Genda had already started research in computer graphics and hoped to use the artwork as a foundation for future work. Hidesaburo Genda asked the museum to donate the original works to Chiba University. However, sometime in 1962, the museum-like many museums-found itself cramped for storage space, and donated the art to Chiba University for educational and research purposes. When the exhibit finished its tour, it was moved to the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo when the Disney Studio was convinced to donate the exhibit to the museum. The Japanese exhibit was originally displayed at 17 department stores throughout Japan, a common practice since Japanese department stores often sponsored fine art exhibits. There were two other traveling versions of the exhibit that toured the United States beginning in 1958 and then one was sent to be shown in Europe and the other to Japan in 1960 to once again promote the release of Sleeping Beauty in those countries. Of course, young artists could also buy original Disney cels for a dollar and a half thanks to the ingenuity of Disney Legend Jack Olsen who was in charge of this merchandise location, and who determined that guests might like cels that were just being tossed into the dumpster at the Disney Studio. The exhibit was connected to the Art Corner where future animators could purchase “How To Draw” Disney character books, flip books, and even an animation kit with a pressboard light table with pegs and punched animation paper. The exhibit in Tomorrowland featured early optical devices like thaumatropes and a zoetrope, as well as TV screens showing segments from “The Art of the Animated Drawing” first shown on Walt’s weekly television show on November 11, 1955.

One was showcased in Tomorrowland at Disneyland from to September 5, 1966. There were three versions of this exhibit and each featured different original art. Walt wanted some specific pieces and it wasn’t just cel setups but backgrounds, concept art, story sketches, and more. To put the exhibit together, Walt sent people to the animation “morgue” where the animation art was kept. The traveling exhibit was entitled “ The Art of Animation: A Walt Disney Retrospective.”

He used elements from the film itself to explain the actual animation process. Walt Disney created an exhibit showing the history and development of animation. When Walt Disney was producing the animated feature film Sleeping Beauty, he realized that a great way to publicize the “high art” approach of the film as well as address the all the letters that flooded into the studio from young artists interested in animation would be to put together a traveling exhibit showcasing the history of animation as well as how animation was done.

Art of animation bob thomas