Walt Disney Archives

NEW: From Disney princesses to a real-life princess, legendary animator Mark Henn on animating Mickey Mouse, his favorite heroine to draw, and creating Young Si...mba for the #DisneyPlus Sketchbook series: https://bit.ly/3ywkV5A Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3aBF8Zj Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2NQOLda Amazon: https://amzn.to/35pgoWH #D23InsideDisney See more

#DisneyLegend and former Imagineer Wing T. Chao played a vital role in designing and developing exceptional and inspiring projects at Disney Parks and Resorts w...orldwide. He helped negotiate the creation of Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, and Shanghai Disney Resort. Fun fact: Wing makes a cameo in an episode of The Mandalorian! See if you can find him! #AANHPIHM #ReimagineTomorrowTogether

Happy Star Wars Day! This photo features a Star Tours emblem built for a filmed segment created for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue! The segment featuring this set piece was integrated into the attraction to celebrate the 2015 film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. #MayThe4thBeWithYou

Tickets on sale now: D23 Members are invited to a special Grand Opening Preview of Inside the Walt Disney Archives at the legendary Graceland Exhibition Center ...in Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday, July 22, 2021. This special D23 experience includes a special dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony, featuring special guests include Bill Farmer and Bret Iwan. D23 Members will be among the first to see the 10,000-square-foot exhibition, where they’ll have a chance to mingle with other members as well as the team from the Walt Disney Archives: See more

Celebrate 25 years of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame and take a closer look at its hero, Quasimodo, in our newest Spotlight article! https://d23.com/out-there-celebrating-25-years-of-disneys-/

This week, we celebrated 20 years since discovering Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Producer Don Hahn dives into the history of the film, from getting inspired by Walt's own films to the dedicated fanbase celebrating the film two decades later:

Happy 5th anniversary to Shanghai Disney Resort! This photo was taken during the Grand Opening ceremony in 2016, in front of Enchanted Storybook Castle. This was the first Disney park castle to represent all the Disney princesses.

Disney Legend, producer, and lyricist Howard Ashman's legacy with Disney included giving a mermaid her voice and a beast his soul. The Oscar-winning songwriter ...penned many beloved tracks from animated classics, such as "Under the Sea," "Be Our Guest," "Friend Like Me," and more. Learn more about Howard's incredible legacy from our friends at Walt Disney Archives in celebration of #PrideMonth: See more

Who? Me? I ain’t got time. I got a race to run. Toby Tortoise keeps his eye on the prize in the Academy Award- winning short, The Tortoise and the Hare, which premiered on this date in 1935. The publicity art seen here features the memorable Toby Tortoise and Max Hare, who remind us that slow and steady wins the race!

Mickey’s Polo Team, released on this date in 1936, depicted a polo match between the Movie Stars and Mickey Mousers. The short featured a myriad of animated Hollywood celebrities intermingled with Disney characters. This publicity art from our collection includes Donald and Mickey gearing up for the big match.

On this date in 1965, The Disneyland Tenth Anniversary Show aired as part of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. Directed by #DisneyLegend Hamilton Luske, this TV show celebrated the park’s Tencennial by following Walt Disney and Disneyland Ambassador Julie Reihm as they looked at some of the new attractions then in development. Pictured here is #DisneyLegend Julie Reihm Casaletto with Walt and the Barker Bird seen in the show.

Rise and shine! It’s time to get out there and make the most of the new year. We hope you enjoy this first #Saturday of the yearwith all of the pluck of our favorite duck! Image: Trailer Horn (1950) publicity still. The short is now streaming on #DisneyPlus!

We’re sorry to report that Disney Legend Ron Dominguez has passed away:

Did you know today is #NationalCandyDay? Let’s take a trip back to 1968 with these images from the Candy Palace on Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland. What’s your favorite candy?

Take a break and draw a picture like Peggy Johnstone (left) and Retta Scott (right), seen here on the lawn of the Disney Studios lot back in 1946! Peggy Johnstone began her time at Disney as a tracer in 1942 and later worked as a story artist. Retta Scott was the first female animator at the studio, having first joined the Story Department in 1938. She received her first on-screen credit as an animator on "Bambi" (1942).

We’re waving in Monday with a couple of mermaids from the Submarine Voyage at Disneyland, seen here in 1960. In addition to mermaids, Guests would have seen all sorts of underwater sights on their voyage through "liquid space" from colorful fish to fantastical scenes like the lost city of Atlantis. The Tomorrowland attraction was open from 1959 through 1998, and later became Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in 2007.

To kick off November, why not start with the very first Disney book ever published? Released by Bibo and Lang in November 1930, the aptlynamed "Mickey Mouse Book" contains stories, games, and even songs! Check out our latest Spotlight article to learn more about this book, and also see the sheet music for a cute song about our pal Mickey Mouse! https://d23.com/celebrating-90-years-music-from-the-first-/

The magic that brought us back, only works tonight, on All Hallows’ Eve. #DisneyLegend Bette Midler gave her most bewitching performance as Winifred Sanderson in Hocus Pocus (1993). The Walt Disney Archives has several of the iconic props from the film, including the cauldron and spell book containing the recipes of Winifred’s most powerful and evil spells! Check out our article to see what other spellbinding props and costumes from our collection you can spot while watching #HocusPocus! https://d23.com/hocus-pocus-archives-items/ #DisneyPlusHallowstream #HappyHalloween

Halloween Hall O’ Fame aired on television on this date in 1977. Jonathan Winters plays a watchman at The Walt Disney Studios, who stumbles upon a room full of props on Halloween night. He also plays a talking jack-o’-lantern, as seen in these behind-the-scenes images with studio makeup artist #DisneyLegend Bob Schiffer, who created the prosthetics and makeup for the transformation.

Wouldn't you like to see something strange? Celebrate the anniversary of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas with these spellbinding facts.

For our first-ever Haunted Mansion-themed #ThrowbackThursday, we’ve partnered with Walt Disney Archives and Walt Disney Imagineering Art Collection to dig up so...me early imagery and artwork of this popular attraction. Take a look: https://bit.ly/2JhD0wS #DisneyHalloMoments #DisneyMagicMoments See more

As one of Disneyland’s opening day dark ride attractions, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride had elements of its show scenes built at The Walt Disney Studios. In the first photo, a Disney Studio artist is seen painting the grimacing devil’s mouth that Guests would pass through. In the second, two Guests are seen in a ride vehicle, merrily on their way to nowhere in particular.

In 1957, Walt Disney asked Imagineer and #DisneyLegend Ken Anderson to help come up with a haunted house experience for Disneyland. Check out our newest Spotlight article to see more of the concept sketches Ken created for this early attraction story that would eventually become the Haunted Mansion. https://d23.com/a-haunted-mansion-tale/

As one of the most iconic Disney villains, Cruella De Vil was known for her bold and daring fashion. In the live-action film 101 Dalmatians (1996), Glenn Close wore this costume designed by Anthony Powell, which conveyed her wicked character. Powell explained that she’s such a spiky and forceful person that I wanted her silhouette to be striking and exaggerated.

Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? The Three Little Pigs, Practical, Fifer, and Fiddler, better keep their eyes peeled for what’s lurking nearby in this photo from Disneyland, ca. 1973!