings from original Disney movies

At the ARL, we were divided into groups because the vaults weren’t big enough for all 40 of us. My group went to check out one of the paper vaults first, where all of the drawings and paintings are. Each movie had several shelves to itself- impressive considering how thin a piece of paper is. Our guide even pulled out a larger painting from Sleeping Beauty, which was the first of many, many times I found myself choked up to be in the same room as all of this beautiful artwork that collectively has made movies that have touched generations.

DSC_1227Take a peek at the top right- see Monstro, the whale from Pinocchio?!

After that vault, we headed to one with 3D objects. Many of the objects were puppets used to assist in the animation of movies- for example, there was a real Pinocchio puppet! Obviously, Pinocchio is an animated movie and the puppet wasn’t actually used in the film, but it was used to study how the puppet would move so that they could include that in the animation. I was surprised by how many animated movies had puppets to go along with them. Some of those puppets really were used in the movies, like the Frankenweenie puppets that were on display.

DSC_1235My group watching the digitized artwork in action!

My group then went to a room where we learned that they are currently digitizing all of the old artwork. They have a few cameras that take giant images of the artwork and then upload them to the computers- each piece taking several minutes to complete. Once a piece is digitized, it is not destroyed, but since paper only lasts so long they are taking measures now to ensure that we have these pieces for years to come. A fun fact we learned is that when they digitize the work, they don’t make any enhancements to it, like getting rid of coffee mug stains or rips in the pages.

So why do they have all of this stuff? First of all, to any real Disney fan, the thought of destroying even one piece of hand-drawn artwork is on par with ripping a hole in a Van Gogh. But beyond that, the ARL makes older works available for current animators to refer back to for inspiration or ideas.

DSC_1282That’s me in the blue & black on the right, trying not to cry all over the beautiful artwork.

Before leaving the ARL, we had a chance to look at some of the original cels from The Little Mermaid. {A cel is “a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation.”} The Little Mermaid was actually the last Disney movie to rely solely on the use of these cels as the digital era began to come about shortly after. Being able to see these works was breathtaking- the fact that my eyes were centimeters away from the actual scenes I had watched on my TV screen hundreds of times was just completely surreal. When you look at the detail in these drawings, it’s crazy to think about how much work goes into every single drawing- and considering how many drawings it takes to make a movie, it’s impossible to comprehend the time & effort spent. Just look at these beautiful pieces:

DSC_1289Ariel concept art

DSC_1290Ursula concept art

DSC_1291Ariel’s cave on display & other scenery

I wish I could have taken more pictures of all of the treasures I saw at the ARL, but I guess I can just watch all the movies to see all of the artwork! &I know that this experience is something I’ll never forget.

What is your favorite animated Disney movie?

Comments

  7. I can never understand HOW they are able to actually DO all the detail work involved in making animated movies – I mean especially back in the OLD days! 🙂

    Reply

  13. What a neat experience. I went to the Disney museum in San Francisco this year and I thought the place was really neat. I would have loved to be part of this… 🙂

    Reply

  17. My favorite is Aladdin. Our daughter would have gone NUTS in there. She’s going to college next year to get a degree in Arts & Technology, and this is the kind of stuff they do!

    Reply

  44. Wow. What an experience. I would have loved that so much. The Little Mermaid was my favorite when I was a child. I am sure you will remember that for the rest of your life.

    Reply

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