Il était une fois Walt Disney

Something i've been meaning to do is get to the Montreal museum of fine arts to catch the expo on none other than Walt disney, aptly titled Il était une fois Walt Disney . Obvioulsy, being the busy gal that i am, i wait until the last minute (it ends sunday, but it's been on since march!). So i made my way over yesterday afternoon, and let me tell you: it didn't disappoint. Who doesn't like to be infused with culture? They really displayed the technical and creative process of everything a cartoon entails. For Mr. Disney it was much more than drawings: every animation sequence was inspired by an already existing score or tale. The first Mickey Mouse adventures were practically identical animated replicas of the original King Kong movie, Charlie Chaplin gags and other films that marked the early years of cinema, like "Une légende allemande" and "Le cabinet du docteur caligari", which were both filmed in cinemascope, and which i got a chance to see during my cinema classes. These movies really pioneered the industry and were a really important part of history.



Every element of a Walt Disney movie was well thought out and inpired by real elements, whether from art, movies, paintings, actors... The castles in Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast, Neverland for Peter Pan. These paintings were amazing! I was stunned to find out that the witch from sleeping beauty was inspired by the famous 1930's actress Joan Crawford. Not only that, but Snow white is almost a perfect replica of the little Sherley Temple. As for the fairy in Pinocchio, the legendary Jean Harlow was portrayed (intermixed with victorian queens). And last but not least, Tinker Bell was inspired by American Pinups of the moment! I was really fascinated with the soul that went into each project, and although our friend Walt was pegged as a copy cat, borrowing shamelessly from french tales (especially from Perrault), german legends, illustrations (Jean de la Fontaine anyone?), he was someone with a truly endless imagination of his own, with a tremendous talent and passion that followed him throughout his life. His multiple collaborations speak in proof. Who would've ever fathomed a Dalì/Disney combo? Well it happened, and it was pure genius! Anyway, for most of us Disney remains a far but happy memory form our childhoods, but now i can say that i understand the magic of it all, and why it has touched so many people.Ps Did you ever notice the little mice in Cenderalla reminded you of the ones from the Beatrix Potter books??



Now we weren't allowed to take pictures (only in the premanent exposition!), so brought my camera for nothing... i really wanted to try to sneak a few pics, but there were guards eveywhere! I bought a really nice t-shirt in the gift shop. It was only 20 bucks, surprisingly. It's a sketch of Snow White. Brilliant! (i think it's reversible...)

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