60 Tenth Avenue, New York, New York 10014
A Preview with DH101 NY correspondent Chris Lucas!
I toured the Mickey Mouse: The True Original Birthday exhibit in New York City shortly after its opening day, on November 15th, just a few days before Mickey's birthday on the 18th. I had no way of knowing this when I booked the tickets (and reservations are STRONGLY suggested, as they only let a few guests in at a time) but it was also the day of the first snowstorm of the season, which paralyzed the city. As a result, my girlfriend Karen and I had the museum almost to ourselves.
This pop up exhibit is located on 10th Avenue in Manhattan, which sits adjacent to the busy West Side Highway, and next to Chelsea Market and High Line Park on 15th Street. It's a bit out of the way for tourists (i.e., not close to Times Square or Rockefeller Center) but is easily accessible by subway and a short walk.
“WELCOME!”
The exhibit is in a stark concrete gallery, which is used for revolving art installations. It feels like a warehouse, but they did a good job making it comfortable for Mickey fans. The minute you enter you are given a souvenir lapel pin, a map, and are met by cast members in colorful Mickey shirts and blazers. They offer several opportunities for you to take photos with unique Mickey backdrops before you even start.
“HELLO MICKEY!”
As you enter, there's a full wall filled with a large television screen. It shows clips from Mickey's 90 years. A cast member gives a short intro and welcome, then. . . the doors open. TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
The first thing you see is a large neon Mickey and Minnie adjacent to a display case featuring the honorary Oscar that Walt was given November 18th, 1932 for the creation of Mickey five years earlier. It's on loan from the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco (a co-sponsor of the exhibit.)
The installation is set up chronologically, so a room dedicated to Steamboat Willie comes first, replete with a grayscale life size recreation of the Steamboat itself that you can climb aboard, perfect for pictures (there are friendly cast members in each room just waiting to take pictures of you with your own devices.)
There's also an interesting film created just for the exhibit, called "Steamboat Willie Redux," where several artists contributed their take on Steamboat Willie. It plays alongside the original so you can compare and contrast. Please CLICK the following image and scroll through stills of the animated footage!
“IT’S BLACK & WHITE”
You then continue through the early black and white films, with cutouts of Mickey and Minnie placed strategically in spots where folks can pose alongside them, as if they are stepping in to the classic cartoon scenes. The wall opposite those cutouts is filled with a giant storyboard containing onomatopoeic gags. TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
“INK & PAINT”
The transition to color is covered by use of a small corridor filled with actual Ink & Paint Department paint jars. The room cycles through the spectrum, as does the wall covered with a “Rainbow Room” facade and photos of some of the women who worked in Disney's Ink & Paint Department. It's an interesting effect.
In addition to this facade, there were actual Ink & Paint jars on loan from Walt Disney Family Museum on display (unpictured).
“BURST INTO COLOR!”
Once you enter the color area, the first thing you encounter is a scene from Mickey's "Band Concert" short, impressively done entirely in crochet by the artist.
This colorful floor-to-ceiling crochet installation was inspired by The Band Concert
London Kaye
In the same room is an oversized Mickey Mouse shirt on a hanger.
“Untitled T-Shirt” is an oversized Mickey ringer tee, previously on display in the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel!
Amanda Ross-Ho
From there, you head into the room that pays tribute to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" scene from "Fantasia." It's filled with oversized props and cauldrons that contain artists sketches from the film.
“MICKEY MOUSE CLUB”
The room after that contained the most delightful surprise of the whole exhibit. Since Ample Hills Creamery is a sponsor, they give away free scoops in that room of their three new flavors created to celebrate Mickey and Minnie's 90th.
Ample Hills Creamery carries three flavors in custom packaging reflection three eras of Mickey’s life - Triple Chocolate Surprise, Confetti Celebration, and Peanut Butter Jamboree!
To help set the mood, that section is designed to look like a soda shoppe soundstage from the Mickey Mouse Club set. TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
There are also costumes and props from the original Mickey Mouse Club on display, as well as video clips from the 1990s incarnation. TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
After that, the exhibit transitions to a proper art installation, with interpretations of Mickey done by modern pop artists.
“Hiding Mickey” Styrofoam 3-D art sculpture by Daniel Arsham
The most notable of them is the late Keith Haring. His famous Mickey piece from the 1980s is accompanied by progressive photos of him in his studio as he was painting it. TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
“THE COLLECTION”
To conclude the exhibit, toys, souvenirs, watches, clothing and other items adorned with Mickey are displayed along the walls as you head into the final room. TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
There's a six foot statue of Mickey made out of t-shirts from the parks, as well as one made from Mickey dolls. TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
Google Play has a small room set up where teams can play a Mickey Mouse trivia game. Each player receives a souvenir pin for participating.
The very last thing you see before you exit is the original 1928 sketches of Mickey in a glass case below a painting of Walt's reminder that "It all started with a mouse." TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
This being Disney, of course, you exit through the gift shop, which has items you can't buy anywhere else.
“Cosmic Cavern”
There's also one last surprise - a small room filled with.... well, there's no other way to describe it: trash. That's right, old discarded items like shampoo containers, socks, bicycle wheels, furniture, etc., are all painted in day-glow colors and illuminated by black light. At first it's hard to see what this has to do with Mickey until you look closer and see that the artist cleverly worked the iconic ears into the scrap pieces all over the room. TOUCH the following window to scroll through a gallery of images!
This exhibit definitely exceeded my expectations. It was just the right mix of nostalgia and modern tribute, with dashes of whimsy. It took about ninety minutes to travel through the entire exhibit at a modest pace, even stopping to take pictures. (With large crowds, it might take a bit longer.) This is an exhibit not to be missed by Disney fans, and the perfect way to celebrate Mickey and Minnie's 90th.
CELEBRATE MICKEY’S LIFE AS A POP-CULTURAL ICON!
Tickets : $38
WWW.DISNEY.COM/MICKEYTRUEORIGINAL
Hours : Tues - Sun, 10 AM - 8 PM
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