It's just over a century since Walt Disney founded a fledgling animation studio in Los Angeles with his brother Roy.
They enjoyed early success with short cartoons based on Alice in Wonderland and a perky character called Oswald The Lucky Rabbit - a long eared version of Disney's more famous mouse.
But when Walt was diddled out of intellectual property rights in a corporate deal, he cut the character loose and conceived of Mickey on board a cross country train from Manhattan to LA - sending Roy a telegram not to worry, everything would be fine.
Disney 100 The Exhibition is a touring display marking the centenary of the Disney studio which features both that telegram, and Mickey's 1928 debut Steamboat Willie - alongside fun early cartoons The Skeleton Dance, and Three Little Pigs, which gave us the ear worm: 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf'.
The panels explaining Uncle Walt's origins story though interesting might be too much for tiny fans, but there's plenty else for them to enjoy across the 20,000 square foot of exhibits, covering Disney princesses to Pirates of the Caribbean, and the recently acquired Star Wars and Marvel franchises.
Parents can revel in the nostalgia of films from their own childhood; there's the original prop book from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, a script for Mary Poppins, and the very carousel horse ridden by Dick Van Dyke.
Younger fans will enjoy costumes and props from Cruella, the live action remakes of The Little Mermaid, and Cinderella, and The Last Jedi, and Avengers Endgame.
There are plenty of spots to take a selfie next to Captain America's shield, the BB-8 droid, Luke's lightsabre, the Beauty and the Beast candelabra, or Cinderella's glass slipper.
By definition cartoons don't leave lots of artefacts or immersive sets behind like the Harry Potter franchise at the Warner Studios tour. But the Disney exhibition is at its most compelling when it goes behind the scenes to show the models, storyboards, sound effects and animatronics used over the decades.
There are plenty of listening stations to hear about how the sound of the Seven Dwarves' squeaky shoes were made with a leather wallet, or the chimes of Big Ben in Peter Pan from tuned up truck wheel rims.
Interactive exhibits include turning the pages of the recreated storybook from Cinderella and gurning in front of a digital Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy who smiles and scowls with your facial expressions, or making a cartoon Mickey and Minnie jump and spin on your cue.
There's even a room dedicated to the Disney theme parks worldwide including the cars from old rides.
You can marvel at the sheer reach of the Disney movies as you don ear phones to hear Let It Go from the movie Frozen, or We Need to Talk About Bruno from Encanto, performed in multiple languages, or jive along to clips of your favourite movie songs.
The exhibition is bookended by two short films, the last a delightful film that gathers all the beloved characters together for a comic 100th birthday photoshoot.
Walt Disney and his studio embody the American dream of how hard work, talent and entrepreneurship can create a global brand.
But it would be nothing without the charm, humour and storytelling that Walt and his animators brought to these stories, and this look back over a whole century of movie-making really brings that home.
Disney 100 The Exhibition runs at ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock until June 21.
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