Animating the Inanimate : Walt Disney and the Rococo – Curator’s Talk

Engaging online lecture from the Wallace Collection introducing their current exhibition on the influence of the Rococo on the designs of the Walt Disney studio.

Helen Jackson, curator of the exhibition and formally of the Wallace Collection, explained how Walt Disney spent time in France both in the First World War, as an ambulance driver and later in 1935 when he bought illustrated fairy stories and art books as the start of a research library for the company.

She talked us though the Rococo influences in the films both plans which came to fruition such as “Beauty and the Beast” and others which changed during the production process such as “Cinderella”. She pointed out that one of the earliest animations involved porcelain figures which came to life and danced.

She also looked at the similarities in workshop traditions between Disney and the porcelain factories with the idea of many skills being employed and the importance of small, repetitive and highly skilled tasks.

I can’t wait to go and see the exhibition.

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