Leslie Iwerks Discusses Her New Film ‘Disneyland Handcrafted’

On January 22, the latest film from Academy Award®- and Emmy®-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks — Disneyland Handcrafted — comes to Disney+ and Disney YouTube.

disneyland handcrafted leslie iwerks disney plus — Leslie Iwerks & Asad Ayaz

The documentary offers an extremely rare look at the challenges overcome during the creation of The Happiest Place on Earth. It accomplishes this by using previously unseen footage shot by ABC for the Disneyland TV series, which televised regular updates about the construction of what Walt called his “latest and greatest dream.”

“It’s truly remarkable what went into making Disneyland Handcrafted,” Asad Ayaz, Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, The Walt Disney Company, said. “Entirely from archival material, this film feels both intimate and epic — a testament to the thoughtfulness, care and curiosity required for incredible storytelling.”

Iwerks and her team restored footage that never made it to air and original audio recordings of those deeply involved in the park’s construction to tell a story about Walt’s impossible dream in a style previously unseen.

For Disney fans, Iwerks is a familiar name, as Leslie’s father, Don Iwerks, and grandfather, Ub Iwerks, are both Disney Legends and Academy Award winners — and were close collaborators with Walt. Leslie has directed such noteworthy documentaries as The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story, The Pixar Story, and The Imagineering Story.

We spoke with Iwerks to learn more about the film, the amazing innovations that have always been part of Disneyland’s DNA, and the legacy of the park.

For Disneyland Handcrafted, what inspired you to tell the story of Disneyland’s creation using only archival footage and audio?

When we were doing The Imagineering Story, we came upon all of this amazing archival footage of the making of Disneyland, and much of it has never been seen or were behind the scenes outtakes in the making of Disneyland. Mark Catalena, Mo Stoebe, my editor, and myself, we decided… that we were going to tell the story all through archival footage and audio soundbites from people that were there on the ground working with Walt, talking about the challenges leading up to opening day.

As someone with deep roots at Disney, how does your unique perspective shape the way you approached Disneyland Handcrafted?

My grandfather and father, both Disney legends and Oscar® winners, were very instrumental in a lot of the creativity that started with this company, from Mickey Mouse to the multiplane camera to the optical printer to [Circle-Vision 360]. I grew up around this, and I think my love for all things Disney has just permeated the films that I make here and the films I want to continue to make here, about so many untold stories.

Did anything surprise you about the building of Disneyland while you were making the film?

How hard it was [Laughs]. I mean, really, it was hard to make this park and watching this footage, it’s unbelievable. It’s like, “How did they do it?” And the risk that Walt took — his own livelihood, his own company — he risked so much to build this park.

And to think, when he looked out at that dirt lot and thought, “I’m going to create the happiest place on Earth,” it’s unbelievable what he pulled off. And now people enjoy these parks all around the world.

Maria H. (ndm#130)

A Disney blooded, crafty, fun-lovin’ wife/mom/organizer/planner, etc who is obsessed with all things Disney 🙂 Maria grew up with the Magic Kingdom and has loved watching WDW evolve into what it is today. A firm believer in the Power of Pixie Dust, she is the owner of The Disney Driven Life – A Community for Neurotic Disney People & a d.i.y. crafty blog, Carousel of Projects – create~inspire~share.

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