Conglomerate Media, Lensbern Productions,
Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jon Heder, David Henrie, Jodie Sweetin, Armando Gutierrez, Arthur L. Bernstein, Ayla Kell, Hunter Gomez, Taylor Gray, Kate Katzman, Flora Bonfanti
Based on the book of the same name, this film follows Walt Disney youthful dreams and plans through the hard years starting out as an animator and following his dreams through several huge failures before discovering a little fellow named Mickey and making the famous statement that “It all started with a mouse!”
I really enjoyed this film very much. I have always been a fan of Mr. Disney, especially since I was born at the right time when he was reaching the peak of his success. I was one that ran home from school every day to get there in time to watch the Mickey Mouse Club on TV each afternoon. During the years I worked at the studio, when I would walk through the Legends Plaza I would stop at the plaque with Annette Funicello’s name and handprints, as Annette was my first celebrity crush when I was 10 like everyone else my age. I have heard the early stories of Walt’s difficult life, and his attempts to learn the animation business that was just starting. He was taken advantage of by much wiser and more crooked corporate folks and learned the hard way that the only way to survive was to own his own content, a lesson that he never ever forgot through the rest of his too short life. Thomas Ian Nicholas did a superb job as Walt, and I was duly impressed. Jon Heder played Roy Disney, and was Jon Heder. Many people did not care for Jon’s portrayal, but Roy was not a very vibrant character in real life either, and was the much needed money man who kept Walt’s fantasy from soaring out of control and crashing and burning. Roy kept Walt under control and often held him back from being too out there by bringing it back home many times. There are so many stories and anecdotes from Walt’s life, so keep in mind that this is a very focused look at a decade from the time Walt set out on his own to be an animator until the first Mickey cartoon was finally shown. It does not cover the big animated successes, Disneyland, the Burbank studios, Disney and all those things which are very well documented in many other films, particularly Disney’s own “The Reluctant Dragon” which shows the whole process in great detail at the new studios in Burbank (at the time). This film looks at live in Marceline, and Kansas City, and Walt’s first Laugh-o-gram studios. It follows the trip to California and the final setting up of the Hyperion Ave studio. Most of the time the guys worked out of a garage. It also helps us to get to know many of the early guys who worked with Walt to build his studios, many of which were lifetime friends and companions, and some who back-stabbed him and left to work for other companies. No one was as successful in the end as Walt was, but there were many hard times along the way. This film is available for streaming now that it’s been released on DVD and is easy to find. Aside for the great historical information, the film is also a heart-warming story of how sticking to your hopes and dreams can pay off with lots of hard work and willingness to fail before you can succeed. This was an excellent film, and I highly recommend it to all who may be interested.
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