Walt at the Wallace

Entertainment Walt at the Wallace

Eamonn Lynskey visits a fascinating exhibition on Walt Disney and his celebrated cartoon characters at the Wallace Collection in London

‘Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French

Decorative Arts’ at London’s Wallace Collection runs until 16 October and is an exhibition not to be missed, especially not by those who as youngsters were fascinated by the adventures of Mickey Mouse, Goofy and all the other members of Disney’s assemblage of animated characters. And most especially not by those who queued with their parents in the 1950s to get into the Regal Cinema in O’Connell Street in Dublin to see the latest full-length animations from the Disney studios – Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953).

The exhibition traces the development of Disney’s work from his first short, amusing pieces in the 1930s such as Steamboat Willie (Mickey Mouse’s debut), until his first full-length animation Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.

This production banished forever the notion that animations (or ‘cartoons’, as we called them when I was young) were just bits of entertainment to put on before the main feature started so that the audience (and latecomers) could buy ice cream and settle into their seats. My mother, an avid weekly visitor to our local cinema (the Rialto in Inchicore) with me and my sister in tow, was never late and for me the short cartoons were often the highlight of the visit rather than the features that followed. To my very young eyes, a full-length cartoon was an extraordinary and glorious event. What’s on show at the Wallace is the trajectory of Disney’s emergence as one of the earliest and foremost creators of animated film and has a focus on his continual refinements and innovations in technique which paved the way for the sophisticated Disney Studio productions we see today. Due recognition is given to his early experiments but the exhibition revolves principally around two later works: Cinderella (1950) and the posthumous Beauty and the Beast (1991), both of which were logical developments from his ground-breaking Snow White. The section devoted to Cinderella reveals many of the tricks and sleights-of-hand used by Disney and his team of artists – and truly they were artists. The 24 drawings necessary for one second of the transformation of Cinderella’s ragged servant’s dress into an elegant ball-gown are mounted together on one wall of the exhibition. From frame to frame the

Steamboat Willie who later became Mickey Mouse

Disney himself was a man driven by a wide variety of inner demons. Doubts about his parentage dogged him throughout his life.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Disney’s first full-length animation in 1937

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

viewer can follow the minute variations which lead to the servant girl becoming the beautiful elegant young woman that the prince would find so irresistible. This kind of behind-the-scenes information is fascinating and extraordinary given that in the 1950s Disney and his team were working in an era before computer aided design. Pen and paper, charcoal, brush and paint were what they had to work with. And such work!

This focus on the painstaking application that went into every scene is also at the heart of the section dealing with Beauty and the Beast. There are fascinating explanations (accompanied by illustrations) of the lengths to which the studio would go to get just the right kind of castle suitable for the Beast who (spoiler alert!) was in fact a handsome prince trapped in the body of a monster. Numerous candidate castles were perused, many of them German and of that very convoluted and exaggerated style known as baroque. But Disney loved convolution and exaggeration and the final abode of the aristocratic beast was to be an amalgam of a number of these castle designs to produce the manyturreted, splendidly monumental castle, a version of which is the centrepiece of the many Disneyland parks worldwide today. exhibition’s title? ‘… The Animation of French Decorative Arts’? Walt Disney was of Irish descent. He visited Ireland in 1946 for research for his film Darby O'Gill and The Little People, but his first visit to Europe was as a Red Cross ambulance driver in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I. In 1935 his family convinced him to visit again on holiday so that he could relax from the strain of overwork that was undermining his health. On this visit he was fascinated by Europe’s various artistic movements over the centuries, especially the baroque style and the ornamental and theatrical style of the rococo art period of the 18th century. By that time his studio in America, which he had set up with his brother Roy, was having great success. Mickey Mouse and a whole host of other

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How can you prevent the onset of muscle loss? Spotting it early on is the key to prevention. Studies show that because muscle loss is heavily linked to physical inactivity, a consistent exercise regime is seen to be the cornerstone of treatment and preventative measures. Resistance training, muscle strengthening exercises as well as gait training have been shown to be the most effective methods of prevention and improvement, as it helps to rebuild any lost muscle mass and strength while improving balance and coordination.

Fuel your Body With ageing being associated with muscle loss and function, many different types of nutritional strategies can help in keeping and increasing muscle mass and strength. For example, an increase in protein intake, coupled with muscle strengthening exercises, has been proven to show significant benefits to elderly people at risk for muscle loss and frailty.

How do you know how much protein you need? A high protein intake above the Recommended Daily Allowance (in the range of 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilograms of body weight per day) has been suggested to prevent age-related sarcopenia. For example, a 70 kg (11 stone) man would need between 84 grams (3 ounces) to 112 grams(4 ouunces) of protein per day.

Healthy sources of protein Protein can be found in nearly all unprocessed food. For a balanced diet, it is important to have both plant-based and dairy sources in your meal. You can find protein in red meat, milk, chicken, yogurt, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, pulses, tofu and many more. Here are some simple tips to help you reach your nutritional needs and fuel your body.

