Walt Disney did not realize only a single success in his career; there are several monumental achievements in his legacy.
Disney created a media company and brand that are unsurpassed worldwide in popularity. A new type of family vacation destination was developed. And with his animation work, he is credited with a cinematic art form that was wholly new and never thought possible. Until “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” it was inconceivable that viewers could be moved to tears through a cartoon, or that they would be able to even sit through feature-length animation. He received more Academy Awards than any other individual, a record that likely will never be broken.
As part of its American Experience series, PBS has taken a fascinating life and crafted an absorbing two-part documentary, “Walt Disney,” airing on KUED at 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, and Tuesday, Sept. 15.
What makes the program so intriguing is the intimate view of Disney as a businessman and a father and husband. And it doesn’t shy away from the challenging relationship he had with his business partner and brother, Roy Disney. His financial-minded sibling was not always supportive of several risk-taking ventures and bold moves. When they moved to California from the Midwest, Roy encouraged Walt to give up his interest in animation and sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door with him.
Disney was devoted to his wife and two daughters, whom he made a point of driving to school each morning. Family videos of vacations are included, along with footage of a trip Walt and Lillian took after his brief emotional breakdown, a trip from which he returned reinvigorated. There are many nearly unseen photos and home videos of personal times with his family. Because Disney died of lung cancer, the Walt Disney Company does not release any imagery of his chain-smoking.
It’s an unvarnished portrait, but unfortunately without enough balance. Yes, the early Disney company employed men in high-paying jobs while women were relegated to more menial business and creative tasks, but that was true in many similar professions. He was fiercely anti-union organization, but other studio heads and businessmen in other industries shared his view. He was not alone in calling hard-headed union organizers "communists."
It’s also indicated that Disney was only a competent illustrator, but there was no arrogance when he recognized his sparse talents and hired others as his animators, focusing more on areas where he excelled.
Disney displayed an avuncular image hosting a long-running weekly TV series, and it was an ideal he tried to live up to despite his single-minded determination to succeed. Along with the retired artists interviewed — including Rolly Crump, Don Lusk, Alice M. Davis and Ruthie Tompson — historians and scholars also reveal Disney’s passion.
Critics derided Disney for two of his efforts that turned out to overwhelming milestones: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” as revealed in Part One, and Disneyland, in Part Two.
There is much material for enthusiastic Disney fans to savor, but “Walt Disney” also recounts a genuine rags-to-riches story of a creative genius who projected a wholesome and rosy outlook of American life. What the documentary makes abundantly clear is Disney’s gifts as a storyteller and his drive to share his wondrous view.