Some of the biggest names behind Disney’s movies and franchises are opening up about the worlds they helped bring to life.
Disney Worldbuilders, a new feature-length documentary from Academy Award- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks, premieres Aug. 20 on Disney+. The film explores the memories, creative breakthroughs and personal inspirations that have shaped some of Disney’s most influential storytellers and how those ideas eventually become real-world experiences at Disney Parks around the globe.
The documentary features an impressive lineup of Disney creative minds, including James Cameron, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Jennifer Lee, Pete Docter and Jared Bush, along with Disney leaders Bob Iger and Josh D’Amaro.
For Cameron, 71, the conversation offers a look at how the world of Avatar expanded beyond the screen and into Disney Parks. Favreau, 59, and Dave Filoni bring the Star Wars perspective, exploring the creative process behind a universe that has become an enormous part of Disney’s theme-park storytelling.
Marvel Studios president Feige, 53, also appears, offering insight into the characters and stories that have become part of Disney’s expanding Marvel presence.
Meanwhile, Lee, 54, Docter 57, and Bush, 52, represent the animation side of Disney’s storytelling legacy, with their work spanning some of the company’s most beloved modern films and franchises.
Rather than simply looking back at Disney Parks history, Disney Worldbuilders focuses on the connection between the stories audiences love and the immersive environments created from them.
That includes a look at how ideas that begin as movies, characters or fictional worlds can eventually become attractions, lands and experiences that guests can physically step into.
The documentary also looks toward the future, offering glimpses of projects and experiences still in development at Disney Parks.
Iwerks, 56, is no stranger to documenting the creative forces behind Disney. Her previous work includes The Imagineering Story, the acclaimed Disney+ documentary series that explored the history and innovation behind Walt Disney Imagineering.
Disney Worldbuilders will give viewers another opportunity to hear directly from the people shaping Disney’s storytelling universe and see how their ideas continue to move from imagination to reality.
The documentary premieres Aug. 20 on Disney+.
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