Charting the wonderful world of Disney

The first picture greeting visitors at the new Walt Disney Family Museum is not of Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck or even Snow White. It is a photo of a nine-month-old Walt Disney.

And the last exhibit in the sleek museum, which opens to the public tomorrow after more than six years of preparation, is a series of telegrams and cartoons mourning the death of Disney in 1966.

Though the facility features the first sketch of Mickey Mouse and a room-sized model of Disney's original concept for Disneyland, it is not dominated by princesses and pirates.

Instead, it is a serious look at the genius of Disney, a poor farm boy who became a risk-taking innovator and one of the major cultural influences of the past century.

Unlike Disney theme parks in the US, France, Japan and Hong Kong or the ever-growing fleet of Disney cruise liners, the museum created by the Disney family is aimed at adults - those who grew up with Disney's creations and who can relive their childhood in the facility's galleries.

"It's really not a children's museum, it's a family museum," said director Richard Benefield. "We think most of the people who come here will be 45 to 65 years old."

Teri McCollum, who wore gold Mickey Mouse ears during a recent sneak preview of the museum, is exactly the type of visitor Mr Benefield expects.

The 52-year-old Ms McCollum said the museum brought back memories of a difficult childhood, and that the original 1928 pencil sketch of Mickey Mouse brought tears to her eyes.

The museum, built in a former military barracks on the decommissioned Presidio base overlooking San Francisco Bay, has something for everyone - though it probably will be a bit too sophisticated for young children used to the carnival atmosphere of Disney theme parks.

There are original sketches, thousands of artefacts, hundreds of audio clips of Disney explaining his craft.

There are a caseful of Academy Awards, doodles by the artist Salvador Dali and a replica of the ambulance Disney drove in Neufchateau, France, just after World War I. And there are countless pictures and film clips of Disney interacting with his family and fellow animators.

Interactive displays that allow visitors to be part of the creative process, such as syncing music to cartoons, will appeal to a younger crowd - especially in the tech-savvy Silicon Valley.

"Walt is my hero, he's somebody that had a dream and made it happen. The museum is amazing, it shows him and it shows his dream," said 23-year-old Amber Wagner, a student in forensic science who was wearing Minnie Mouse ears above multiple facial piercings including a lip ring. Ms Wagner has a tattoo of the Disneyland logo on her lower back.

A glass-enclosed pavilion connecting two museum galleries offers a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge - on days when the iconic bridge is not enrobed in fog.

The Disney family chose San Francisco for the museum after considering Los Angeles, Kansas City or Disney's birthplace of Chicago.

After Disney's death, his family moved to the San Francisco area and stored thousands of his artefacts in a warehouse in the Presidio.

Though the $110 million museum is a paean to Disney, it does not hide his flaws. A corner is devoted to his problems with labour unions, and his handwritten list of favourite foods contains several misspellings.

It highlights his early bankruptcy with an animation studio in Kansas City, and the fact that he travelled to Hollywood with $40 in his pocket.

"I failed," Disney's voice booms in the elevator leading to the main galleries. "I think it's important to have a good, hard failure when you're young."

Mr Benefield said the goal was to present Disney as an artist and innovator, not as the name behind a merchandising behemoth.

"He was just a boy from the farm who moved to the city and made it big - really big," remarked Mr Benefield.