Last month a new art and retail concept made its debut at Downtown Disney at Disneyland. WonderGround Gallery seems to give their artists a fair amount of freedom in representing the classic characters, like this “Hipster Mickey” designed by Jerrod Maruyama. (His portfolio shows he can even make a can of Spam look super cute, and there are also more photos of WonderGround on his blog).

Of course, one of the main pieces that caught my eye from Disney’s announcement was “Nemo and the Tank Gang.” In it, Calef Brown depicts the aquarium setting, complete with one of the tikis, from “Finding Nemo.” (That film is another instance of Pixar sneaking tikis into scenes.)

While browsing Brown’s web site, I also found more tiki-inspired art, like Tiki Fest, an original illustration commissioned by Los Angeles magazine.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to checking out the WonderGround Gallery for myself. Between the Art Deco-style stores on Buena Vista Street and the new tiki mugs for sale at Trader Sam’s, it seems like Disneyland just keeps getting better and better at taking my money!

For more information, and to see much more of the art, visit WonderGroundGallery.com.

Previous Posts about Tiki Art

The Contemporary Idol Art Show at Modernism Week
Tiki Bob Art Show at the Tonga Hut