Inside Perspective: Animation Research Library Preserves the Art of Disney

It’s easy to forget that behind each final Disney animated film is a collection of thousands of sketches, concept art and animation drawings. But what happens to all of that artwork when filming wraps? Where does it go?

As Disney celebrates 75 years of feature animation this year, we also celebrate the individuals who archive the magic at the Disney Animation Research Library. These collections specialists, researchers, designers and image capture specialists preserve the amazing artwork that brings Disney animation to life.

The creative process at Disney Animation often begins with a sketch, but the process isn’t complete until this team collects and stores the art – allowing future generations at Disney to learn from and be inspired by it.

There is such a rich history behind the library doors that when Mary Walsh, the library’s managing director, welcomes us inside to hear about how this team has archived more than 60 million story sketches, paintings, animation drawings and other forms of art over the past 75 years, its like walking into Disney history.

Check out the video here and see for yourself.