What Disney’s + Prop Culture Taught Me About the Craft of Filmmaking
Dan Lanigan, an obsessed movie collector, goes after valuable Disney props which were lost to history over time.
Props are stories. They connect the emotions we all need in order to feel the worlds of Disney. And Disney’s+ original series Prop Culture goes behind this art, so significant to movie industry.
Why do we love Disney?
Is it because of its characters, stories, music, magic? Certainly, I’ll take all those as an accurate answer to my question. Everyone loves Disney for its characters, stories, music and magic.
Disney, as a matter of company in the entertainment industry, was born a long time ago. Therefore, its power over our lives has remained throughout the years. Stories have remained.
All that was brought back to us when Disney+ arrived. Apart from the uncountable Disney classics (short and movies), Pixar (short and movies as well), Marvel or Star Wars, tons of new content were added to the platform.
Following my revival of Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place and such for a couple days (give a break) I went straight to a documentary series that immediately grabbed my attention: PROP CULTURE.
In search of Mary Poppins’ carpet bag, Narnia’s swords and costumes or Roger Rabbits’ classic newspapers and art designs. Lanigan connects this search around the globe with multiple reunions involving original casts, painters, designers and creators.
Basically, the artists behind these iconic movies that are so critical to cinema history.
First of all, Prop Culture’s achievement in structure only but increases quality in terms of entertainment and building of emotions in the spectator. As Lanigan puts it:
‘As we grow up we find ourselves growing away from the things we loved as children. But sometimes, all it takes is reconnecting with an object, a drawing, a song, a movie… and bring those memories back.’
The attention with which these props — which are relics of the story of movies — are handled and taken care of shows how much they mean, not only for the studio but for every Disney fan out there who grew up doing marathons of these classics.
A huge and essential lesson Disney’s Prop Culture has taught me is the amount of work is placed for each project in order to convey absolute perfection. How everything, from costumes to paintings, is created following a specific pattern so all the movie moves in the same direction.
How important it is to value the hidden details that look after the story to be told.
If you’re after such an experience, want to go beyond Disney’s magic and bring back some memories, my recommendation is you go watch Disney’s+ Prop Culture. Right now.
-Anabel Estrella
