40,000+ piece Disney puzzle on display in Calgary mall

A 40,000 plus Walt Disney jigsaw puzzle featuring Mickey Mouse is on display at North Hill Centre. Teri Fikowski reports.

Most puzzles need a table, but this one needs a mall.

A 40,320 piece Walt Disney Puzzle is on display at North Hill Centre this weekend.

The magical puzzle stretches 6.8 x 1.92 metres, which is more than 22 feet wide, and weighs 20 kg or around 44 pounds.

It was released by toy company Ravensburger in 2018 as the world’s largest puzzle of Mickey Mouse to celebrate the beloved character’s 90-year anniversary.

This edition was put together by some residents of the Renaissance at North Hill Condos, which is attached to the shopping centre.

After sitting in a sealed box for years, Marsha Tatebe moved into the building and ambitiously took it on, but it didn’t take long for others to join in.

“It was actually an excellent project for a group,” she said. “I met almost everyone in our tower. It was really wonderful.”

Three women -- Tatebe, Marg Rabe, and Mei Lo -- became the primary puzzlers but many others helped complete the puzzle in 67 days.

The puzzle came in 10 separate bags with more than 4,000 pieces in each.

“Mickey came to life!” said Rabe. “It really was a community effort and it really did strengthen our community.”

Though she admits, at time the group, was…puzzled.

“It was difficult. What I found hard, personally, it has lots of solid colours to it which are hard to do and also the bubble border.”

Perhaps most impressive?

“We kept an eye on it and never lost a piece,” said Tatebe.

The puzzle is on display at the Community Room at the North Hill Centre Saturday and Sunday during mall hours.

It was a challenge to transport and required stacking each of the puzzle sections onto a piece of plywood and wrapping it with rolls of plastic wrap and cardboard.

Come Monday, the women plan to take the puzzle apart each 40,320 piece by piece in hopes it will inspire someone else to put it together again.

“Rise to the challenge,” said Rabe.

“You never know what you’re capable of doing -- and really it’s fun!”