You are looking at the lobby of a place so top secret, most people do not know where it is. So top secret that when we arrived, we were told we could not tweet the location or take any photos inside with our own cameras and cell phones. The mystery of it alone was pretty exciting!
This? Is Disney’s Animation Research Library!
A long time ago it was known as the morgue. Years and years ago, no one really gave a thought to how valuable all of the old drawings, sketches and props might be. Things were thrown away, boxed up under pipes, stored in basements, offices and who knows where else. Many things even went home with people. Little by little, things have made their way back – to the morgue. And now? It is a state of the art preservation and storage facility that houses over 65 million pieces of artwork!
In its current location since 1999, the Little Mermaid was even animated here. Being told that felt magical. When I was younger I watched that movie over and over and over. Definitely one of my favorites.
We started our tour in the camera rooms, where high resolution photos of each sketch are taken (by people who wear gloves), as an alternative to being scanned in. Everyone who handles the artwork must wear gloves to ensure the artwork is protected. After the photo is taken, each piece is electronically catalogued.
Next, we were in the famous Disney vaults you always hear about.

It was so cold in there, I was freezing. They have to keep it that way to help preserve everything they are storing. Something I found interesting is that there is no sprinkler system in the vault. Instead, they have special gasses to put out any potential fires, because even the water would ruin the art. And yes, you ARE looking at where Cinderella is stored in the vault.

That is me – over to the left – in the vault.
Also kept in the vault? Rare glass panes from the famous Multiplane Camera. This has the log bridge from Sleeping Beauty on it!

Not many of these glass panes still exist. Years ago some were thrown out (or even sold at the parks in tougher economic times), some were wiped off. Others were even reused and painted with something different. Seeing it up close was beautiful.

This Pinocchio now stored in the Animation Research Library was believe it or not, only found a few years ago in a basement. How crazy is that to think about. There are photos of Walt Disney with it!

My favorite part of the tour was near the end, in the designers office. It was by far the coolest place. I could just imagine how much fun it would be to get to go to work there every day.

Before our tour came to an end, we were even able to see original sketches from Mary Blair, who helped to produce and animate several Disney movies, including Cinderella. To be so close to the old sketches, and see how the different images became the Cinderella we now know … felt really special.

The Animation Research Library is filled with so many amazing things, I could have spent hours upon hours in there if they would have let us loose to explore. It is truly a magical place!
(The photos in this post are property of Disney.)