Disney is bringing its iconic royal heroes (and its villains) to the Arlington Museum of Art with a show-stopping experience for North Texas enthusiasts of all ages.
Starting September 14, two new exhibits will debut over 300 artifacts, costumes, accessories, and more sourced from Disney films and shows over the last 65 years: Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume and All That Glitters: The Crown Jewels of the Walt Disney Archives. Once open, the exhibits will be available for patrons until March 23, 2025.
This will be the first time these two collections will be exhibited at the same time by a single venue.
Heroes & Villains encapsulates the character development of several classic Disney heroes, antiheroes, and villains through the art of costume design and “textural storytelling.” A few of the chosen costumes that will be featured in the exhibition include the wardrobe worn by the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus 2, Belle’s signature golden yellow ballgown from the 2017 live action Beauty and the Beast, and select costumes from the TV show Once Upon a Time.
For expert Disney lore fans, the dress worn by Letha (played by Bette Davis) in the 1978 sci-fi adventure film Return from Witch Mountain will also be on display in Heroes & Villains.
Blue ballgown from Disney’s 2015 live action Cinderella.Photo courtesy of Disney
The second exhibit, All That Glitters: The Crown Jewels of the Walt Disney Archives, will take museumgoers on a five-part journey through a Disney character’s development and personality via jewelry and accessories.
More than 80 understated costume pieces like earrings, cuff links, and rings will be front and center in the “Every Little Detail” showcase, while “The Feature Vault” is exactly as it sounds: Iconic crowns, tiaras, necklaces, and pendants worn by their famed Disney characters.
Exclusive jewelry pieces that attendees will find in “The Feature Vault” include Elizabeth Swann’s pirate medallion necklace (worn by Keira Knightly) in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the coronation crown worn by Mia (played by Anne Hathaway) in Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement, and the voice-capturing shell necklace worn by Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula from the 2023 adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
Additional showcases in the All That Glitters exhibit include a chronological collection of “Watches Through the Decades”; a behind-the-scenes peek at the jewelry prop creation process in “Made for Screen”; and “Reflections of Reality,” a display and analysis of Disney accessories that were influenced by historical events and people.
“Whether on television, in a movie theatre, or at a Broadway show, when we meet a Disney character for the first time, we instantly begin to understand them,” says museum president and CEO Chris Hightower. “That is how extraordinarily important costume design is to conveying persona and how Disney truly sets the standard of excellence..”
Tickets for the two Walt Disney Archives exhibitions will begin in June, and museum members will get early access to free tickets before the public on sale. More information about the Arlington Museum of Art can be found on arlingtonmuseum.org.
