From October 14, 2016 through March 5, 2017, Art Ludique – The Museum will present for the first time the special exhibition “L’Art des Studios d’Animation Walt Disney – Le Mouvement par Nature.” The gallery space is located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, in the “Les Docks” fashion and design complex near the national library.
A selection of 350 pieces assembled in collaboration with the Walt Disney Animation Research Library will pay homage to the studio’s near century of innovation and artistry. From the ground-breaking feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through to the global phenomenon Frozen, the show aims to illuminate the visionary work behind Disney’s beloved films.
“Le Mouvement par Nature” specifically addresses Walt Disney’s dedication to capturing natural movement in order to create lifelike characters. On display will be unpublished design studies used to fine-tune the motion animals in Bambi and 101 Dalmatians, and human heroes like Snow White, Maleficent and Tarzan.
Visitors can also see the development of artistic influence through the 20th century, as the studio picked up inspiration from contemporary movements like surrealism, Cubism and abstraction; as well as the stylistic revival in the late 1980s that marked the “Nine Old Men” handing over the reins to a new generation of artists, to the studio’s modern achievements.
The exhibit will feature original works from the very first Mickey Mouse cartoons, such as “Plane Crazy” (1928) and “Steamboat Willie” (1928); and feature films Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942), Saludos Amigos (1942), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), 101 Dalmatians (1961), The Jungle Book (1967), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), Mulan (1998), Tarzan (1999), Rapunzel (2010), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Frozen (2013), Big Hero 6 (2014), Zootopia (2015), and the latest big screen adventure: Moana, known in France as Vaiana (2016).
Art Ludique was founded in 2013 by Jean-Jacques and Diane Launier, and has previously presented exhibitions on Pixar’s 25th anniversary, Marvel super heroes, the layout design of Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, Aardman Animations and Blue Sky Studios.
