| Duration: | 4080 min |
|---|---|
| Genres: | History, Historie, Documentary |
Behind the magic of every Disney theme park lay mud, sweat and fears. Creating happiness is hard work.
For nearly seventy years, a unique blend of artists and engineers - called Imagineers - have cultivated an impossible notion from the mind of one man, Walt Disney, into a global phenomenon that touches the hearts of millions.
Given unprecedented access, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Leslie Iwerks, leads the viewer on a journey behind the curtains of Walt Disney Imagineering, the little known design and development center of The Walt Disney Company, to discover what it takes to create, design, and build twelve Disney theme parks around the world.
Walt Disney gathers artists and engineers to build a dream into reality. These Imagineers' formulate design principles that transport people from their everyday lives to lands of imagination. Never has there been a place with themed environments, faithful to a story. Walt vows, unlike a film that gets finished, Disneyland will never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world. Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks.
Without Walt's guidance, the development of Florida's Walt Disney World is a risky endeavor, but Roy O. Disney fulfills his brother's wish. A second generation of designers carry out the last of Walt's ideas - EPCOT, where the Imagineers achieve a higher purpose beyond entertainment. Simultaneously, the first Disney-branded international theme park opens in Japan. Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks.
Michael Eisner and Frank Wells revive Imagineering and encourage widespread growth. They make Disney cool and relevant with teenagers. Every design project the Imagineers touch turns to gold. The crown jewel, Euro Disneyland, goes over budget and encounters resistance. Poor press coverage and cultural missteps cause low attendance. Humbled, management shies away from future theme parks. Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks.
After a tragic downturn, Michael Eisner steps back from creative stress and hires business minded managers to fill the void. The pendulum swings from art to commerce. The Imagineers enter an era of austerity. While some projects enjoy enormous success, others are cancelled, and still others, disappoint. The pattern seems irreversible. Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks.
Bob Iger returns Imagineering to the foundation of Disney DNA - quality wins out. He modernizes the formula. By strategically investing in creative content, international expansion and new technology, he empowers the Imagineers to plus the existing parks worldwide, especially the recent ones that fell short of expectations. After a decade, the parks never looked better. Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks.
Bob Iger personally shepherds his labor of love, the Shanghai Disney Resort. The Imagineers customize an ambitious new theme park to fit China's culture, a symbol of patience and collaboration. Meanwhile, through innovative technology and immersive placemaking, the beloved pop culture worlds of Avatar, Marvel and Star Wars come to life. Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks.
