Walt Disney's The Ceramic Mural: Modern Use of Ancient Art (1966)

This Disney educational short focuses on Disney Legend Mary Blair creating a title mural for the children's wing of the Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. Walt was a close friend of Dr. Jules Stein and his wife Doris and gifted the mural to the hospital rather than a monetary donation. The mural was based on the Disneyland attraction Small World and two designs were created for the Steins to choose from. The design chosen happened to be Walt's first choice as well. This documentary was made from film footage shot to document the process of producing the mural from start to finish.

Mary Blair had been an artist at Walt's studio from the late 1930's through the early 1950's. Her design work influenced the look of most of the films being made at the studio during that time. She left the studio to raise her family but Walt brought her back to design Small World for the 1964-65 World's fair. Many modern animated films imitate Mary Blair's design. Near the end of her career she began creating murals like the one that's the subject of this documentary. Other murals by Blair were installed at Disneyland and Walt Disney World but some have been destroyed. This mural, however, still exists.

This documentary was produced for the educational rental market but is an important record from Walt Disney history.

Original release date 1966

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.