A BEHIND-SCENES-LOOK IN ‘THE ART OF DISNEYLAND’

“The Art of Disneyland,” an exhibit of drawings and models currently on display in the park, offers visitors an intriguing but inadequate look at the artistic visions behind the rides and other attractions that earned the Magic Kingdom a unique place in the history of the amusement park.

Most of the drawings are architectural renderings that suggest how various exteriors might look, and it is interesting to compare and contrast these early versions with the finished buildings. A large map of the entire park, hastily painted by matte artist Peter Ellenshaw when Walt Disney needed a prop for his television show in 1954, depicts a hot air balloon, a large circus tent and other features that were never built.

The most vivid drawings in the show are by Marc Davis. One of the studio’s leading artists, Davis switched to designing attractions for Disneyland after animating Cruella De Vil in “101 Dalmatians.” His pen-and-ink renderings of bears, rhinos and elephants suggest mood and personality and capture the details of animal anatomy. The sketches of New Orleans Square, the monorails and other attractions are handsome but hardly remarkable.

Although these drawings are professionally done, they aren’t strong enough as graphics to hold the viewer’s attention for any length of time. What they depict is more interesting than how they depict it. (“Look, Harry, there’s Space Mountain!”)

These sketches would be more effective as part of a larger exhibit that explained how a ride is created. In its current form, “The Art of Disneyland” poses more questions than it answers. What steps come between the preliminary sketches and the finished attraction? How do the designers and engineers collaborate to produce figures that are both aesthetically pleasing and capable of housing the machinery needed to animate them? How long does it take to build a ride? (Maquettes of figures from the Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as various rides in Fantasyland, illustrate one of the intermediary stages, but more information is needed.)

What were Walt Disney’s reactions to these drawings? A note card explains that he didn’t want anything in Disneyland as “run-down looking” as the ramshackle building in the original design for the Haunted Mansion. More of his written comments would provide insights into his vision of the park and help explain how he used other artists to realize that vision.

The exhibit is on display in the Royal Suite, an elegantly appointed set of rooms above the entrance to the Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney planned to entertain important guests there but died before the facility was completed.