These are The Disney Archives – physical spaces located in Los Angeles, California – that for 50 years have preserved billions of objects that have been generated by productions from the beginning of Walt Disney to the present. In these facilities, several specialists are in charge of cataloging and preserving the historical objects that they receive daily from various parts of the world.
In the collection there are photographs dating from the last century, character sketches for animations, scripts, props, works of art, costumes, suits, cars from certain productions, among other things. To maintain good quality of the objects, the spaces that protect them require special adaptations, from having a special room temperature, avoiding light in certain cases and even having security mechanisms to prevent the theft or loss of any element of the object. collection.
If the thousands of pieces that make up the Disney archive were put together, they would put together a puzzle that would show the history of the animation industry and productions over a century, but also the advancement of societies and technology. The company has gone from developing simple animations of characters like Mickey Mouse and his friends, to telling stories in the middle of a war process, a cold war, portraying fairy tales to mythological characters.
But also during this time it has gone through processes that have allowed it to expand its empire through the acquisition of new brands. In 2019, the entertainment company acquired the assets of 20th Century Fox for $71.3 billion, the largest acquisition in Disney history to enter the streaming industry.
This transaction has allowed him to expand his universe of characters. Now the company can exploit stories of Marvel superheroes such as Spider Man, Avengers, X-Men, among others, and thereby connect more audiences and strengthen the company’s historical archive.
“The arrival of new productions such as the Fox brand not only increases the archive’s collection, but also helps us have more elements to create new stories,” says César Gallegos, head of the most important archive in the world of the audiovisual industry. .
But just as new characters come into Disney’s life, others say goodbye. In 2022, the company lost Winnie the Pooh, that honey-loving bear, along with his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood, because when the works turn 95 years old they can be shared legally and without a fee permit . Now the drawing of the tender bear has been used for film projects that never crossed Disney’s mind. But the list of characters for free use could increase in the coming years.
Gallegos commented that the issue of copyright varies in each country, however, the company seeks to protect the rights of Walt Disney’s works.
“We also worked to protect against past confusion caused by Winnie The Pooh for uses that may not be authorized for our characters today,” said the Disney archivist.
And although Winnie the Pooh no longer belongs to the company, Disney still protects all the objects related to this cartoon, which do not lose their value, since this lies in what it means historically for the company and for the fans.
The idea of the Disney archive has always been to maintain the magic that its founder transmitted, as well as to help generate inspiration for new stories, says César Gallegos, head of the most important archive in the world of the audiovisual industry. Disney’s archivist has assured that producers and artists visit the company’s archive to find inspiration for new projects or those they even already have in the pipeline. He even revealed that some of the props and wardrobe they have stored in the archive have been reused for new productions, but he did not reveal the name of the projects that have resorted to this.
“Walt Disney did this a lot, he saw his objects and this gave him inspiration or ideas for new projects, but the objects also give us an example of who Walt Disney was, a person who always pushed and tried to make better animations and create new stories. and business,” says Gallegos, who has been in charge of the Disney archive for five years and has been working as an archivist for 16 years.
Another function that the Disney archive has is to show part of the company’s history and its stories to viewers. The company develops exhibitions of hundreds of objects that in many cases have not been seen by audiences. This year the company has taken 250 artifacts to London, England, where it has decided to show works of art, costumes and accessories that are accompanied by themed galleries named after iconic characters such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) as well as recent productions. and franchises such as Charming (2021) and Star Wars.
And this month, the Disney archive has chosen Chicago, Illinois, as its headquarters, the city that saw animation industry pioneer Walt Disney grow up.