WaltDisney.org Search

Jiminy Cricket, the loveable cricket who plays the role of Pinocchio’s conscience, had a very different storyline in the original story. Walt Disney had a keen eye for detail and story; he paid just as close attention to the minor characters as he did the lead. Look at Jiminy’s evolution, and how each piece of the story was equally important to ensuring the success of the characters and the film as a whole.

The Ugly Duckling was the only Silly Symphony to be remade.The second production of The Ugly Duckling, released in 1939, included all of the Studios’ innovations of the prior decade as well as lessons learned from the production process of their first feature film— Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs—released nearly a year and a half earlier. This resulted in a new subtlety and sophistication, rich Technicolor, and compelling character animation.

In celebration of the museum’s anniversary we will be screening our anniversary film, which gives a behind the scenes look at the creation of The Walt Disney Family Museum.

Roy O. Disney sometimes acted as an advance man for Walt who was immersed in production details, storylines, and almost everything else at the Studios. Roy kept Walt abreast of developments in succinct, vivid letters and memos.

The 1964/65 New York World’s Fair represented a growth point for Walt in many different avenues of creative expression. Beyond being an opportunity to receive generous corporate sponsorships to develop new attraction technology, the Fair symbolized the pinnacle of Walt’s shared values of futurism and global cooperation.

Roy had a knack for naming things. Simplicity and clarity appealed to him. The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio of 1923 became The Walt Disney Studio in 1926, at Roy’s request.

In the newest addition to our galleries at The Walt Disney Family Museum, we reintroduce the iconic work of the concept artist and designer Mary Blair. With the recent rotation of Blair’s artwork in gallery 7, guests view a selection of Mary’s unique visual development work for the memorable films Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella.

Veteran Disney producer and Walt Disney Family Museum Advisory Board member Don Hahn has recently completed work as Curator of our newest special exhibition, Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men: Masters of Animation.

Arguably, one of the most legendary (and possibly the most infamous) of Walt's Nine Old Men was the master draftsman, Milt Kahl. With the exciting presentation of The Walt Disney Family Museum’s special exhibition of Wish Upon a Star: The Art of Pinocchio, we turn our attention to Kahl, the sometimes irascible yet always supremely talented artist behind the design of the lovable little puppet.

The Walt Disney Family Museum has made some exciting new additions to gallery 3. All new Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs artifacts are now on view to showcase various characters, animation art, and merchandise.

Walt was in the midst of creating live action films and hosting television shows that put him right in America’s living room. Soon Walt would chart new waters with his first ever live-action musical, Babes in Toyland.

The same passion that drove Walt Disney and others to pursue their love of model railroading remains strong today. Tom Nance has hand built his own working 1/8th scale steam engine, almost an exact replica of Walt’s own Lilly Belle.

In a Walt Disney Family Museum original production directed by Don Hahn, guests can view Disney family home movies and holiday segments from Walt’s shorts and feature films as Walt’s daughter, Diane, shares her Christmas memories.

It is with a heavy heart we heard of the passing of Disney Legend, Tyrus Wong. Tyrus Wong was 106 years old.

Walt’s varied experience with outside distribution companies, would take to heart owning his own characters, stories, and means of production; a lesson The Walt Disney Company embodies to this day.

President of the highly esteemed Courvoisier Galleries in San Francisco, Guthrie Courvoisier believed that the Disney paintings on celluloid that were used to create Snow White could be sold as valuable art pieces to the public through art galleries and museums all over the world. And he was right.

One story was about rubber and another was about a flying car; inspired by the stories of Samuel Taylor's short stories, the writers at The Walt Disney Studios created The Absent-Minded Professor.

First known by the title Blue Bayou Lagoon, what came to be Pirates of the Caribbean was Walt’s crowning achievement in full-dimensional storytelling.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of San Francisco’s summer of love we are screening some classic 1960s Disney films all summer long, including The Gnome-Mobile, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

The Walt Disney Family Museum’s Teen Studio Squad is a yearlong creative experience for teens in the Bay Area.