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To keep many of his animators from being drafted, Walt Disney struck a deal with the government to create promotional material during the Second World War.
I’ve written twice now about things relating to The Walt Disney Family Museum, but I realized that I’ve never covered details about the museum itself. Before it opened it was examined here on the families.com Disney blog, but now that it’s been in operation for over a year let’s look at the institution again.
The Walt Disney Family Museum was co-founded by Diane Disney Miller, eldest daughter of Walt Disney, and Richard Benefield in an attempt to preserve the legacy of Walt Disney. ‘Wait a minute,’ you might say, ‘isn’t Walt Disney’s legacy preserved plenty in the Disney Company?’ It is and it isn’t.
Although of course the Family Museum covers aspects of The Walt Disney Company, as it consumed so much of its founder’s life, the museum is about the man, not the company. “The Walt Disney Family Museum was created to tell Walt’s story, narrating the life of someone whose name is often confused with a brand, and presenting him, simply, as a man with an extraordinary vision,” says Benefield on the Family Museum’s official blog.
The Family Museum actually has two websites: the blog, controlled and regularly updated by actual employees of the museum, and an official site with museum information, ticketing, and a calendar through the Disney Go portal. Exploring these two sites provides great insight into what visitors will find at the museum.
Walking from room to room of the museum allows visitors to travel through the steps of Walt’s development from a bright, industrious boy into an artistic visionary and global business leader.
In addition to fun family photos like baby pictures of Walt and snapshots of him volunteering for the Red Cross during World War I, the museum is filled with exhibitions displaying Walt’s groundbreaking developments in cinema. The Walt Disney Family Museum might be dedicated to honoring more than Walt Disney’s company legacy, but it cannot memorialize the man without recognizing his work.
Disney fans will love to see the first known drawing of Mickey Mouse, dated to 1928, or an entire wall filled with hundreds of frames from “Steamboat Willie”- all representing only 16 seconds of footage in the cartoon. Read Walt’s own words on why he chose “Snow White” for his first full length feature, or learn of Walt’s efforts to keep his company running when many of his animators were drafted into World War II, a time period he later described as the most difficult of his life.
Of all the exhibitions at the Walt Disney Family Museum, personally I find details on Walt’s projects that didn’t relate directly to films or the parks most intriguing. For example, Walt created a miniature live steam railroad, the Carlwood Pacific, that was still large enough on which for him to transport passengers. The Family Museum contains stories and photos on all such unique aspects of Walt’s life.
Disney aficionados and cinema buffs alike should flock to the Walt Disney Family Museum, as it contains a stunning collection of Disney and movie history. Admission is free for members, $20 for adults and $12 for children; membership and admission information is on the official Go website. Those who can’t wait for their next trip out to San Francisco for a taste of Disney history should check out the Family Museum’s blog, which routinely posts fascinating tidbits about Walt’s life.
Related Articles:
Breaking Ground: Walt Disney Family Museum
Turner Classic Movies Film Festival
Walt Disney Family Museum Video Contest
Walt Disney Named Top ‘Art Hero’
*(This image by dbking is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
