Disney Palette

Over the span of 70 years, Disney has crafted their own “Disney Palette” of proprietary colours they use to create worlds and stories comprised of over 3,800 colours with as many as 60 new colours added to the palette every year. When looking at the various worlds of Disney (Wonderland, The Jungle, Victorian England etc), audience members are greeted with the familiar colour palette unique to each world. The concept art in the image below gives a really clear idea of the worlds of Fantasia, the Hundred Acre Wood, Princess worlds and Neverland. The deep earth tones of the Fantasia concept art (first image) promote the naturalistic themes of the feature film, whilst the delicate watercolour soft pastels creates the organic and friendly world of Winnie The Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood. The warmth created by the pink with accents of cooler purples, soft gold and pale green in the third image of an orchard blooming outside of Cinderella’s castle paint the ornate world of a Princess, while the elegant blues, greens and warm purples in the final image (Neverland concept art) add atmosphere to the whimsical world that has become so beloved.

Disney Palette in Action (first hand account)

Having worked at Walt Disney World, I have noticed the use of coordinated palettes on various attractions that all play a part in creating the world of an attraction. For example, The Hollywood Tower Hotel in The Twilight Zone; Tower of Terror (drop ride) combines the worn red of old carpet and scratched gold surfaces with grey cobwebs and ashen furnishings to set the mood of the eery, haunted hotel. The elegance of the red and gold tells ride-goers that this hotel was once a prestigious establishment. The worn blacks, greys and browns of wear and tear shows that it has since been left abandoned, along with the mystery of what happened to five of its patrons that disappeared on one “fateful” night. All of this attention to detail created with props and the appropriate colour palette makes the Tower of Terror more than a ride; it becomes an experience- a story.