Walt Disney wanted Sleeping Beauty to be “a moving illustration.” He meant that literally. He instructed his animators to treat the film not like a traditional cartoon. The result was an aesthetic departure that set Sleeping Beauty apart from anything Disney had done before or since.

What do Theodor de Bry’s map of the Caribbean, the Lindau Gospels, a Moche ear ornament, and Titian’s Venus of Urbino have in common? All find new life in the dimly lit, glittering caverns of the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland, where global medieval and early modern objects have been reimagined and recontextualized for 20th- and 21st-century edutainment. This talk explores how the attraction’s visual culture pirates the past to create an immersive fantasy of the Golde

From medieval manuscripts and unicorns to renaissance landscape paintings and modern design, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is filled with nods to real art that inspired its unique look. Did you know you can see many of these artworks in person in New York City museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Morgan, and The Cloisters?

What does Monsters, Inc. owe to modern art? Find out how the Pixar film borrows from Charles Sheeler’s Precisionism!

The Haunted Mansion is connected to early spirit photography and Spiritualism.

Knowing something about the real art that inspired Disney Imagineers adds another layer of magic to Disneyland

Five intriguing art-history facts about Disneyland that may surprise even the most devoted Disney fan

A new middle-grade nonfiction series about women in Mesoamerican and Latin American art and history

Learn about the golden idol in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and its loose connection to the art of Ancient Americas.

By the 1500s, in parts of Europe, the bob was all the rage for men—Shrek's Lord Farquaad and Snow White connect to it!

Discussion of how 19th-century artist Howard Pyle shaped the look of Pirates (including at Disneyland!)

Blog post exploring the influence of art history, specifically Rodin, on the Beast’s hands Disney's Beauty and the Beast

The female pirate Redd in Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland traces back to Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two legendary pirates.

Disney's Frozen has many nods to art history, including a cheeky reference to the risqué painting The Swing by Fragonard

French decorative arts—especially Rococo porcelains—inspired the stunning visuals of Beauty and the Beast.

During the Middle Ages, heart-shaped books were deeply tied to ideas about love, memory, and the soul.

Disney's Sleeping Beauty has a fascinating art history connection with medieval tapestries, including the Unicorn Tapestries

A sculpture of a feline wearing a scarf provides a glimpse into the artistry, symbolism, and beliefs of the ancient Zapotec people of Oaxaca

The "Aztec gold" in Pirates of the Caribbean loosely borrows from actual Aztec art and mythology

Is Ragnar Kjartansson's The Visitors the greatest artwork of the 21st century?