China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Animated joy
Beijing expo offers something for every cartoon enthusiast
animation Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Bambi (1942), Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953), are among the kaleidoscopic selection of exhibits that reveal how the brilliant ideas in the minds of the animators vividly leapt onto paper to become globally recognized cultural icons.
Two stills on display — one from Alice in Wonderland (1951) and one from Lady and the Tramp (1955) — were even personally drawn by Walt Disney and bear the animation guru’s signature, something that Cheng considers as rare.
One section of the exhibition hall has been decorated to recreate the style of a 1930s animation studio to provide visitors with a more “immersive” experience.
According to Cheng, the Walt Disney Studios pioneered the introduction of celluloid in the animation process to improve production efficiency. Animators would draw the scenes onto layers of disposable film placed over a static background — normally painted using watercolor.
However, the vast majority of celluloid film sheets have not remained intact today, he says.
“Celluloid is a consumable item that is highly flammable,” the curator explains. “So, Walt Disney Studios deliberately didn’t keep them in large numbers, making these surviving exhibits very precious.”
The most recent celluloid sheets on display come from the 1995 Disney production, Pocahontas. And since the animation industry embraced the digital age after this point, this portion of the exhibition feels more like a homage to a bygone era.
But thanks to a few private collectors, we still have the physical evidence to remember them by.
Most of the exhibits coming to the Beijing show are on loan from individual collections. For example, 84 of the works on display were collected by Vaytch Robin, an animator who worked at the Walt Disney Studios in the 1930s, and were loaned to the national library by his daughter.
This is also true for the majority of Japanese exhibits.
Several collectors teamed up to try and recreate a world full of the most fantastic animated characters to come out of Japanese studios over the past three decades.
Manga fans will no doubt be gripped by nostalgia when they see the yellowing sketches of their childhood idols, be it Detective Conan from the Case Closed franchise, Son Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise or images from the Lupin III saga or the ongoing One Piece series.
If visitors feel the need to join in after admiring the masterpieces, they can go to the interactive section of the exhibition and try their hand at painting or graffiti.
While it’s not common for an institution with such a serious public image to display cartoons, Cheng says he is planning to take the exhibition to other cities in China.
“We have a huge collection of handwritten scripts from ancient China in our library and many of them are also on display here,” says Gu Heng, the NLC’s exhibition director. “It will create a magical dialogue if we show animation scripts from abroad as an example of our cultural exchanges.”
He adds that the library is also a place to educate young people.
“We see many common themes in the animation works displayed, like the pursuit of your dreams and love,” Gu says. “These refined works teach children about what is good, kind and beautiful through their diligence and precision.” From Mickey Mouse and Bambi to Dragon Ball and Astro Boy, whatever their taste, cartoon fans are in for a treat at a Beijing expo, Wang Kaihao reports.