Petting zoo for a live animal character sketch class on Museum’s front lawn

The Presidio, San Francisco (May 16, 2011) - Bambi, Thumper, Flower and Faline come to life at the Walt Disney Family Museum in June with showings of the 1941 classic on the big screen, a live study sketch class with real animals (the same way Walt and his team learned their endearing animal animation skills), and conversations about Disney legend/Bambi landscape artist Tyrus Wong. It’s time to fall in love with Bambi all over again – on the big screen of our state-of-the-art digital theater!

FILM OF THE MONTH – June 1–June 30 (except Tuesdays and June 11 + 25)
Bambi   (1941)
1pm and 4pm daily, Theater; $5/children; $7/adults
Tickets at www.waltdisney.org

Saturday, June 11 – The Art of Tyrus Wong
3pm, Theater
Tickets at www.waltdisney.org
Disney legend and landscape artist Tyrus Wong had a real gift for evoking incredible feeling in his paintings. Walt saw that Ty was able to produce exquisite watercolor paintings that brought the audience into the forest and made the environment feel real and alive. Walt Disney’s vision for Bambi and use of Tyrus’ work influences many films today. Animation experts  Charles Solomon, Pixar’s Ralph Eggleston, and Paul Felix discuss the art of Bambi and how it forever shaped animation and continues to influence today’s films.

Saturday, June 25 – The Anatomy of an Animal: Animating a Deer with J.B. Kaufman
3pm, Theater
Tickets at www.waltdisney.org
Walt Disney went to great lengths to ensure that his animators had everything they needed in order to draw animals realistically for Bambi. Real fawns were brought into the studio so that the animators would be able to study the animals and sketch them from every angle. This “life study,” along with advanced anatomy classes and trips to the Los Angeles Zoo, made the production of Bambi a slow process, but the study—paired with the emotion—made for a spectacular and heart-wrenching film. Noted author and historian J.B. Kaufman discusses the visual style and evolution of this Disney classic.

Saturday, June 4 – Finger Painting for Big Kids: Intro to Painting
1–4pm, Learning Center Art Studio
Learn painting at its most fundamental level – finger painting; mix colors while exploring the color wheel, and experiment with acrylic paints and water colors. Adopt the vocabulary of an artist and learn the ins and outs of caring for artist tools and paints. Registration required at education@wdfmuseum.org or 415-345-6814. Members: $40 / Non-Members: $45

Saturday, June 25 – Live Study Sketch Session with Petting Zoo
10am–12pm, Front Lawn (weather permitting)
Free with paid Museum admission
Learn to animate animals just like Walt Disney. Don’t miss this opportunity to join an artist and sketch live animals on the Museum’s front lawn.

Saturday, June 11 + Sunday, June 19 – Disney Discoveries
1–3pm, Learning Center Art Studio
Bring the forest scenes from Bambi to life by creating a 3D diorama Capture the beauty of the trees and the drama of the “little April showers” scene in a miniature woodland landscape.

June 24, 25 + 26 – Look Closer: Bambi concept art by Disney legend Tyrus Wong
3pm, Gallery 5
The Look Closer series provides tips and little known details about the artifacts in the galleries. June’s five to eight minute staff-led gallery talks offer a peek behind the scenes of the creation of Bambi.