Leslie Iwerks found the same thread in every Disney Worldbuilders interview, even though she spoke with each participant separately. The executives and filmmakers shaping Disney today first connected with the company as fans, and their own memories now influence the stories and experiences they create.
That discovery is the focus of a new Walt Disney Company interview with Iwerks. Disney Worldbuilders premieres on Disney+ August 20, and the interview adds personal stories and details about technology featured in the film.
Disney memories shaped the storytellers
Iwerks is an Academy Award- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker whose earlier Disney projects include The Imagineering Story and Disneyland Handcrafted. She’s also the granddaughter of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks and the daughter of Disney Legend Don Iwerks.
For Disney Worldbuilders, she interviewed Bob Iger, James Cameron, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Jennifer Lee, Pete Docter, Dave Filoni, Jared Bush, and Josh D’Amaro about the experiences behind their work.
Some of the most revealing moments came from childhood. Feige remembered the darkness and motion of his first Space Mountain ride. Lee described discovering Cinderella when she needed the character, while Bush recalled the homemade Peter Pan costume his mother made for him. Docter remembered family trips to Disneyland as a highlight of each year.
Iwerks didn’t conduct those conversations as a group, but the stories still connected. Each person described an early relationship with Disney that eventually led to a role creating films, series, games, attractions, or destinations for a new generation.
New technology brings the worlds closer
The interview also explains how Disney Worldbuilders approaches technology. Favreau discusses the machine learning that helps Disney’s BDX droids move like living characters. Feige previews an attraction under construction at Avengers Campus where screens will shift with a guest’s point of view.
Cameron describes a creative process in which the imagination remains constant while the available tools keep changing. Docter adds that some Pixar attraction concepts couldn’t move forward until technology caught up with ideas that had been waiting for years.
It’s a continuation of Iwerks’ earlier documentary work, but with a different time frame. She described The Imagineering Story as a look at the ingenuity required to build immersive worlds and Disneyland Handcrafted as an origin story. Disney Worldbuilders looks at the people carrying that work into the present and future.
When fans can see Disney Worldbuilders
On August 16, D23 attendees in Anaheim will have the chance to get an exclusive first look at the film. Disney+ will also livestream a panel featuring Iwerks and several participants at 1:15 p.m. ET and 10:15 a.m. PT. The presentation is part of the D23 Disney Worldbuilders screening, four days before the documentary reaches Disney+.
Source: The Walt Disney Company
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