Disney's animation archives land in Fort Worth

If you have ever wondered how a hand-drawn character ends up moving with such convincing weight and timing, there is a rare chance coming up to see the answer first-hand. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is about to host "Capturing Life, Creating Character: The Art of Live-Action Reference," an exhibition curated and designed by the Walt Disney Archives that opens to the public on November 14, 2026. It arrives in North Texas directly from the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center in Anaheim, California, and Fort Worth will be only the second museum in the world and the first in Texas to host it.

The premise is simpler than the title makes it sound: it is about how Disney animators use real-life actors, objects, and sets as visual references to build their characters. The exhibition walks you through that process with photographs, documents, objects, videos, interactive pieces, photo opportunities, and an audio guide, all showing how animators study human movement and expression to make a character feel alive. One of the more hands-on parts of the show uses toy dolls to let you experiment with how different motions — spinning, running, falling — change the way a body moves and how hair and fabric react. You can also put scenes from classic Disney movies side-by-side with the real-world footage that inspired them.

It is a look at a technique that has been part of the studio's DNA for nearly a century. Jesse Cannady, Senior Manager of Exhibitions & Loans at the Walt Disney Archives, noted that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs redefined animation through groundbreaking creativity, innovation, and storytelling, and that the archives are proud to bring this newest exhibition to Fort Worth to celebrate the pioneering use of character reference that helped bring Snow White and so many films after it to life. The show is supported in part by the Fort Worth Promotion and Development Fund and is included with admission or membership to the museum.

Practically, the exhibition takes over the Havener Gallery on the museum's upper floor and runs through February 14, 2027, which means it sits right in the middle of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo season. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., with admission at $16 for adults (ages 12 to 64), $14 for seniors 65 and over, and $12 for children ages 3 to 11, while children under two are free. Tickets can be bought in person or online at fwmuseum.org. One detail worth knowing before you go: as of August 11, the museum has separate entrances, with the Gendy Street entrance reserved for school groups and field trips and the Lansford Lane/Omni Theater entrance for all general guests and members. The museum is at 1600 Gendy Street in Fort Worth, so it is an easy trip from Dallas for a weekend with the family.