'Disney100: The Exhibition': More than 250 crown jewels travel cross-country for Philly exhibit
One example is a display from the company's very first animated feature film, 'Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.'
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Disney100:The Exhibition is open right now at the Franklin Institute.
It's the world premiere of the exhibition, celebrating 100 years of Disney, our parent company.
6abc is so proud to take you behind the scenes to show you just how this magical celebration came to life.
Archivists curated more than 250 of Disney's crown jewels for this exhibition.
The treasured items were packed up in 44 crates and traveled more than 2,800 miles during a 40-hour, cross-country drive. They arrived here in Philadelphia last month from their permanent home in Burbank, California.
The Walt Disney Archives house more than a century of Disney magic.
"We are here to protect the history and legacy of the company and to share it worldwide," says Becky Cline, the director of the Walt Disney Archives.
The Walt Disney Archives opened around the midpoint in the company's century mark.
"We started in 1970 with the founding of the Archives with one man: Dave Smith," Cline explains. "He was our founder, hired by Roy O. Disney, Walt's brother and co-founder."
Archivists collect and preserve the artifacts.
"We are located here at the studio," Cline says, "but we're the archives for the whole company worldwide. We also support the efforts of our filmmakers and creatives here at Disney."
The Archives also make materials available for outside use.
"We have researchers come in and do real traditional research as they're writing books and creating documentaries and things like that," Cline says.
For this exhibition project, curators chose objects that help tell the story of Disney.
"That was probably the hardest part because telling 100 years of Disney history, even in a 15,000 square foot exhibition, was extremely hard so we had to pare it down quite a bit," says Matthew Adams, manager of exhibitions for the Walt Disney Archives.
One example is a display from the company's very first animated feature film, 'Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs,' which debuted in 1937.
"The cutout figures are from the film's European premiere," Cline says. "These are very rare and they're something pretty special. They've shown a little wear and a little use, but they're one of the earliest things that we have from the opening of the film."
That is just a snippet of what you will see on display.
6abc invites you to join us for 30 minutes of Disney Magic.
Tune in at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 7 p.m. Saturday for our exclusive look inside Disney100: The Exhibition.
