By Erin Parks
Mickey, Bugs, and even Bullwinkle the moose may find a home in Ottawa if all goes well with an upcoming animation film series.
The characters are currently part of a travelling exhibit that has been presented around the world, from Toronto to Paris. It consists of over 75,000 artifacts, including posters, toys, artist’s sketches, and some rare animated films.
Peter Adamakof, who owns the collection of cartoon keepsakes, says it’s time for the roving exhibit to find a permanent home. Adamakof says this is one of the reasons he is hosting an animated film series in Ottawa, entitled Celebration of Animation.
Though he has hosted animation retrospectives before, he has never done so in Ottawa.
He says it will help him gauge local interest in animation, as well as interest in locating a permanent animation museum here.
“Right now we’re just doing a film retrospective, but maybe we’ll start with some exhibits at a few museums,” says Adamakof. “Then, who knows, maybe someone will offer us a wing in their museum.”
The current film retrospective will cover a variety of themes, from a behind-the-scenes look at the animation process to Academy Award winners and nominees. One program will showcase the first film appearances of famous cartoon characters, like Mickey Mouse and the original Felix the cat.
The series will run Friday nights and Sunday afternoons from Oct. 15 to Nov. 7 in the newly renovated auditorium of the National Archives on Wellington Street.
“I’m told it’s kind of a mini-coliseum, so if anyone walks in with mouse ears, they won’t block your view,” Adamakof says.
But Adamakof says the prospect of establishing a permanent museum is not the only motive for presenting the series.
He is presenting it in conjunction with the Ottawa School of Art, where he has taught animation classes. Adamakof hopes the series will publicize the school’s recently added animation program.
Jeff Stellick, executive director of the school, says he would like to see this happen. He adds that it is also important to promote animation as an art form.
“Everybody has seen a cartoon at one point or another, but not everyone thinks of it as art. Animation is one of the most well known but underrated art forms of the 20th century,” says Stellick.
He says the establishment of a permanent animation museum in Ottawa would be one step towards changing that.
“It’s a way to show people what animation is,” says Nick O’Ray, a 19-year-old animation student.
“It’s not just a cartoon, it’s an artistic way of expression.”
O’Ray says a local animation museum would help boost Ottawa’s animation industry, which is overshadowed by those in Toronto and Montreal.
He says a bigger industry in Ottawa means a better chance for him to get a job here. Ultimately, Adamakof says, the motivation behind organizing the film series, and establishing an animation museum in Ottawa, is fun.
“We try to show the historical and the hysterical,” says Adamakof.