Executive produced by series EP Mark Samels, directed and produced by Sarah Colt, and written by Mark Zwonitzer, American Experience: Walt Disney features rare archival footage from the Disney vaults, scenes from some of his greatest films, and a host of interviews with biographers and historians, experts and contemporaries, animators and artists who worked on Snow White and other early films, and designers who helped create Disneyland.
“For many Americans — and for me — the twinkle and swish of the Sunday night Disney logo was pure magic. It was an invitation to a special event,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Officer and General Manager, General Audience Programming for PBS. “For my kids, introducing them to animated Disney movies from Beauty and the Beast to The Lion King brought us great joy and taught them life lessons. Now viewers of all ages can learn about the life and legacy of the man behind the magic and his continuing impact on our lives and culture.”
The Walt Disney program includes interviews with artists who worked at the studio, including Rolly Crump, Robert Givens, Don Lusk, Floyd Norman and Ruth Tompson, Imagineer Marty Sklar, Disney producer Don Hahn, costume designer Alice Davis, composer Richard Sherman, son-in-law Ron Miller, and academics and authors who have written extensively about Walt Disney including Neal Gabler, Susan Douglas, Richard Schickel, Steven Watts, Ron Suskind, and Carmenita Higginbotham.
In 1966, the year Walt Disney died, 240 million people saw a Disney movie, 100 million tuned in weekly to a Disney television program, 80 million bought Disney merchandise, and close to seven million visited Disneyland. Nearly fifty years later, his reach remains enormous. Few creative figures before or since have held such a long-lasting place in American life and popular culture.
Disney’s movies grew out of his own life experiences. He told stories of outsiders struggling for acceptance and belonging while questioning the conventions of class and authority. As Disney rose to prominence and gained financial security, his work was increasingly celebratory of the American way of life that made his unlikely success possible.
A polarizing figure — though true believers vastly outnumber his critics — Disney’s achievements are indisputable. He created one of the most beloved cartoon characters in history, Mickey Mouse; conceived the first ever feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; pioneered the integration of media and marketing with thousands of branded products; invented the anthropomorphic wildlife documentary; and conceived Disneyland, the world’s first theme park and the fulfillment of a lifelong desire to create a world unto itself.
From Steamboat Willie to Pinocchio to Mary Poppins, Disney's movies grew out of his own life experiences. He told stories of outsiders struggling for acceptance and belonging, while questioning the conventions of class and authority. As Disney rose to prominence and gained financial security, his work became increasingly celebratory of the American way of life that made his unlikely success possible.
Major funding for Walt Disney provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence. Additional funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers. American Experience is produced for PBS by WGBH Boston.
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