There's a lot of great content coming to Disney+ when it launches tomorrow but you most definitely don't want to miss
The Imagineering Story. The six-part documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look into the sixty-seven year history of Walt Disney Imagineering - the creative engine that designs and builds all Disney theme parks, resorts, attractions, and cruise ships worldwide!
We've seen the first few episodes and it makes for fascinating viewing as we get to see the origin stories of these iconic theme parks and the amazing work which went into creating them.
Recently, we had the opportunity to talk to director Leslie Iwerks, an Oscar and Emmy nominated filmmaker who has a storied history in the world of Disney as the daughter of Disney Legend Don Iwerks and granddaughter of Ub Iwerks, the animator and co-creator of Mickey Mouse.
Below, we talk to Leslie about
The Imagineering Story, her thoughts on the
Star Wars and
Marvel franchises becoming part of the Disney Parks, and her grandfather's amazing legacy. Needless to say, we want to say a huge thank you to her for taking the time to talk to us about her work!
What made Disney+ the right place for this documentary and what has your experience been like collaborating with the new streaming service?
It made sense because they were looking for content about their company, the many facets of it, and the people behind it. We had been doing this film for over a year prior to Disney+ actually being announced so we had a six hour cut at that point and then when Disney saw it, they said, 'We'd love to have it over here.' Since then, it's been great working with them. Agnes Chu and Dan Silver are innate, natural storytellers and they brought in some great notes to our show and ideas we hadn't even thought of which was very exciting. They're really creative people.
Some huge names have narrated your documentaries in the past but what made Angela Bassett the right person for The Imagineering Story and how did you approach her?
It's always tough. I wanted to get the right voice for the film and I think we all thought a woman would be great because there's a lot of men in the film! [Laughs] We thought it would be a nice balance and I wanted a voice that would have a sense of authority to it. I loved Angela Bassett in her many films, such as when she played Tina Turner, and I thought she could have the command that the film needed as it goes through so many ups and downs and she had to carry it though the highs and lows as well as some of the quirky and fun moments. We needed a well-rounded actress who could really bring that heft to it which she did. She was really creative and fun and everything I could have asked for and imagined for a narrator. We were really lucky and we approached her agent like you would for anybody to see if she was interested, and she was. She's a Disney fan!
There are so many amazing revelations in the documentary, including the fact that there's an underground city beneath Disney World – what stands out to you as the most shocking thing you learned during the making of this series?
I think, to me, it was the history of the company during the time when they had the greenmail scandal at the end of the second act and how the company was almost torn apart. The threat of that happening would have led to the demise of Imagineering and the Parks and the consolidation of the Disney company might not have happened. As long as something like Imagineering has been around, there's been different CEOs and regime changes and politics, finances, economics, you name it – so many things can threaten a creative entity like Imagineering but, to me, that was an area which I had read about but to hear from the people that were there and how they really fought back at corporate to stop them from cutting back on Imagineering and letting people go was amazing. I thought that was a heroic moment which really saved the company and solidified their place moving forward. That, for me, is one of the really cool stories and I don't know how many people will share that as it's not very sexy but from a storytelling standpoint, it was a very important one.
Watching the first two episodes, it's clear that Walt Disney was a true visionary, particularly seeing those early animatronics. Having studied him so closely, what do you think made him and the other Imagineers before their time in many ways?
It's a good question. The main reaction we get when people see the show is how far ahead of their time these people were. That was a time when you had the space launch happening and sending man to the Moon and all that was ahead of its time but you have to ask yourself, 'Was it?' The technology was there, the ideas were there, and it was literally just a bunch of people tasked by Walt Disney to combine disciplines to create something new. Of course, Walt's mind was so far ahead of most everyone else, he could see things and imagine things which weren't invented yet. He was such an idea man, he would test you and leave you to figure something out. His ideas were bigger and better than anything that had ever been done before and most of the time had never been done before.
Your grandfather has left an incredible legacy as the co-creator of the most iconic animated character of all-time and your father also had an amazing career. What was it like for you to grow up around that and have you always had a love of Disney?
Yeah. I never knew my grandfather as I was one when he passed away so I learned about him through my grandmother, my dad, and a little from my uncle but overall, I grew up going to my grandmother's house and I'd see his photographs and paintbrushes and awards and technical drawings and I could see his spirit still around me. I was quite inspired by it and, you're a comic book guy, but he drew the original Mickey Mouse comic books and seeing them as a kid was so cool. I would learn about his impact on Mickey Mouse and how much of what he did really did solidify the Disney company and get it going. I think that growing up behind the scenes of Disneyland, going to the machine shop and seeing all these productions being built and walking through Disney World as dinosaur animatronics were being worked on at night was just a really interesting perspective as a kid for stuff which no one else really got to see. That really inspired how I was going to approach this documentary as I did as much as I could to give the audience the sort of access they wouldn't normally get that I would as a kid.
