Walt: The Man Behind the Myth (2001)

How sad is this?

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I have always been interested in the story behind great industries, and/or persons who devoted their lives to make the world a better place. This documentary which provides great insight into both Walt Disney's early life before he created "The Wonderful World of Disney" and his latter life when he and his brother Roy (who handled the financing end of the Disney empire) created and then every year grew the Disney brand name to become synonymous with family values and highly entertaining animated and adventure cinema.I was fully engulfed in learning from this documentary all I could about the history of Walt Disney and the film proved to be worth every minute of film time. Walt passed away at a relatively young age of 65 from lung cancer but his Disney production company was the recipient of 26 Academy Awards, which is a record he holds all by himself.I laughed, I listened in awe, and I cried in some scenes as Walt's life was not without his own personal tragedies. Although some viewers may see this Disney produced documentary as self promoting the Disney brand, I for one would have loved to have been involved in producing this documentary as in my personal opinion, there are far and few in between who had to overcome so much adversity and with so many financial constraints, but yet Walt persevered and he created an empire with the Walt Disney brand that will eventually go down as one of the most influential companies that denotes family values and a quality of cinema that is unsurpassed by even the big box office CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) films of this century.My hat is off to this documentary and I thank the producers for providing a well crafted documentary that explains in some detail (without going into the nitty gritty of the financial deals) the life and the family man, Walt Disney, who loved trains.I give the documentary a perfect 10 out of 10! Thank you Walt for providing myself and my family so many decades of wonderful entertainment. Ms. Shullivan and I also recently visited Disneyland in California and although we are well past our mid life point we had a hoot!

It's fitting that "Walt: The Man Behind The Myth" since the Executive Producer is the grandson of Walt Disney. It has much of the heart and sentiment that we have come to know and expectfrom a Disney film.There can be no doubt that not only was Walt Disney a genius and visionary, but he was also a good man who cared for children, and a good, old fashioned way of life. He touched our hearts, and stirred our imaginations, and believed that nothing was impossible.This film tells his story from boyhood thru to his passing at 65 in December, 1966. For me, the best parts were the stories that were told by the people who worked for him in the animation departments. The way they fondly recount the ways that Disney was able to not only share his vision, but get them excited and caught up in it as well.The movie moves along quickly, never spending too much time on any one topic. And that is the trouble. Disney was so active and so involved in so many different areas, that I came away not knowing enough about anything. There is not much in depth analysis over any one project.Very little is actually said about the films, in terms of inspiration, casting, etc. I guess I felt that this could have easily extended to another two hours. It touches ever so briefly on, and dispels the rumors of Disney's being a racist or anti-Semite. Beyond that there is absolutely nothing controversial about Disney's personal or business life. He comes across as a simple man, who loved his family, his country, and felt that the world could be a better place, and he tried to make it so.

I've always been interested in the man and have read biographies on him but it was another thing to see this wonderful film footage. He always had a camera around so there's tons of actual footage from his very early days and you get to see what a dynamic, charismatic this guy was (not just cozy "Uncle Walt" that we're most familiar w/from the TV show). It's easy to see why his employees were so committed and inspired by him. Being a Disney production (his grandson was one of the producers and Walt's daughter contributed a lot) I feared a "whitewashed" sort of thing but was pleasantly surprised by the well roundedness of it. My boyfriend who had no desire to see it was crying by the end and filled w/ a new found appreciation and even wants to see a movie made about him now. It's important to see because this was an exceptional person who risked everything time and again for his visions. He was a perfectionist w/high standards who literally created his own world (Disneyland)- not some money grubbing CEO that the name "Disney" has come to symbolize.

I usually don't find documentaries all that entertaining, but this one sure was. It had the Disney touch all over it. It is so interesting to see how Walt Disney came up with his ideas, and how his tem, made them happen. I even cried when it got to the point where Walt Disney died. I heared that this is going to be shown every year now around Walt Disney's birthday, so watch for it.