Fondly associated with characters like Mickey Mouse (who debuted in the 1928 short Steamboat Willie), Donald Duck, Rapunzel, Winnie-the-Pooh, Cindrella, movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, TV shows and theme parks, the centennial celebrations of Walt Disney Company are special in many ways with a number of activations, tie-ups and events celebrating the event globally.
There are a number of spectaculars coming to Disneyland California alongside the Hong Kong Disneyland that will unveil a new statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse near Cinderella’s Carousel as part of the Disney100 Celebrations. Then, Disney Cruise Line, a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is bringing the magic of a Disney vacation to families and fans in Australia and New Zealand during limited-time cruises that will immerse the travellers in Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars stories.
Josh D’Amaro, Disney Parks, experiences and products chairman said as per news reports that the celebration is the biggest in the company’s history.
It will deliver new decorations, speciality food and beverages, new experiences, merchandise, and more, with each destination marking the occasion in their own way.
In India, fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee recently unveiled an art piece that pays tribute to the iconic and beloved Mickey Mouse. As part of Create 100, a global celebration of creativity marking 100 years of Disney storytelling, the designer created a painting using earth colours in tempera and digitally transferred on to handwoven cotton and embroidered using multi-media techniques. It’s appliqued and collaged with hand embroidered textiles and metal detailing from the ateliers of Sabyasachi. The artwork is framed with embroidered textiles on hard oak wood. “I was born in 1974, a time devoid of the internet where television was the sole medium of entertainment. I used to eagerly rush home to catch episodes of Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. It fills me with immense excitement to be part of Create 100, representing India alongside so many talented creators,” said the designer. Called ‘Namaste Mickey’, it is set against the backdrop of the iconic Taj Mahal, with Mickey Mouse donning traditional Indian attire and jewellery. Create 100 includes musical elements, comic books to recreations of iconic movie props and more from renowned talent such as global icon Beyoncé, famed French fashion designer Christian Louboutin, Italian global creative director for Swarovski Giovanna Engelbert, Chinese virtuoso pianist Lang Lang, American fashion pioneer Tommy Hilfiger and celebrated Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. Global collaborators such as Adidas, Pandora and Coach will also be contributing to the celebration.
Fossil, a watches and accessories brand, is collaborating with Disney for a capsule of limited-and special-edition timepieces, leather goods and jewellery. A special-edition classic Disney Mickey Mouse timepiece from 1992 has handwritten notes from the original Walt Disney Animation Studios Mickey Mouse artwork and is made to look like parchment paper. “No one has shown Disney’s Mickey Mouse from the perspective of the illustrator and original 2D artists, so we wanted to bring that idea to life in a hand-sketched character design,” says Ryan White, creative director of watches.
Wrogn, the youth fashion brand co-owned by Virat Kohli, has collaborated with Disney to launch T-shirts, hoodies and jumpers collection for men.