Behind the Magic—Fifty Years of Disneyland
May 6—August 20, 2006
Oakland Museum of California

Exhibitions based on commercial enterprises such as a particular company or designer are sometimes frowned upon in the museum world—the possibilities for self- promotion are just too great to be ignored. Some have criticized the unique traveling exhibition, Behind the Magic, honoring the 50th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland, as overly commercial and self-congratulatory. While I agree that the exhibit is celebratory, to me it felt more like a thorough examination of the motivating forces behind the establishment and development of Disneyland rather than self-aggrandizement. Blending pencil drawings with state-of-the-art technology, the exhibit tells the story of Disneyland from an idea based on Walt Disney’s love for trains and fantastic experiences to a 21st century reality of animatronics and CGI graphics in a manner both informative and fun with something to appeal to every member of the family.

Grandparents and parents who grew up visiting Disneyland may feel nostalgic as they watch news coverage of opening day, see “E” tickets and designs for original cast member costumes in glass cases, read the original menu from the Blue Bayou restaurant in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and sit in an original car from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Kids more familiar with contemporary animated and live-action features may relate to the computer kiosks with animated snippets and interactive games such as learning how to make a CGI pirate dance. Animation enthusiasts will appreciate watching the development of animation techniques, from the original hand-drawn plan for Disneyland that Walt Disney used to secure funding for his vision to the CGI graphics and animatronic Mr. Lincoln of more recent days at the Park. From start to finish, the exhibit is an examination of the art, science and history that created and continues to transform Disneyland.

Which is not to say that this is not a slick, well-branded exhibition, because it is. The chrome stars that adorn the walls, Disney’s emblem of magic in the air, the expensive custom cases and the emphasis on technology used in the exhibit are all indicative of a high-quality product with the Disney stamp all over it. The audio tour is reminiscent of behind-the-scenes footage from DVDs, with chief imagineers, artists and Disney executives talking about how the rides came to life and the relationships between the rides and the movies. Many of the displays themselves also allow a peek at the magic behind the Mouse. Mr. Lincoln is caught with his pants down—in fact, he’s completely naked so that visitors can see his animatronic inner-workings. Preliminary drawings of Disneyland show what the park could have looked like, with Holiday Land, Lilliputian Land and a Recreation Area.

Like the famous theme park it chronicles, the exhibit offers a photo opportunity. Visitors are encouraged to sit in an original pirate ship from the Peter Pan’s Flight ride where a computer takes a souvenir photo, retrievable online after completing a survey for exhibition sponsor, USA Today and paying one dollar. While similar opportunities have existed for years in theme parks, including Disneyland, it is a relatively new offering for museum exhibitions, however, Behind the Magic is not the only exhibition to make use of digital photography in this manner. The Marvel Super Heroes Science Exhibition, currently at the California Science Center, also offers a similar type of photo opportunity.

What was surprising about Behind the Magic, however, was the lack of immersive environments and other exhibit techniques that are typically associated with Disney and the highly contested, so-called “Disneyfication” of museums. For years museum professionals have railed against exhibit techniques that emphasize “edutainment” and immersive experiences rather than more serious approaches to subject matter, stating that the reason behind this shift in exhibition design was to better compete with leisure time activities that were more fun than educational, especially theme parks, such as Disneyland, that lace their entertainment with a smidgen of history and education, such as Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

But while Behind the Magic included interactive displays, the emphasis was on text, drawings and 3D content rather than on creating the detailed experiences for which theme parks—and Disneyland in particular—is known. This perhaps added to my sense that this was a serious, content-rich exhibition rather than a giant advertisement for the park. Also contributing to that sense were the contents of the gift store. I had expected to see the usual offerings found in the Disney Store or in the shops in Disneyland itself. Instead, the gift shop sold books and DVDs about the history of Disneyland and Walt Disney with almost no Disneyland paraphernalia in sight.

It’s hard to avoid seeming like a giant advertisement when an exhibition focuses on a single corporate entity, but Behind the Magic does a credible job of highlighting the facts of the history and development of Disneyland rather than sounding like the details of a vacation package.

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