Disney exhibition celebrates 90th birthday of iconic cartoon character Mickey Mouse
Updated 17:44, 11-Nov-2018
By Yang Ran and Zhang Ke
["china"]
02:05
It may be hard to believe, but the much-beloved Mickey Mouse is turning 90. And in New York, Disney is celebrating the occasion with a special exhibition.
At the "Mickey: The True Original Exhibition," numerous contemporary artists are showing their works, which have reimagined the classic character with site-specific, reinterpreted Mickey Mouse installations.
"First and foremost we wanted to celebrate the 90 years of Mickey's history. So we worked closely with Disney archives and really pulled highlight moments from the archives and created these stories, these different rooms, these moments throughout the 16,000-square-foot exhibition," said curator Darren Romanelli. "But in each room, there's either a single or multiple contemporary artists who created site-specific, reinterpreted Mickey Mouse installations. And it's that dialogue between the archives and the contemporary works that creates a unique energy for our visitors to experience and hopefully take away with them."
The exhibition begins with Mickey's debut 90 years ago in the short film "Steamboat Willie" and focuses on moments in his life that are most noteworthy.
"We wanted to tell Mickey's story from beginning to end and focus on the different things in his life that are the most relevant today, but also things that people might not know so much about. So, we started with the early Mickey cartoons in the '30s and worked our way all the way up to the present day and to these wonderful modern artists who are creating Mickey still," said Walt Disney Archives Director Becky Kline.
"The Academy Award, Walt's Oscar, right when you walk in is really exciting to see, and right when you walk out, the first ever sketch or drawing of Mickey Mouse. So, there are these nice Walt bookend moments and everything in between is Mickey Mouse. There are great little moments of Minnie Mouse throughout the exhibition and lots of hidden Mickeys,” Romanelli said.
The interactive space has numerous photo opportunities for visitors and even an ice cream stand with flavors created especially for the exhibit.
"Mickey: The True Original Exhibition" is running from November 8, 2018, to February 10, 2019, in New York.