‘Crown jewels’ of Disney animation are coming to Franklin Institute for a world premiere show
An exhibition celebrating 100 years of Disney will premiere at the Franklin Institute, with objects from the company’s "archival, animation, and Imagineering vaults," organizers say.
A hundred years of Walt Disney creations — from before Steamboat Willie (1928) to Mulan (1998 and 2020) and beyond — will be celebrated in a blockbuster exhibition premiering at the Franklin Institute in February 2023, institute officials said Friday.
SC Exhibitions, which produced “Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes,” a popular Franklin Institute exhibition in 2019, is producing the Disney exhibit as well. SC chief executive Dieter Semmelmann said the 15,000-square-foot show will feature hundreds of artifacts and an immersive environment of sight and sound.
“The Franklin Institute is thrilled to debut this world premiere exhibition in Philadelphia during the remarkable 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company,” said Larry Dubinski, institute president and chief executive, in a statement. Dubinski characterized Disney as “a creative empire synonymous with imaginative storytelling, innovation, discovery, and wonder.”
The exhibition is in its earliest planning stages, with assistance from Berlin-based Studio TK, an architectural and design firm that also worked with SC Exhibitions on the Marvel exhibit.
Disney expert and exhibit cocurator Paula Sigman Lowery said in a statement that “it’s thrilling to bring Disney’s crown jewels — art, memorabilia, costumes, props, and one-of-a-kind treasures — to public view, and to explore the story of one of the world’s most creative entertainment companies. Many of these objects have never before been seen outside the company’s archival, animation, and Imagineering vaults.”
Rebecca Cline, director of the Walt Disney Archives, said the exhibit provides the opportunity to tell the story of “innovation” represented by Disney.
“This groundbreaking exhibition will celebrate the wonder of Disney, from 1923 to the present and into the future,” she said.