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Walt Disney is a documentary film created by PBS for the American Experience program. The two-part, four-hour documentary premiered on September 14, 2015 with part two on the following day and centers on the life, times and legacy of Walt Disney. According to Sarah Colt, director of the documentary film, the biggest challenge was "capturing the truth of the man who had such [an] outsized influence and notoriety ... People think they know him but in reality they don't know him ... He was a human being with many layers of complexity." Rob Lowman, of the Los Angeles Daily News, described "Disneyesque" as being "synonymous with a specific artistic style and, eventually, a fantasy world." Richard Sherman, a Disney songwriter, recalled that "Disney was never driven by a desire for wealth or fame. He wanted to be seen as a master storyteller ... He got great joy out of making people happy with his movies."
Original Release
09/14/2015
US Release
09/14/2015
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Oliver Platt | Self - Narrator |
| Walt Disney | Self |
| Richard Schickel | Self - Writer |
| Don Hahn | Self - Animator |
| Neal Gabler | Self - Biographer |
| Tom Sito | Self - Animator / Writer |
| Sarah Nilsen | Self - Film Historian |
| Steven Watts | Self - Historian |
| Ron Suskind | Self - Writer |
| Eric Smoodin | Self - Film Historian |
Directors
Writers
Mark Zwonitzer, Sarah Colt, Tom Jennings
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| Oliver Platt | Self - Narrator |
| Walt Disney | Self |
| Richard Schickel | Self - Writer |
| Don Hahn | Self - Animator |
| Neal Gabler | Self - Biographer |
| Tom Sito | Self - Animator / Writer |
| Sarah Nilsen | Self - Film Historian |
| Steven Watts | Self - Historian |
| Ron Suskind | Self - Writer |
| Eric Smoodin | Self - Film Historian |
| Roy Edward Disney | Self |
| Edna Disney | Self |
| Lillian Disney | Self |
| Carmenita Higginbotham | Self - Art Historian |
| Michael Barrier | Self - Writer |
| Robert Givens | Self - Animator |
| Ruth Tompson | Self - Ink and Paint Artist |
| Don Lusk | Self - Animator |
| Douglas Brode | Self - Film Historian |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|
| Sharon Grimberg | Executive Producer |
| Mark Samels | Executive Producer |
| Sarah Colt | Producer |
| Susan Bellows | Producer |
| Helen Ryan Dobrowski | Producer |
| Matt Gavin | Producer |
| Molly Jacobs | Producer |
| Laura Longsworth | Producer |
| Susan Mottau | Producer |
| Lauren Prestileo | Producer |
