First Look at Disney+'s PROP CULTURE Series Which Explores Movie Props From Disney's Secret Archives
If you’re like me and you enjoy seeing movie props from older films, there’s a new series coming to Disney+ titled Prop Culture that you’re gonna want to watch! This series follows host/collector Dan Lanigan as he dives into Disney’s secret archives to explore some of the movie prop treasures that reside there.
According to EW, the show “revisits classic Disney titles and looks at them through the lens of how props helped to shape and create some of their most magical moments.”
There will be eight episodes to watch, and the props, costumes, art, and set designs he finds come from films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Mary Poppins, Tron, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Muppet Movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.
When talking about what he wanted to make this series, Lanigan said:
“I had been working in television production for a while. All the while, I've been collecting original props and costumes and movie ephemera/memorabilia for well over 20 years. I felt like there were a lot of people that did a lot of amazing work that weren't getting the light shined on them. I thought wouldn't it be great to do a show that celebrated them. Even though the show is called Prop Culture and our way into the show are these artifacts, it's really about the people that are behind them.”
He went on to explain why he thinks movie objects have come to hold such power in our collective consciousness, saying:
“You have these movies that are made. And then everybody shares these movies, right? You watch these movies in the theater, and you become connected to these films. People share that connection. Now, the only physical, tangible part of that movie that's left is the copy of the movie. And whatever else might still exist that was used to make that move. These props, these objects, this ephemera, seem to have magic to it. A shared magic that when somebody sees it, and they know that this was connected to that movie when it was made, there's something about it that's super special. I collect so I can get closer to the movie. As weird as it sounds.”
As for why he decided to focus on the eight films listed above, he explained:
“There were a number of movies that I wanted to do. I kind of led the way. But there was a list of movies that Disney+ wanted to profile on a grand scale based on what was gonna be on the service. It was important to both them and to me that any movie we profiled was going to be represented on Disney+ so that someone could watch the episode and then watch the movie again. Because the hope is that you've probably seen most of these movies, but you watch the episode and then you're like, "Well, I didn't realize that detail" and go back and watch the movie again. Because it's all about sharing the love of the movie.”
Prop Culture will premiere on May 1st and I’ll definitely be watching it! Check out a collection of images below.
