Disney Magic Shines at MoPop Heroes & Villains Costume Exhibit

In 2019 at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, the Walt Disney Archives exhibited costumes and props from many of their live-action movies. A version of that collection, Walt Disney Archives Presents: Heroes & Villains – The Art of the Disney Costume, is now on display at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop) in Seattle, Washington. Here is a detailed look at the fashionable exhibit!

Heroes & Villains

The Museum of Pop Culture is located in Seattle Center near the Space Needle and next to the monorail. You cannot miss the bright colors and shapes of this Frank O. Gehry building. It contains numerous galleries dedicated to Music, Science Fiction, and Fantasy.

Walt Disney Archives presents Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume contains many treasures from films like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods and Mary Poppins. This exhibition is primarily focused on Disney films, so there are no items from Lucasfilm or Marvel Studios. However, MoPop does have a few items from Lucasfilm and FOX in other exhibits, but we’ll get to that later. 

The gallery is on the third floor and the exhibit has been modified to fit the space. The layout is slightly condensed in comparison to the original collection at the 2019 D23 Expo and lacks large set pieces like Cinderella’s Coach. However, all the same costumes are here. Another difference is the addition of two interactive elements that allow you to digitally “try on” some of the costumes and play around with materials that were used to make the outfits.

One of my favorite sections of the exhibit was the Cinderella Workshop. It contained dresses from various productions of Cinderella that the Disney studios produced over the years. The variations between dresses from the 2015 Cinderella film, 1997’s Rodgers and Hammerstein’s TV movie, 2014’s Into the Woods movie and the 2000s Once Upon a Time TV series Cinderella were interesting.

The 2015 Cinderella live-action movie is my favorite reimagining of Diney’s classic animated films. Heroes & Villians contains numerous pieces from the movie including Lady Tremaine’s Green dress, evil stepsisters’ flower sundresses, and the Prince’s uniform. Additionally, a new gallery was added to the exhibit that details how the glass slipper from the 2015 live-action movie was created. It’s nice to see updates to the exhibit beyond what was originally displayed at the D23 Expo.

Another highlight for me was seeing Dr. Hans Reinhardt’s attire from 1979’s the Black Hole. I have been a fan of that film since my childhood. It is not a splashy costume and is very simple when compared to many of the costumes. So the fact that it was included amongst showier costumes made me very happy. His attire can be found with other villains, like Cruella De Vil and Captain Barbossa

Finally, how can I not write about seeing Julie Andrew’s Mary Poppins travel outfit? It is the oldest piece in the exhibit and is juxtaposed with Emily Blunt’s wonderful blue Mary Poppins dress from Mary Poppins Returns. Being able to see the original in person is amazing.

There are over 70 pieces to look at in the exhibition. Most are from the last 30 years. It is likely there is something there from one of your favorite live-action Disney productions. It is fascinating to see the details and work that went into each costume.

When you see these costumes in person, they feel more real. It is like the stories actually happened and you are getting to see an artifact from these characters.

Other MoPop Collections

MoPop has many showcases of pop culture. Some of these are related to Disney-owned properties like Star Wars. Others have no connection to Disney at all. Still, they are really neat to view and are included with the price of admission.

In Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction there are a few Star Wars props, like Greedo’s head and hands. There is also a Beast costume from the Fox X-Men movies. In Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film there is a Xenomorph from Aliens and Blade’s costume from the Marvel comics based Blade films. If you bring your little Disney lovers with you, these areas might be a bit scary for them. So keep that in mind.

In Fantasy: World of Myth and Magic there is art from Pixar’s Brave and Susan Pevensie’s Quiver and Bow from Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia film. While not directly Disney-related, this gallery also has several pieces from the classic Wizard of Oz and should not be missed. Dorothy’s dress that was worn by Judy Garland is enshrined here. It is interesting to see how much larger it is versus the costume that Fairuza Balk wore as Dorothy in Disney’s Return to Oz which is on display in the Heroes and Villains exhibit.

Visitng MoPop

MoPop encourages you to get your tickets in advance and reserve your time for entry. Each day has numerous start times and varying costs depending upon demand. Weekdays are cheaper than weekend. The later you go in the day, the cheaper your ticket. Obviously, you will have less time to see everything. The Heroes and Villains exhibit has a surcharge of $6 to explore it. With your ticket, you get to experience the Disney Archive costume exhibit and the rest of the museum. More information about tickets on the MoPop website.

The exhibit opens to the public on June 5th. The Museum of Pop Culture is located at 325 5th Ave N, Seattle, Washington. Their current summer hours are 10am to 6pm each day. 

And of course be sure to get that picture of the Space Needle. No trip to Seattle is complete without at least one picture of it.

---

Let’s Hear From You

Heroes & Villains is a fantastic exhibit and works perfectly with other collections at MoPop. Let us know if you have plans to see the exhibit and please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Editor’s note: We would like to give a hearty round of thanks to Anthony Cooper for this in-depth write-up of the Disney exhibit. 

Anthony lives in Washington, so he does not get to the Disney parks often. To pass the time, he goes to comic conventions, takes cosplay photography, and gets his Disney experiences however he can.

This is his first article for MiceChat and we think you’ll agree he did a spectacular job. We’re looking forward to seeing what else he comes up with. 

Sharing is caring!