The last few days have been enchanting, breathtaking and historical. The Walt Disney Family Museum opened Walt Disney's The Jungle Book, Making a Masterpiece to the public. I had the honor of guest curating this extraordinary exhibition.
It is difficult to describe how I felt as I walked through the Diane Disney Miller Exhibition Hall. You really walk into the movie, you are in the jungle and you spend time with those characters. And their film makers.
In planing this exhibit it was very important to me that we get far away from the idea that here is a wall with art on it...and over there is another one. From the beginning we wanted to create immersive spaces that transport the visitors into the drawn and painted world of the film. There is such a variety in the art and artifacts on display. We have early concept art by Walt Peregoy, rough animation drawings and cel set ups. There is plenty to read as well: Walt's sweatbox notes on the overall story development as well as individual sequences. (Yes, he made Milt Kahl change the size of King Louie's eyes and the amount of hair on top of his head.) We show early drafts of the Sherman songs, handwritten. There is a sheet with "spicy" notes from director Woolie Reitherman to Bill Peet, and much more. Monitors feature vintage interview clips, production photos and pencil tests. You'll find a few interactive stations that are a lot of fun.
A once in a lifetime opportunity to study the art and craftsmanship of The Jungle Book up close. Treat yourself to a trip to the Presidio in San Francisco. You'll have a great time!
Tickets are available now! bit.ly/3tXeIwG
Wonderful photos Andreas. But I was disappointed not to see my childhood obsession, Darleen Carr ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm genuinely really happy that you got the chance to make this happen. It looks great.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! I would love to go see it! Well done, Andreas, congratulations!
ReplyDeleteWow this looks awesome. Definitely a reason to be in California before Jan 8th. I hope I get to see it!!! But incase I dont, and for those who may not be lucky enough to see it, can you elaborate on that spicy note from Woolie Reitherman to Bill Peet?? 😁
ReplyDeleteThe exhibition looks absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations, Andreas! Do you think there is a chance it will make the jump to Europe?
ReplyDeleteI am still looking for a European venue for the JB exhibition. If you know one, let me know.
DeleteGreat that you are considering it! Last year, I visited an exhibition of Aardman artworks in Forum Groningen here in the Netherlands (https://forum.nl/en). That's a brand new, enormous culture-focused building with various spaces, including a library, two floors for exhibitions and several modern cinema rooms. It's a marvel! However, you are probably looking for something more central to (Western) Europe than Groningen.
DeleteHey Andreas, if it can be here in Florence, I think it can happen easily! If you want, we can talk along with Luca.
DeleteI will contact Luca. I like the idea of JB going to Florence!!
DeleteThis is going on my list of places to visit in the future!
ReplyDeletethe way you described it as walking into the drawings and painting sounds so cool, congratulations on another one of these!
ReplyDeleteHut ab für diese vielversprechende Ausstellungskonzeption dieses einzigartigen und wundervollen "Feel Good Feature" s !
ReplyDeleteDa geht mir der Song "Let's Go to San Francisco" von The Flower Pot Men nicht mehr aus dem Kopf, mit der hierfür passenden Textstelle
"...Let's go
Let's discover it..."
It's Magical when you touch, the scale of belief, in a great Artist's mind.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on making this possible! I unfortunately most likely cannot make it to the US before the exhibition is over, but I look forward to seeing the book, at least. I was going to write just about the same as Marko regarding Forum Groningen (I can get you in touch if you wish), though Luca sounds like a great location as well.
ReplyDeleteHello Andreas! It was great to meet in person for the first time at the opening reception. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit. It was amazing seeing all of the artwork and also a lot of wonderful background material on the making of the film. I took pictures of every piece and all of the written context! I really wanted to spend time admiring the artwork up close and personal. Thank you so much for putting this together!
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