TORONTO — The Toronto-based company behind the aesthetic blockbuster known as Immersive Van Gogh is teaming up with Disney to create an exhibit showcasing highlights from animated classics like “The Lion King” and “Queen of snow”.
TORONTO — The Toronto-based company behind the aesthetic blockbuster known as Immersive Van Gogh is teaming up with Disney to create an exhibit showcasing highlights from animated classics like “The Lion King” and “Frozen.”
Lighthouse Immersive Studios, which uses sets and projection screens that envelop floors, walls and the environment with art, announced Thursday that it is collaborating with Walt Disney Animation Studios on their latest project, which is set to launch in Toronto in December before moving to international markets.
Canadian producer J. Miles Dale, who won an Oscar for “The Shape of The Water,” is the creative lead on the project titled Disney Animation: Immersive Experience, which he says taps into a cultural desire for entertainment less passive than traditional projections. or exhibits.
Several other companies operate similar multimedia exhibitions in Canada and around the world, a trend that began to gain popularity in the mid-2000s and has accelerated in recent years.
“Since Disney started as a company, they were the first to sync sound to animation and the first to add color to cartoons,” says Dale, who originally pitched the idea for the collaboration. with Disney to Lighthouse Immersive founder Corey Ross.
“I think they realized they didn’t want to be left behind with this new medium…It was a way to expand their brand and for people who can’t necessarily get to the parks of come see another side of what they love.
Although most pandemic restrictions in Canada were lifted last spring, cinemas and theaters say bringing audiences back has been a challenge.
Dale says he thinks the scale of Disney’s experiential project will be an incentive for families who might otherwise be cautious about stepping out of the house.
Ross agrees, saying that while the pandemic may have influenced newly formed inner addictions for some, the type of entertainment his company offers combined with the Disney brand will be an attraction.
“We figured out how to stay home, stay safe, and watch Netflix,” Ross says.
“I still think that at the end of the day, this kind of community experience is important for society and individuals. It may take some amazing new ideas to get people out of their homes and I hope that helps with that. .
Dale will join Mexico City-based Cocolab with special projects producer Dorothy McKim who will helm the project for Disney Animation. Lighthouse Immersive’s global creative director, David Korins – Tony Award nominee and set designer for the musical “Hamilton” – will create interactive lobby elements for guests before entering the exhibit.
Upon opening, visitors will be greeted with themes spanning the gamut of more than 40 Disney properties, from animations as old as 1928’s “Steamboat Willie” to newer Disney movies such as “The Lion King,” “Frozen” and “Encanta”. ”
One of the challenges the creators faced was finding a way to bring an added dimension to films that were already animated and fully formed visually and audibly. With the Van Gogh show, seeing still art come to life was part of the appeal, but that element already exists with the Disney films, he explains.
“We deconstructed these films and created four dimensions of protection for it to surround. You are inside the world and we have put it all together thematically.
Ross says the conceptual seeds for Disney Animation: Immersive Experience were sown from the company’s success Immersive Van Gogh’s version, which debuted in Toronto in 2020. Since then, they’ve provided similar treatments to Frida Kahlo, King Tut, Gustav Klimt, and presented exhibits in over 20 North American cities.
Elaborate images and projections would move with different shades of color, mixing VR and moving paintings in a singular space.
“We opened in Toronto to huge success and moved to the United States where we sold over 5 million tickets,” says Ross. “That means one in 90 US citizens had a ticket to the Van Gogh Experience, so we had all this incredible success and the money to go with it.”
After Toronto, “Disney Animation: Immersive Experience” is set to move to US cities such as Nashville, Boston and Las Vegas next year.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 6, 2022.
Noel Ransome, The Canadian Press
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