Jewelry, costumes and props from films such as ‘Titanic’ and ‘Aladdin’ go on display – Daily News

January 5, 2022
3:45 PM

Film buffs and Disney fans — along with people who just love bling — might be interested in the latest exhibit to open at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.

“All That Glitters: The Crown Jewels of the Walt Disney Archives” features jewelry and accessories from Disney movies, including crowns, pendants and other bling created especially for the films. It also includes items from 20th Century Fox, which Disney recently acquired, such as the heart-shaped pendant from the movie “Titanic,” along with a few other unique items, such as a 1933 Mickey Mouse watch that originally retailed for $2.95.

“We had so many things to choose from,” said Becky Cline, head of the Walt Disney Archives. “We picked out the pieces that had the best stories.”

It follows on the heels of the previous collaboration between the Walt Disney Archives in Burbank and the Bowers, “Inside the Walt Disney Archives: 50 Years of Preserving the Magic,” which is now touring the country. Despite pandemic-related museum closures, Bowers spokeswoman Kelly Bishop said it was a success, both in spurring ticket sales and also museum memberships. Its run was extended twice, to accommodate fans who were shut out by closures.

The Bowers Museum is more typically known for folk art exhibitions, but its location less than six miles from Anaheim’s Disneyland makes it an obvious choice for Disney historical exhibitions. This one opened Dec. 12 and is scheduled to run through June 19.

Among the filmic “treasures” in the current exhibit:

The crown created for the coronation scene in “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” (2004) alongside a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth in her coronation crown, showing the model for the film prop.
The genie’s lamp from the live-action version of the Disney movie “Aladdin” (2019) along with the costume worn by actor Will Smith as the genie.
Baroness von Hellman’s pendant that played a critical role in the plot of Disney’s “Cruella” (2021).
The “Heart of the Ocean” necklace from the Fox movie “Titanic” (1997), borrowed from Lightstorm Entertainment.
Dick Tracy’s two-way radio watch from “Dick Tracy” (1990) by Touchstone Pictures.
Jewelry worn by Johnny Depp playing Capt. Jack Sparrow in two “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. (“The Curse of the Black Pearl” in 2003 and “Dead Man’s Chest” in 2006)
The ice queen’s crown from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (2005)
A World Series ring from the Anaheim Angels’ 2002 victory

The exhibit, which contains 200 items, seeks to explain to visitors how wearable accessories are used to highlight the characters and also to display some of the vast archives’ collection that’s typically hidden away in boxes, crates and warehouses.

The first Disney exhibit that premiered at the Bowers has moved onto Graceland, the Elvis Presley museum in Memphis, officials said.

Cline, the head of the Disney Archives, credited staff member Melissa Pankuch with coming up for the idea of the “treasures” exhibit, while the staff was working at home due to the pandemic.

“She noticed we had so many wonderful things with our costumes — jewelry and sparkly things,” Cline said, adding that she and her staff agreed and began work at home on creating the new exhibit. Since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox 2019, and the addition of the Marvel movies to the Disney story, the archive has seen its collection grow tremendously.

“We had so many things to choose from,” Cline said. “We picked out the pieces that had the best stories.”

Now that this exhibition has launched, archivists have turned their attention to 2023, when the Walt Disney Co. will celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Fans who attend the D23 Disney fan club convention in September 2022 will get a glimpse of a future major exhibition.

Disney officials plan to premiere their 100th anniversary historical exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in February 2023, and then it will travel around the country and world. It will be too large to be staged at the Bowers, Vargo said, but a local location has not yet been chosen.

“We’ll be pulling out items from the collections,” said Michael Vargo, who stages D23 for Disney. “It will serve as a preview of one of the largest exhibits we’ve ever done.”

‘All That Glitters: The Crown Jewels of the Walt Disney Archives’

Where: Bowers Museum, 2002 Main St., Santa Ana

When: Dec. 12-June 19; museum hours 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays; closed for major holidays, including Christmas and New Year’s Day

Tickets: $25 adult general admission, $22 for seniors (62+) and students (12+), $10 for children under 12 (if accompanied by paying adult), $10 for Santa Ana residents (Sundays only); $10 for active military or members of the North American Reciprocal Museum Association. Discounted general admission tickets are available for $20 for Southern California Disney employees and D23 Gold Club Members. Bowers Museum members receive free admission for their first visit to the show, $10 each for subsequent visits

Information: 714-567-3600; bowers.org

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