The Animationland exhibit at the Orange County Regional History Center is a journey through our own imagination, and our own back yard.
No conversation about animation in Central Florida can be complete without discussing Disney’s creations, especially its short-lived Orlando Feature Animation Studio, which doubled as an attraction in the Disney-MGM Studios theme park throughout the 1990s.
But in the history center’s hands-on Animationland exhibit, on loan from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, visitors can bring their own characters to life and explore animation styles from the early days of flipbooks through digital stop-motion.
From Drawing to Digital
The exhibit itself is set up as a journey through the imagination of a cartoon character, the Animationland mascot named Tracey, a pencil-shaped dog. (Trace-y, get it?)
“In her studio is where guests can learn about storyboarding and the basics of drawing a basic figure,” said Kelley. “There are a couple of interactives in this area – one where they can actually create their own storyboard, and then there's also a light table where they can trace their own characters. They can either trace one of the existing characters” – Tracey or one of her handful of cartoon friends – “or they can design their own character.” A nearby wall is decorated with the resulting artwork.
The next area of the exhibit tackles stop-motion animation and the creation of a soundtrack for animated works, called foley. “It demonstrates how sound is added to animation,” said Kelley. “If you go inside the booth, there is a preset cartoon that you're adding sound to, and it will prompt you when to create each noise.” A small microphone, a xylophone, and a large squeaky ball are among the items arrayed in the booth.
Kelley said these interactive elements are very popular, pointing out two separate kiosks that allow guests to make – and even star in – their own stop-motion animation scenes, then watch their creations on large monitors.
Disney Magic
The exhibit’s coda explores the story of Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida. “It started as an attraction,” said Kelley. “It was an opportunity for guests to see animators at work inside the Magic of Disney Animation attraction. And over time, they did such impressive work…and the ‘Disney Renaissance’ of the 1990s was happening, so the main studio in Burbank needed extra help and support. So the Florida studio was actually given increasing responsibilities, increasing tasks.”
The result of those tasks can be seen in Mulan and Lilo & Stitch, which were predominantly Florida projects.
“I think maybe a lot of people don't realize that ‘I Just Can't Wait to Be King’ from The Lion King was animated right here in Central Florida. And in Beauty and the Beast, the scene where the townspeople’s mob is singing ‘Kill the Beast’ and they're marching to the castle, that was animated here in Central Florida.”
