Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume

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I recently had the opportunity to go to the Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume exhibit at the Birmingham Museum of Art and when I say it exceeded all my expectations, that’s an understatement!

The Birmingham Museum of Art is free and you can see all their African, Asian, and European Art, as well as their extensive Wedgewood China collection. However, the Disney exhibit costs $30 per adult and $20 for children ages 4-17 (3 and under is free). Note that the exhibition runs through August 18, 2024, so if you want to go, don’t wait!

After we purchased our tickets, we were given wristbands and Costume Bingo Cards. The exhibition is spread across two floors and we started in the Cinderella gallery on the first floor. In this gallery, you get to see all the gowns and accessories (including glass slippers) from the various Cinderella live-action movies including the 2015 Cinderella starring Lily James (and my favorite gown) and the 2014 Intro the Woods with Anna Kendrick. There’s also a short film featuring the various Cinderella gown costume designers talking about their inspiration and process.

From there, we headed up to the larger gallery on the second floor. This gallery featured costumes for everyone from Jack, excuse me, Captain Jack Sparrow and the Red Queen from Alice Through the Looking Glass to Princess Jasmine and the Sanderson Sisters! There was also a fun interactive Magic Mirror where you could virtually try on some of the costumes.

The intricate detail on these costumes is amazing! The fabrics and the textures just beg to be touched, but this is a hands-off exhibit. That doesn’t mean everything is behind glass (a few costumes are) but they are far enough away that little grabby hands (and adult grabby hands) can’t touch them. And they’ve been so well preserved, which is amazing considering some of the older costumes that date back to the 1970s!

You can spend as much time as you like in the exhibit (and the museum itself) and are allowed to come and go into the Disney exhibit with your wristband. After doing the Disney exhibit, we saw some of the Asian art as well as the Wedgewood Collection before hunger got the best of us and we headed to Juniper at the Museum, the cafe located on the first level of the museum. I have to tell you, the menu and the quality of the food here is shockingly good! I had a pressed prosciutto sandwich and a lavender lemonade and both were wonderful. The black sesame rice krispy treat I had for lunch was a unique offering that wasn’t my favorite, but I could see how it would be appealing to some people!

All in all, both the museum and the Disney exhibit get high marks in my book and I definitely suggest a visit if you’re in or near Birmingham!

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