Overview
Perhaps you've always been a fan of Mickey Mouse. Maybe you can remember how it felt when you first watched Bambi. Or, you might be able to sing all of Genie's lyrics in Aladdin. You could've fallen head over heels for Raya and the Last Dragon or Encanto more recently, too. Whichever category fits — and we're guessing that at least one does — Disney's animated movies have likely played a significant part in your life. We all have those childhood memories. We've all grown up with a lingering fondness for the Mouse House. Based on its just-announced big 2022 exhibition, the team at the Queensland Museum clearly knows the feeling as well.
From Friday, June 24, the South Bank venue will become one of the happiest places in Australia (and on earth) by hosting a huge Disney exhibition: Disney: The Magic of Animation, the Mouse House showcase that already dazzled Melbourne during 2021 up until January this year. On display will be more than 500 original artworks, including paintings, sketches, drawings and concept art, all from Disney's beloved catalogue of animated movies.
Disney: The Magic of Animation explores everything from 1928's Steamboat Willie — the first talkie to feature Mickey Mouse — through to other recent fare such as Moana. Obviously, a wealth of other titles get the nod between those two flicks. Fantasia, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King also feature, as do Mulan, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia. And yes, some of these movies have been remade in live-action or photo-realistic CGI; however, QM's showcase is only about the animated films.
The big drawcard: art from the Mouse House's hefty back catalogue of titles, which almost dates back a century now — and heaps of it. The entire lineup has been specially selected by the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, and will let you get a glimpse at just how the movie magic comes to life, how some of Disney's famous stories were developed and which animation techniques brought them to the big screen.
Get ready to peer at hand-drawn dalmatians (which is timely, given that Cruella released last year), marvel over Frozen and Frozen II's artwork (timely again, seeing that Frozen the Musical plays Brisbane this year), stare closely at Mickey Mouse's evolution, examine Wreck-It Ralph models and pose next to Snow White. If the Queensland Museum setup mimics Melbourne's, wall-sized artworks will pay tribute to a number of movies, too, such as The Little Mermaid — and feeling like you're stepping into a Disney movie will be an unsurprising side effect.
Disney: The Magic of Animation's arrival in Brisbane is fantastic news for local Mouse House aficionados, especially after the exhibition's Melbourne run was initially billed as an Aussie exclusive.
Announcing the Queensland season, which'll be QM's blockbuster showcase for the year, Queensland Museum Network CEO Dr Jim Thompson said that the venue is "delighted to welcome an iconic and well-known brand such as Disney to our museum this winter, and we believe Queensland residents will excitedly anticipate taking a step behind the scenes to see how their favourite animated characters have been brought to life in this exhibition".
Disney: The Magic of Animation arrives in Queensland after past seasons in cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore, too, and is clearly designed to appeal to Mouse House fans of all ages. You, your parents, today's primary school kids — you've all grown up watching Disney flicks. So, while you're pondering tales as old as time, being QM's guest, contemplating the animated circle of life and definitely not letting your nostalgia go, prepare to be accompanied by aficionados both young and young at heart.
Disney: The Magic of Animation will open on Friday, June 24 at the Queensland Museum, corner of Grey and Melbourne streets, South Bank, South Brisbane. For more information or to join the ticket waitlist, head to the Queensland Museum website.
For more information about the exhibition, read through our run-through of Disney: The Magic of Animation's season.
Images: Phoebe Powell, ACMI.