The Disneyland Handcrafted documentary consisting of archive footage from the construction of Disneyland premiered during a special event on The Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California.
Disneyland Handcrafted Premiere
Special guests who walked the blue carpet included Josh Gad, Bob Gurr, Martha Blanding, Tania McKnight Norris, Pete Docter, Chandler Kinney, Laura Marano, Kenny Ortega, and Robin Lopez. Guests like Susan Egan (the voice of Megara and Disney Destiny’s godmother) and Ashley Eckstein (the voice of Ahsoka Tano and founder of Her Universe) reflected on their Disneyland memories.
Disneyland Handcrafted director Leslie Iwerks, granddaughter of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, said, “Disneyland is everything to me. I grew up behind the scenes of Disneyland, going in the backstage and seeing everything. All the behind the scenes activity as a little kid was insane. Still going through the backstage today feels just as magical and also going through the front gates, like everyone, feels even more magical because you get to feel it all and experience it all. And to have done this film and to see how it all started and the origin of it and the hard work and the passion that it took and by all the people that — blood, sweat, and tears put into it. It just makes me love Disneyland even more and appreciate Disneyland that much more.”
Disney Legend and former Imagineer Bob Gurr, who worked on the creation of Disneyland, gave advice to aspiring Imagineers: “Always be curious, all your life. You don’t get anywhere unless you’re curious and you’re soaking up all this information that you’re gonna stir around in your head and somebody’s gonna ask you to do something someday and you’ll be able to actually get started on it and learn as you go.”
Dopey Drive and the Main Theater were decorated with Disneyland Handcrafted posters and banners. In the theater’s lobby were two displays of historical artifacts and early Disneyland assets curated by the Walt Disney Archives.
These were the items on display:
- 1955 concept art for a Disneyland ticket book
- Billboard art that would have been seen on the freeway heading towards Anaheim
- 1955 souvenir guidebook including a map of the greater Los Angeles area and the freeway
- Disneyland bucket hat from the 1970s
- Small Disneyland pennant from 1960
- 1955 Disneyland puzzle by Whitman Publishing
- 1955 Casey Jr. train toy by Louis Marx & Co.
- 1952 Disneyland tin Ferris wheel toy by J. Chein & Company — from before the park opened!
Inside the theater, Disney Chief Brand Officer Asad Ayaz said, “We’re so proud of this film because it does such an incredible job just showing you what it took. Disneyland was not always the icon that it is today. It was an idea. And it took an incredible team of artists and craftsman and dreamers, frankly, to bring it to life. And I think what this film does really beautifully is it takes you right there. You’re there with the Orange Groves, you see kind of what it took to build this incredible place.”
Juju Green a.k.a. Straw Hat Goofy led a Q&A with Leslie Iwerks. The director explained the idea for Disneyland Handcrafted came up during the creation of The Imagineering Story. Editor Mo Stoebe and producer Mark Catalena had the idea of putting together archive footage in a way that doesn’t cut to talking heads but allows viewers to live in the footage.
“We took all this, over 200 reels of material, and almost like an archaeological dig, we forensically went through each reel and pulled it apart and figured out what was where and what time frame this shot was,” Iwerks explained in Instagram stories shared by Disney Parks.
I personally felt like a whole new renewed appreciation for what Walt’s vision was and what he wanted and what he went through. All the adversity that he went through to make us all, to this day, experience these parks around the world.
And to think that this was just a dirt lot and that now there’s 12 theme parks around the world and this was the blueprint. This is the DNA for all these places.
And you think about every single minute on the Earth, there is happiness being created with these parks. And these parks aren’t just a park, they are a place of pilgrimage for millions of people around the world yearly, if not monthly, if not weekly, but certainly generationally.
So it’s not just a theme park. It’s something that means so much to so many people around the world and I’ve traveled to all these parks and to watch how many people experience every single moment. Take photos and just live and breath these characters and these stories. And there’s just, it’s something beyond just the parks.
Leslie Iwerks
Bret Iwan, artist and voice of Mickey Mouse, described the documentary as “unbelievable.” He praised Iwerks and said, “I always say my Disney fandom originates with Walt and what he was capable of creating. And Disneyland was almost the pinnacle of his creation. So, to see all that unearthed footage that you haven’t seen before was incredible.”
“I almost felt like I was living vicariously through the footage and feeling the sense of pride as it was getting created, and then the pressure,” Iwan continued. “But it also the relief and joy that they must have experienced on opening day.”
After watching Disneyland Handcrafted, attendees had the opportunity to visit Walt Disney’s office, which has been preserved with furniture, trinkets, awards, and photos. This experience is usually reserved for D23 Members. They then joined a reception along Dopey Drive with drinks and snacks. Guests received Disneyland Handcrafted tote bags, full-size film posters, and mystery Disneyland pin sets.
Disneyland Handcrafted will be released on Disney+ and Disney YouTube on January 22.
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