They are among the heroes of your childhood, are world stars and Oscar winners - and have delighted every generation anew for almost 90 years with their fabulous stories and unmistakable characters: ducks, mice, safecrackers. With the invention of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and their friends, the American film producer and visionary entrepreneur, Walt Disney, created classics of comic literature and made them icons of the 20th century on the big screen.
But who were the illustrators behind the characters, who were the comic artists who brought the characters to life, invented their worlds and continued to tell their stories for decades?
This question is addressed by the exhibition "Walt Disney - Mickey, Donald & friends," which will be on view at the Landesmuseum Mainz from March 14, 2018. Around 300 exhibits provide a comprehensive look at the development of the world-famous characters, from sketches to finished comics, as well as the working methods of their most famous illustrators, from then until today. The exhibition focuses first on the three veteran artists of Disney Comics from the 1930s: Floyd Gottfredson, the cartoonist of Mickey Mouse; Al Taliaferro, the inventor of Donald Duck; and Carl Barks, father of numerous characters such as Uncle Scrooge, Gyro Gearloose, and the Beagle Boys. A large part of the sheets shown here come from the Peter Reichelt Collection. In addition, the Landesmuseum presents some valuable ink drawings by Carl Barks from its own collection. In a second section, the "fathers" of the characters are juxtaposed with contemporary cartoonists. The comic artists Don Rosa, Jan Gulbransson and Ulrich Schröder have provided sheets from their studios for this purpose, which will be shown in Mainz for the first time.
Comic fans and Disney lovers can look forward to some extraordinary exhibits with rarity value: e.g. on the first Mickey Mouse book "The Adventures of Mickey Mouse" from 1931, of which there are only a few copies left worldwide.
Opening hours
Tuesday 10.00am-8pm
Wednesday-Sunday 10am-5pm