Tip 1: Try to have some type of protein with every meal.

Tip 2: Do not eat all your protein intake in one sitting. It gets absorbed better in the body when spread throughout the day.

Tip 3: Try to change your source of protein from time to time. It is better for nutrient absorption too.

Let us have a look at two exercises that you can do today to help build strength & balance:

SEATED LATERAL RAISES

Step 1: Sit on a chair that supports your back. Place your hands by your side with your palms facing in.

Step 2: EXHALE: keeping your palms facing in and your arms straight, raise your arms to the side until they are at shoulder level.

Step 3 INHALE: Return your arms to the starting position with control to complete one repetition.

Start with three to five reps each side and repeat up to three sets.

STANDING SINGLE LEG BALANCING

Step 1: While standing, stabilise yourself by holding onto a secured surface. E.g., The back of a chair, secure countertop, or a strong table.

Step 2: While maintaining an upright posture slowly lift one foot off the floor and shift your weight to the standing leg.

Step 3: With a steady flow of breath, hold this single leg position for up to 10 seconds.

Step 4: Return your foot to the floor and switch legs. Once you have completed the exercise on both sides, that completes one rep.

Start with three to five reps each side and repeat up to three sets.

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About the Author: Home Plus made sure to find the best partner to help older people. So, why we chose Fitvision? Mark O’Reilly, Founder & Director of Coaching and Programme Development, is a key factor for us partnering with Fitvision. Holding a Masters in Mental Health and Skills from The University of Limerick, Mark completed his thesis in Physical Activity as a treatment for late-life Depression. His thesis focused on the benefits of exercise in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes along with decreasing the risk of falls and fall-related injuries.

Peter Pan (1951)

creations had made him a household name – and brought him a considerable fortune. His European visit with his family was something in the nature of a Grand Tour and it was about this time that he began assembling his extensive library on European art and architecture which would provide the research resources for his artists in the coming years.

The luxurious buildings of Vienna and Paris, especially Versailles with its wonderful decorative interiors and furnishings impressed him greatly. The influence of the rococo art forms with their endlessly intricate and flowing detail can be seen in the two films which are the focus of the exhibition. Cinderella’s coach, the regalia of her liveried footmen and the talking teapots and dancing candleholders in the Beast’s castle all show their debt to the rococo and its endlessly imaginative detail. In our own time we have seen the descendants of that age still evident in the porcelain figurines of shepherds and shepherdesses which our grandmothers and great grandmothers were so fond of displaying in their ‘china cabinets’ or on their mantelpieces. Disney made it his business to bring these little figures to life and an early example of a swirling ball-room couple in a little cinema short clip shows how he breathed life into a conventional piece of porcelain.

He collected books of fairy tales too, their fable-like quality appealing greatly to him. I’m not sure if he was familiar with the work of the Russian folklorist Alexander Propp (1895-1970) who in the 1930s was publishing his findings on how the narratives of ‘fairy tales’ run parallel to basic human desires such as the escape from daily humdrum life into a happier world; and how we long for some way in which our less attractive selves could be banished by magic and replaced by a more pleasant and attractive personality. Disney’s work shows that, if he didn’t know of Propp’s analysis, he didn’t need to. He had an intuitive grasp of the complications of the human condition and of its hopes and fears. Above all, its hopes.

Disney himself was a man driven by a wide variety of inner demons. Doubts about his parentage dogged him throughout his life. One of the reasons he became an undercover agent for the FBI was because it promised to investigate whether his mother was in fact his real mother. And his harsh treatment of his employees and his secret reporting of fellow workers as communists do his reputation as a person no sort of good. Much has been written too about the Disney Studios as an example of American cultural imperialism, disseminating capitalist values worldwide. As to his utter ruthlessness as a businessman, we have to remember the advice offered to anyone who wants to work in Hollywood that, if they want to have a friend there, they should go out and buy themselves a dog. to consider them further. If you are unacquainted with them, you can get a good overall introduction in Mark Eliot’s Walt Disney – Hollywood’s Dark Prince (London: André Deutsch, 1995). Either way, this exhibition gives a close-up view of Disneyland and is one not to be missed.

Besides this exhibition there is much else to see at the Wallace Collection. Assembled over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries by the Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, it is one of the most celebrated collections of fine and decorative arts in the world. On view is an extensive collection of Old Master paintings, sculpture, arms and armour and If Disney isn’t your thing there is plenty else of interest. However, just now it is Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Mickey Mouse that steal the show. This is an exhibition that allows us to become children again, one in which we are invited to rediscover what Walt Disney called ‘that fine, clean, unspoiled spot, deep down in every one of us.’ And for those who say that people who continue to watch animations have never really grown up – I can live with that.

The impressive Wallace Collection building in London’s Manchester Square

‘Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation

of French Decorative Arts’, 6 April 2022 - 16 October 2022 at The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN, United Kingdom. Admission charge: (Adult) £14, (Children) £5.