The new large temporary exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum is a tour-de-force honoring their first big character, Mickey Mouse. Indeed, it features over 400 pieces of art, plus a balcony gallery of fine art paintings of Mr. Mouse by artists ranging from Wayne Thiebold and Andy Warhol to an amusing enormous work by San Francisco-based muralist Sirron Norris that has twelve Mickeys in it. (I only spotted nine—three are too well hidden.)
The show is full of rough preliminary drawings. The guest curator/Disney animator Andreas Deja told us at the press preview that he favors preliminary sketches by animators as they show the person’s hand movements and thoughts, while cleaned up drawings are normally by assistants and lack some of the artist’s personal touch.
By seeing this wide variety of images, you can trace the evolution of the way Mickey was drawn. While the drawings are fascinating, I was amazed by a large painted cel from The Band's last concert that showed a wide angle shot of the crowd around the bandstand, with what must have around 100 characters.
On the balcony there is a collage of large photos that shows the evolution of the costumed Mickey that greets people in the theme park. If you look closely, there is a very early goofy-looking Mickey with tiny black pupils. Not an image we are familiar with.
The production art includes Ub Iwerks drawings from 1928-30, drawings and cel paintings, including cels from some of the great films that were released in Technicolor. There is also more recent work, including a few films made with computers that are shown on a very large, flat screen display.
I was told that some of the hand-drawn works I was seeing had never been shown to the public before. Indeed, some were from projects that were never completed.
While Mickey and his friends sold over $3 billion in merchandise in 2018, according to the Wall Street Journal, the exhibit makes no mention of Mr. Mouse being what Forbes magazine calls “a fictional billionaire.” (I assume Spider Man is now on that list.) Instead, there is one tasteful display of really old toys—with no T shirts, balloons and other yucky things—to remind us that some really cool-looking things have been made that have his likeness on them.
“The exhibition is a testament to Mickey’s transcendent influence," notes a brochure, "from cartoons and comic books to real-life appearances at Disney Parks worldwide.”
Located in The Presidio by the main parade ground (104 Montgomery Street, not on the street of that name in downtown SF), the museum is open from 10 to 6, but last admission is at 4:45 pm, as you need two or more hours to really enjoy the exhibits. It closes Jan. 6, 2020.
A scene from 'Entropia' by Hungarian Flóra Anna Buda. image: courtesy F. A. Buda
Frameline Goes Animated
Frameline, San Francisco's world-famous LGBT festival, is presenting a program of animated films at the Roxie Theater Saturday, June 29th at 1:30 pm
The film "Entropia" (11m, 2019) is by Flóra Anna Buda, from Hungary. Winner of the Teddy Award for Best Short at the Berlin International Film Festival, it has vibrant colors that illustrate a science fiction tale about “queer relationships in the future without bras.”
"Biidaaban" (The Dawn Comes), by Amanda Strong (Canada, 19m, 2018), is a stop-motion work about “the indigenous musician-writer-poet Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.
Canadian provocateur Trevor Anderson gives us "Docking" (4m, 2018), which infuses absurdist humor in his inventive and surreal approach to documentary. Here he explores his fears of dating through phalluses in space.
"Les lèvres gercées", by Fabien Corre & Kelsi Phung (5m, 2018, France) deals with gender identity when a mother and child attempt to start a dialogue in their kitchen.
"Sweet Sweet Kink: A Collection of BDSM Stories", by Maggie M. Bailey (14m2019, USA/Chile), is a fun and sexy short, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival. It tells four naughty stories, highlighting each of the letters of BDSM: bondage, dominance, and sadomasochism.
The featurette, "Top 3", is by Sofie Edvardsson (45m, 2019, Sweden). “In this funny, bittersweet romantic comedy, perpetual list-maker Anton falls in love with David," according to the website, "but things start to go awry when Anton realizes that his dreams in life might be in direct opposition to David’s.”
Another program includes "Bacchus", the all-too-brief trailer for which is full of stunning, exquisite, abstract images. This gem is an impressive work of art made by 3rd year character-animation and CG-art students at the University College in Viborg, Denmark's animation workshop. The film was a Viemo pick last year.
A cartoon Moses leads his people to freedom in Nina Paley's 'Seder-Masochism'. image: courtesy Nina Paley
The Jewish Film Festival
"Seder-Masochism", by Nina Paley ("Sita Sings the Blues, 2012), who lived in San Francisco from 1981 to 2002 (Castro, Haight, Mission and Noe Valley), is a beautifully crafted, highly entertaining and delightfully provocative. A musical retelling of the Exodus and Passover, think "Fanatasia" (1939) meets the Old Testament, coupled with serious feminist criticism and a rocking soundtrack. Paley’s syncopated, beat-driven scenes of the ten plagues are exceptionally drawn.
Besides Paley’s “Seder Machoism,” there are two more animated or part-animated features in the upcoming SF Jewish Film Festival.
Still from Rachel Leah Jones's 'Advocate'. image: courtesy F. A. Buda
Rachel Leah Jones's "Advocate" follows Israeli human-rights lawyer Lea Tsemel. Having defended Palestinians against a host of criminal charges in Israeli courts for nearly five decades, she is a staunch supporter of compassion within the court system. This documentary juxtaposes two of Tsemel’s cases: the defense of a minor accused of attempted murder and a past case in which she defended her activist husband from an accusation of treason against the state. Director Rachel Leah Jones was born in Berkeley and lives part time in Tel Aviv.
"The State Against Mandela and the Others", by Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte, focuses on the 1963 trail of Nelson Mandela and nine confederates forattempting to overthrow the South African state. While Mandela’s story is well known, there were a number of important supporting actors in this drama, including members of South Africa’s small Jewish community. Blending chilling archival audio with striking animation and interviews with surviving defendants, "The State Against Mandela and the Others" vividly brings this seminal courtroom drama to life.
Karl Cohen is an animator, educator and director of the local chapter of the International Animation Society and can be reached .