Walt Before Mickey (2015)

Genre

Biography | Drama

Director

Khoa Le

Country

USA

Cast

Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jon Heder, David Henrie, Taylor Gray, Jodie Sweetin, Sheena Colette, Hunter Gomez, Ayla Kell, Armando Gutierrez, Arthur L. Bernstein, Kate Katzman, Timothy Neil Williams, Conor Dubin, Flora Bonfanti, Briana Colman, Beatrice Taveras, Maralee Thompson, Natasha Sherritt, Frank Licari, Randy Molnar, Donn Lamkin, Nancy J. Barber, Owen Teague, Demitri Vardoulias, Noah Forgione

Storyline

Walt before Mickey takes viewers on a journey through the passion, ambition, and dreams of a man who would go on to capture millions of hearts across the world, and inspire dreams for generations to come.

Opinion

Walt Disney is the icon that has given birth to many icons, and that has entertained entire generations. But what's the story - and struggles - behind this great man? This film, based on Timothy Susanin's book, answered that question. In unflattering way.

Uninspired and unable to hold the attention of the viewer, Walt Before Mickey is the proof that dreams don't always come true.

The story is pretty solid, but the screenplay is a real mess. I did not read the book by Timothy Susanin - also approved by Diane Disney Miller, Walt's daughter, very misleading considering the quality of the film - so I cannot comment how closely the film sticks to the book, but I can say that it seems more like an adaptation of a student's paper rather than anything else.

Some parts don't make much sense either. For instance Walt Disney hiring Friz Freleng because he has been told Friz is great at voices - later demonstrated - years before the advent of sound. I have been wondering why hiring him when you can't even afford to pay the animators salaries, and what was he even doing in the studio. Also Freleng has not a single voice credit on IMDb.

The way Walt Disney's character is conceived is no better. Besides the accurate portrayal of a chain smoker, it's hard to believe that he is an actual person. 

The acting isn't better than some I've seen in junior high plays. Thomas Ian Nicholas - American Pie's Kevin - really makes you cringe in those moments when he seems to be rehearsing instead of acting, and does not bring neither personality nor soul into the role. Jon Heder looks completely lost as Roy Disney, but at least he looks a bit like his character. The supporting cast goes from decent - Armando Gutierrez as Ub Iwerks and Timothy Neil Williams as Fred Harman - to uninspired and overacting.

If there's something I know for sure is that Walt Disney never would have approved anything like this.