On October 3rd, 1955, a phenomenon known as the Mickey Mouse Club began. The Walt Disney Family Museum recently reunited three of the original Mouseketeers at a special event, hosted by Lorraine Santoli, author of The Official Mickey Mouse Club Book. Lorraine introduced the special guests: Cubby O’Brien, Sharon Baird, and Bobby Burgess, and led the discussion of their experiences with the show and working with Walt.
The Walt Disney Family Museum was fortunate to be the subject of two new bonus features in Disney Home Entertainment's newest DVD/Blu-ray release of Fantasia, a film that's still regarded as one of Walt Disney's greatest achievements!
Many of us can speak at length about the ways that Walt Disney's creativity and imagination have touched our lives. Sharing the wide-eyed excitement and wonder he brought to everyday life, our stories continue his legacy as we share them with our children and generations to come. Here is your opportunity to help fill Walt’s impossibly large shoes and share a happy holiday with those who can often be overlooked.
In honor of Mickey's special day, noted film historian and author, J.B. Kaufman, penned this ode to everyone's favorite mouse:
Thursday, the 18th of November, marks an important birthday in Disney history: the birthday of Mickey Mouse. Today, the venerable mouse turns 82 years old.
Disney historian Paul Anderson, a big Mickey Mouse Club fan, takes us on trip down memory lane:
Disney author and film historian, J.B. Kaufman graciously wrote this piece for us for Veteran's Day.
There are two rules for participating in the volunteer program at The Walt Disney Family Museum. First, have fun. Second, learn something new. For some volunteers, only the first rule truly applies. Join us to have fun and learn, and as Volunteer Joseph Titizian demonstrates how you might get more out of your experience than you expect...
Our guest curator this week is Lynn Zook. Lynn is our Digital Archivist and is part of the Collections team. We asked her to pick her favorite artifact from the Collection and write about why she chose it.
In 1928, after losing the rights to a character he had helped develop, Walt Disney had to come up with a new creation. His wife, Lillian, recalled, "He was talking about different things, kittens and cats, this and that and the other. He kept talking about a mouse."Walt later said, "And then the name came. I had Mortimer first and my wife shook her head, and then I tried Mickey and she shook her head the other way, and that was it!"
Disney historian Jeff Kurtti penned this tribute to James MacArthur for us:
One of Walt Disney’s many talents was a flair for casting, and a genius for recognizing unusual talent. Although the application of this gift within the Animation trade is well-known, as is the roster of live-action stars who came to be associated with Walt, both professionally and culturally—Annette Funicello, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker, Fred Mac Murray, and Dean Jones to name a few—there is one actor whose relationship with Walt Disney is frequently forgotten: James MacArthur.