In a project called “Walt’s Folly,” Walt Disney turned his dream of a different kind of theme park into reality. However, the brilliance of his vision and the challenge of bringing it to life were two very different things. In Disneyland Handcrafted, fans witness the very beginnings up to opening day, spanning over a year between 1954 and 1955, and are amazed at what would become a defining moment in entertainment history and how many times it nearly didn’t happen.
Director Leslie Iwerks (whose grandfather, Ub Iwerks, was an animator/contributor on early Disney films) takes us back to the beginning in Anaheim, California. There, miles of farmland were turned into a dirt canvas to begin creating Walt Disney’s vision. The film uses old, unseen footage that takes us from beginning to end, namely, opening day.
What they accomplished in a year was, well, let’s be honest, a miracle. Deadlines, debt, and delays were the norm as the skilled workers, especially those leading them, were responsible for turning Walt’s ideas into tangible realities. The problem was that while Walt Disney may have been a visionary, he left the practical aspects of bringing these ideas to life to people who, many times, were making things up as they went.
There were progress reports via an ABC show that aired weekly. While some of this footage has been aired, much of it hasn’t, making this the first time we’ve seen it. Audio clips from the very skilled and inventive set designers, engineers, carpenters, model makers, etc., are interwoven with the progress as we go month by month towards the planned opening day.
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At times, the viewer will wonder how the ideas in Mr. Disney’s head will actually be built on time. One can imagine how many issues come up on a project this size. Building set pieces and transporting them to the eventual park site was a constant rhythm of chaos and creative thinking.
Thankfully, director Iwerks does not focus solely on Walt Disney but uses his audio and visual clips sparingly, when needed. Instead, the focus is on the hands-on creatives tasked with making this dream a reality. They have some fascinating stories. As opening day drew closer, more hours were put in, and the stress mounted. It resulted in many just living at the worksite instead of wasting valuable time going back and forth from Anaheim (a drive that could take upwards of an hour).
While Disney occasionally shows concern or nervousness about whether the money will run out or whether they’ll meet their opening-day deadline, most of the time, he is shown talking, shaking hands, and smiling. He visits the site weekly to observe progress and offer suggestions, sometimes making outright changes that leave those responsible feeling more than a little weary and frustrated.
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There is no footage of a smoking, swearing, or bad-mood Walt Disney in this documentary, although I’m sure all of that happened. The director’s focus was on the nostalgia of the footage and the incredible achievement of completing the project, and that was more than enough.
Disneyland Handcrafted is about a man’s vision and how it came to be, as he built a theme park for families to feel the good times of years gone by. It was a one-of-a-kind at the time and an incredible accomplishment, cementing Walt Disney as a visionary genius with a touch of madness for good measure.
His “Happiest Place on Earth” was a stepping stone into the massive machine that is Disney today. Love it or hate it, that year of creation to make the original Disneyland a reality is a miraculous achievement on so many levels.