What are your thoughts on the evolution of the Disney Parks with the addition of new Lands like Pandora and Galaxy's Edge?
Obviously, the idea of bringing outside IP came in probably very early as Walt was always looking at it and buying in animated films or characters. The whole story is about innovation and how each park and attraction is trying to live up to what came before. Everyone is sitting on the shoulders of Walt and so by the time you see six episodes of this, I think the biggest takeaway that I hope the audience will get is how much evolution has happened in sixty plus years. We look at the original rides and then you go to Avatar's Navi River Journey and see how the technology has changed and how many motors are now in the cheekbone of an animatronic face or in their ears – the motors are so small now and the movements you can get from these figures is unprecedented. It takes Walt's original ideas of bringing these animated figures from screen to life – which is still being done – such as in the Star Wars movies.
There is an interesting magic which takes place when you watch the Star Wars movies and then see these characters come to life. Maybe as a kid, you played with the toys and that's your own way of bringing them to life in your imagination but now in Star Wars Land, things that have been alive in our hearts and minds for so long, it's such a popular franchise, but now you're walking through it and seeing these animatronic figures come to life but they're a celebrity now. I think that sense of awe which came way back when Walt would have Mickey Mouse walking around the Park. There's something about that whether they're animated or these Imagineering characters we see in film that make them real. Galaxy's Edge is the epitome of immersion and some people like it and some people don't but everyone has an opinion about what the Imagineers do and that's something I really learned from being on the inside is how much pressure is put upon them with these projects and how much vocal, public commentary there is about everything they do. So much of what they do is secret for so long and there's so much anticipation leading up to these attractions, everyone's got an opinion or a supposition or projection and they just have to ride it out. A lot of the time they're fearful or excited because they have so much attachment to what the Imagineers do because they're so excited and thats a really interesting thing for me to see as they get so much pressure from the public when they're doing these things. With Galaxy's Edge, they poured their heart and soul into that and it was fun to document the behind the scenes aspect of it.
Superheroes have become a huge part of the Disney family thanks to Marvel but what are your thoughts on the genre as well as their increased presence in the Parks?
I think it's like any of the other IPs they've brought in. I think it's great. There's a huge demand for the Marvel films and I think that just like any of the other movies they've brought to life in the parks, people want to see and experience them. It lends itself to a world which is entertaining and immersive so the idea you can create an attraction around a superhero character and take us into that world lends itself to a theme park so I think the world is their oyster when it comes to the Marvel world and what they could do with it and they're doing a lot of cool stuff right now with all that.
Mickey Mouse remains that iconic figurehead of Disney and I know you've explored your grandfather's life in the past but what was it like seeing the love people have for the character?
I think it's a bit mind-blowing really. When you see how popular the character has become through the years with the Mickey hats and Mickey paraphernalia and merchandising. You name it. It's gotten so big and it's amazing how one character has become so franchise-able and popular through every generation and age group and whatnot and Walt always said it all started with a mouse and it did. My grandfather's creation of the character with the circles and appealing design and Walt bringing the personality and storylines and charming every man character to it I think was so appealing to so many people and still is. There's an innocence to Mickey Mouse that the world lacks to this day and I think people long for that in some symbolic way and perhaps that's what Mickey is. For me, my research on this project from a personal standpoint was seeing how much my grandfather and father did in their own lives to contribute to the parks and there's a book my dad and Disney Editions are publishing coming out December 10th called Walt Disney's Ultimate Inventor: The Genius of Ub Iwerks and a large part of the book is the work he did for the Parks with projection systems, lighting systems, new lenses for animation, you name it, and there are so many unique ways he figured out how to solve creative problems. His relationship with Walt was one that I portrayed in that Walt had an idea and then Ub would figure out how to solve it and Walt would find a place to use that technology. It was a great Ying and Yang and so much of that really carries forward in every Imagineer today in the Parks where people will come up with an idea and others will then find a way to make it happen. Te DNA of Imagineering, for me, is how every day people come up with wacky ideas and then the technologists build the animatronics, etc. and find a way to bring that idea to life in a new way. You can see that they have a lot of fun every day.
Aside from The Imagineering Story, obviously, what are you most looking forward to watching on Disney+ come launch day?
I'm looking forward to watching everything. The documentaries going up and coming after launch but I'm also looking forward to seeing a lot of the animated films I haven't seen in a whole from the Disney library and seeing what else they bring to it which we haven't seen for some time.