Between Frames: The Magic Behind Stop Motion Animation

September 26, 2012
|In Animation & Visual Effects
|By jchan

An event from the Walt Disney Museum:

September 27, 2012–April 28, 2013

The Walt Disney Family Museum is thrilled to announce our next special exhibition: Between Frames: The Magic Behind Stop Motion Animation—on view from September 27, 2012 to April 28, 2013. Curated by WDFM Registrar and Curatorial Assistant Anel Muller, the exhibition explores the evolution of stop motion animation in the United States—especially in special effects, television, and film—while examining some of the key milestones and innovators including Willis O’ Brien (King Kong), Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Art Clokey (Gumby), Ray Harryhausen (It Came From Beneath the Sea), Henry Selick (Coraline and James and the Giant Peach), Phil Tippett (Star Wars and Jurassic Park), and more.

Between Frames tells the story of a 100-year-old art form that has been used in special effects, television, and film, and launched Walt Disney’s career in animation. The exhibition includes behind-the-scenes photographs from films such as The Lost World (1925) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963),   replicas of the original armatures from King Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949), along with a Digital Input Device (DID) created just for Jurassic Park (1993). Puppets from the Robot Chicken (2005) opening sequence and a puppet mold from Gumby, as well as original armatures from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Coraline (2009), and original storyboards from James and the Giant Peach (1996) will also be on view. Visitors will be invited to manipulate and touch armatures at a special interactive station. A film loop of great moments in stop motion animation will also be running in the gallery.

Friday, September 28, 7–10pm
Join us as we celebrate the opening of our new special exhibition Between Frames: The Magic Behind Stop Motion Animation, which reveals the magic behind movie creatures like King Kong, the Jurassic Park velociraptors, and the revered Star Wars AT-AT! Get tickets!
Saturday, October 20, 3pm
Join moderator Hal Hickel in a discussion with Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Tom St. Amand, and Jon Berg on their work with stop motion, its history as a visual effects technique, and the transition into computer-generated animation. Get tickets!
October 26 through October 31 at 11am, 1:30 & 4pm (except Tuesday, October 30)
In celebration of our special exhibition, the Museum will be screening the 1993 Disney stop motion musical fantasy film by producer and co-writer Tim Burton. (Free with Museum admission).
October 26 through October 28 at 11am, 1pm & 3pm in the Theater Lobby
Join us for a brief gallery talk to learn more about our new special exhibition—Between Frames: The Magic Behind Stop Motion Animation. (Free with Museum admission).