Husband, wife to share their love of animation with pop-up exhibition at Imagine Museum

Florida couple to share their love of animation with pop-up exhibition

Jim Simpson and Laurie Dichiara have been collecting animation and entertainment memorabilia and historical artifacts for 25 years. FOX 13's Barry Wong has their story.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Jim Simpson and Laurie Dichiara have been collecting animation and entertainment memorabilia and historical artifacts for 25 years. 

"It brought us so much joy and made us feel so good about what we were finding out and learning that we wanted to share that with a lot of other people," Walts Secret Closet co-founder Jim Simpson said. 

After retirement, the husband and wife figured that the best way to share that joy is to open a non-profit museum under the name Walts Secret Closet Inc. 

Dig deeper:

They have around 500 pieces in total, but only around 75 of the will be on display at a pop-up exhibition, "Frames of Legacy", at the Imagine Museum from Friday to Saturday. 

"We want to get the history out there of these animators that maybe people don't know," Simpson said. 

The current pop-up features everything from animation cels, model sheets, scripts and even movie props. 

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One of Dichiara's favorite pieces features a blend of different components. 

"This is an original photo of Margaret Carey, who was the studio-reference model for Tinker Bell. It's signed by her. We also have a similar one from Roland Dupree, who is the studio-reference model for Peter Pan," Dichiara said. "It's interesting because they hired these actors to do the physical movements to film them so the animators would have reference for the drawing sequences in movies."

The exhibit leans Disney heavy, but other brands are featured. They choose their name as a nod to the inspiration that Disney has provided to many different animators and entertainers. 

What they're saying:

Simpson hopes the collection helps inform the current generation. He hopes to shine a spotlight on skills that he feels are being forgotten, like hand-drawn animation. 

"We hope the experience is a bit of wonder, also to spark their imagination, their creativity and the innovation and spark that interest in finding out more," Simpson said. 

What's next:

The couple has been holding pop-ups since starting the official non-profit seven months ago. They say they'll continue to hold pop-ups until they can open their own permanent space for a museum of their own.