Brad Bird at the Walt Disney Family Museum

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on

On the afternoon of Saturday, May 19, Brad Bird will speak at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. The subject of his talk will be “The Disney Treatment: Walt’s Versions of Classic Stories.” Brad always has thought-provoking things to say, and this is a topic I’ve never heard him discuss at length so it sounds like a can’t-miss event. This is the lecture description:

Director (The Iron Giant, Mission: Impossible/Ghost Protocol) and two-time Oscar®-winner (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) Brad Bird will discuss how Walt adapted well-known and even previously-filmed stories and created what are widely regarded as “definitive” versions. From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men; Treasure Island to Swiss Family Robinson, Bird will explore the appeal of these tales to Walt-and how his individual and personal viewpoint made them enduring classics.

Tickets are $12 and available on the Walt Disney Family Museum ticketing site. Their system doesn’t seem to recognize the event, which may indicate that it’s already sold out.

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  • The_Animator

    $12 to see a modern legend speak? Hell yeah! I’d most def go if I lived closer to San Francisco.

  • http://she-thing.blogspot.com Caty

    Wow… enjoy the show guys… what an amazing luck!

  • Bud

    Last week, Ralph Eggleston of Pixar gave a talk about the art of Cinderella that was terrific. He gave a lot of historical context to the film, both from a Disney studio, national, and international perspective.

    Andreas Deja has given a few talks there, as have several other Disney artists, actors, and performers.

    The Walt Disney Family Museum is a great place. And the talks they have scheduled virtually every weekend are always sold out.

  • Tim Hodge

    Are these talks ever recorded? It would be great if they posted even a few excerpts on the museum website.

  • Mike B

    Completely sold out. No wait list, no tickets on stubhub.

  • Fenwick

    .

    *Please*
    Somebody needs to film and share this this.
    I will be 9 thousand miles away in my hometown Sydney, and therefore unable to attend.
    Its crucial that guidance and advice of such calibre needs to be shared.
    Brad’s PDF storyboarding notes from animation meat are the frikkin bible.

    1 – Ask the man, ‘is it okay?’
    2 – Hit ‘record’
    3 – Distribute amongst your artistic brothers and sisters
    4 – Level up!

    Lets get this happening, people.
    I only hope Brad agrees ^^

    .

  • http://www.daganm.blogspot.com Dagan

    Like most animators, would give a lot to attend…

    Mr. Bird, come give a lecture in NYC sometime!…
    (I know, I sound like a broken record w/ that, haaaa)

    Would be great to be able to check this out at some point.

    Maybe Disney will make this talk officially available at some point, like the ‘Computer History Museum’ did with that amazing Catmull/Smith/Bird/Stanton lecture from a few years back?…

    I am sure all those lucky ticket-holders will thoroughly enjoy!

  • Becky

    This event sold out super fast as far as I can tell (as should be expected). The presentation auditorium at the museum is unfortunately, rather small. I went to a Mary Blair presentation given by John Canemaker last year there that was fantastic. Diane Disney Miller even attended and answered/asked some questions of Mr Canemaker at the end!

    I don’t think the museum records the presentations themselves (I didn’t see any equipment at the Mary Blair talk) and they are EXTREMELY vigilant about not allowing cameras or any recording equipment in the museum; I could easily see a guest being asked to leave if they have their phones out during this.

  • http://MrFun Floyd Norman

    It’s worth the flight to San Francisco. Maybe Diane can sneak me in the back door.

  • Ed

    I’m guessing he won’t mention how almost all of these early Disney pieces were based on works whose copyright had expired… and yet Disney Corporation will NEVER allow their own copyrights to expire. Not that they’re alone in this, but they’re probably the most egregious example.