CultureLabel

Walt Disney’s family announced this week that they’re going to open a museum called Disney on Display, The Walt Disney Family Museum, in San Francisco in October. We are seriuosly booking our flights this afternoon.

Richard Benefield the former deputy director of the Harvard University Art Museums is going to run the museum, which aims to counter some of the negative and untrue perceptions of Walt Disney the man, such as the one about him being frozen after he dies, which according to Diane Disney Miller, his only remaining child, is completely untrue.

Financed by the family’s foundation and the sale of bonds, the museum aims to refocus attention on the man behind the myth by telling his life story, from humble beginnings in rural Missouri to a stint driving an ambulance in World War I to his fascination with utopian ideas. “My kids have literally encountered people who didn’t know that my father was a person,” said Mrs. Miller, who has seven children with her husband, Ronald. “They think he’s just some kind of corporate logo.”

Starting the museum has been difficult. Disney did not decorate his home with animation art, so the vast majority of his work is owned by the company. Mrs. Miller had to buy what she could and is relying on lent material as well. The company is sending scores of items, including a rare multiplane camera that was developed to create a three-dimensional effect for “Snow White.” Further complicating matters, Disney owns its founder’s name and image. “We have to run most everything by the company to make sure it’s happy with it,” Mr. Benefield said.