Very few men or women of the twentieth century have been the subject of as much commentary as Walt Disney. His name regularly appears on lists of the most influential people who have ever lived. During his life, he was the recipient of hundreds of awards, citations, medals and honors. Hundreds of magazine articles and a good number of full-length biographies have been written about him. Every year -- some 34 years after his death -- hundreds of students from coast to coast and around the world do research reports with Walt as their topic.
And yet -- in a particular irony for a man who first became famous for films -- there has never been a full-scale documentary.
With that in mind, and in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's birth, The Walt Disney Family Foundation has set about producing Walt: The Man Behind the Myth, an authorized documentary about Walt's life, to be aired next year. The Walt Disney Family Foundation has also been responsible for this web site and for the CD-ROM: Walt Disney: An Intimate History.
There is, of course, no way to adequately use words to describe a film. But those of you visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum this month are being offered a rare privilege; the opportunity to view several scenes from the documentary, which is still in production.
The footage includes segments about Walt's first cartoons; the creation of Snow White; and the way he treated his employees. To be among the first to sample these portions of the documentary, just click at the end of this feature or visit the Film Theater.
Just as with this web site, the story told in the documentary will be presented without any effort to gloss over unpleasant episodes or to hide from the myths that have haunted his memory. For the first time on film, for example, men and women who knew Walt well will respond to the cruelly unfair rumor that he was anti-semitic.
The documentary, directed by Cine' Gold Eagle Award winner Jean-Pierre Isbouts, tells the story of Walt's life as seen through the eyes of dozens of people who worked closely with him, family members, friends, and historians who have written authoritative books about him.
The list just starts with his daughter Diane Disney Miller, son-in-law Ron Miller, several of his grandchildren, nephew Roy E. Disney and Disney legends like Joe Grant, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, Ward Kimball and John Hench. Celebrities with whom he worked and socialized are also featured including Dick Van Dyke, Art Linkletter, Fess Parker, Buddy Ebson, Ray Bradbury, Mouseketeers Bobby Burgess and Sharon Baird and others.
The Man Behind the Myth will open with powerful footage of the opening of Mary Poppins -- arguably the pinnacle of Walt's career as a filmmaker -- and then bring viewers back to his earliest memories in Marceline Missouri. From there on, viewers will be treated to the inside story of Walt Disney, not just at the studio but in his home and with family. Illustrated with family films, rare documents and historical footage, the film takes viewers on the Matterhorn ride that was Walt's life, ending in his untimely death, from cancer, in 1966.
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