A Visit to 'A Journey into ImagiMation: Over 100 Years of Animation Art from Around The World'
This past weekend the family and I visited the Huntsville Museum of Art in Huntsville, Alabama to see the traveling exhibition “A Journey into ImagiMation: Over 100 Years of Animation Art from Around The World”. This private collection focuses on the Hal and Nancy Miles Collection of animation art, including painted cels, story boards, model sheets, 3D animation models, and other artifacts from the past century of animation. It’s been on tour for the past few years at various museums across the country.
Growing up engrossed in Saturday morning cartoons with a bowl of cereal parked in front of the TV, I have had a soft spot in my heart for cartoons as long as I can remember. Those of you that have looked around on my website or social media often may see art or stories regarding these cartoon characters, as I’ve have a love for classic Hanna-Barbera, Looney Tunes, and many old Disney creations. When I heard this traveling display of animation cells and history was coming near me, I knew I had to check it out!
Encompassing several rooms in the Huntsville Museum of Art, the walls are adorned with a wide array of display pieces that trace the early steps of animation all the way through the current digital releases of today. Each piece had placards to give credit to the studios, artists, and creators as well as a description of the process used and how it fits into the overall history of the art. There are a few things I didn’t think I’d ever see in person, particularly art from 1914’s ‘Gertie the Dinosaur’ and of course 1928’s ‘Steamboat Willie’ who introduced us to a certain cartoon mouse that would eventually spawn an animation and film empire!
And of course, my old friends from Hanna-Barbera, Terrytoons, Filmation, and others are very well represented as well! There was probably more related to Disney itself in the collection, but they were/are the juggernaut in the business! Heck, you’ll even see animation puppets from shows like Gumby, The California Raisin and Pillsbury Doughboy commercials, and Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas!
It was a really good day for a cartoon and art geek for me and I recommend seeing it. The exhibition will be in Hutsville, Alabama until September 29th, 2024. From there I’m not so sure where it is headed to, but if I see or find a schedule I will update this page for others to find it in the future.
Visit the Huntsville Museum of Art HERE.
