| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chapter Ten: Brave New Walt | ||
2 | Claim | Source | |
3 | The press release stated that the Disney Archives provided footage of Walt from the 1960s, which then went through their “super-resolution AI upscaler to convert the archival footage to high definition,” | The Los Angeles Times, "Disney’s new re-creation of Walt Disney has some people feeling ‘uncomfortable’", February 15, 2023 | |
4 | At the time, Trowbridge gave a non-committal answer, explaining, “The world of Disney is all about delivering stories and creating connections... There’s no better way to create those connections than through another human being. Our live characters are the most important part of our parks and resorts… So we’re going to have to get really, really good at our robotics programs before we’re in a position to start replacing our human staff. We’ll probably replace our Imagineers with robots before we replace our Cast Members.” | Think With Google, "A World of Pure Imaineering", October 31, 2012 | |
5 | Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald spelled out the challenges with creating a figure of Walt, including “his expressive face, those eyebrows, and the way he used his hands to punctuate his thoughts and ideas.” Fitzgerald said the new figure would “incorporate features and innovations that have never been achieved before. It will be the most lifelike human figure we have ever created.” | https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/walt-disney-a-magical-life-d23-audio-animatronics-figure-imagineers/ | |
6 | This sentiment was immediately fueled by one of Walt’s grandchildren, Joanna Miller, who spoke out against the figure, explaining that she was “overwhelmed and angry” and that it “shows a lack of respect” to her grandfather. In another post in November, Miller doubled down on her initial position, and additionally claimed that Walt had told those that he worked with, specifically Sam McKim, that he never wanted to be made into an animatronic, and supposedly, some of Walt’s other Imagineers, such as Marty Sklar and John Hench, were aware of this. Miller also recalled that her mother, Walt’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller, rejected a proposal for a Walt animatronic to be placed in the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. After speaking out, Miller was invited to Imagineering to see the progress on the animatronic, but she was not swayed. In an interview with the LA Times, she reported “I think I started crying. It didn’t look like him to me.” Thus, Miller stuck to her claim that the animatronic was disrespectful and directly against Walt’s wishes. | The Los Angeles Times, "Walt Disney will live again as a robot. His granddaughter says he never wanted this", June 3, 2025 | |
7 | Imagineer Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz stated, “In all our research, we never found any documentation of Walt saying that. We know that it’s anecdotal and we can’t speak to what was told to people in private.” | The Los Angeles Times, "It ‘keeps Walt alive in the medium he pioneered’: Imagineers defend new Walt Disney robot", May 2, 2025 | |
8 | This is because in the early 1950s, Walt assigned his name and likeness rights to a company that he owned, named Walt Disney Inc. He then charged Walt Disney Productions a fee to use his name and likeness in marketing and merchandise. | The Los Angeles Times, "The Wonderful World of Disney’s Other Firm : Entertainment: Walt Disney created a separate company for his family. Retlaw Enterprises Inc. is now worth hundreds of millions.", October 2, 1990 | |
9 | Blaine Gibson explained, “I know just how crude our medium is, relative to the human figure… You can’t get Walt’s smile… You’d have to move from a scowl to a smile, because Walt at times would get a twisted up expression and one eyebrow would go up. He had a facial range that was absolutely beyond our capability. Lincoln is believable because we have no personal memories or films of his speech and mannerisms. Maybe, if you waited until we’re all gone… all of us who have such strong memories of Walt… but even then the films will still be available… Walt was a man whose movements meant something, and his expressions were so lively and enthusiastic. You can’t get that with an animatronic figure.” | ||
10 | In 1881, sculptor Leonard Volk published an essay recalling the multiple encounters that he had with Abraham Lincoln. | https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/resource/masks.htm#:~:text=Leonard%20Volk%20Recalls%20the%20First,the%20lobe%20of%20the%20ear. | |
11 | He told Imagineer Marty Sklar one day in 1965, “Walt Disney is a thing. An image that people have in their minds. And I spent my whole life building it. I do a lot of things Walt Disney wouldn't do. Walt Disney doesn't smoke. I smoke. Walt Disney doesn't drink. I drink. I'm not Walt Disney anymore. | https://mouseplanet.com/the-return-of-in-walts-words/5451/ | |