DAYS OF DISNEY

Written by

Paige Castelhano
FADE IN:

EXT. HOUSE - DAY

TITLE OVER:

December 5, 1901
Chicago, Illinois

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Our story begins in the wintertime
of 1901. Elias and Flora Disney
had welcomed their fourth child.
They named him Walter Elias
Disney. Little did they know, this
day would mark the start of a
legacy.

TITLE OVER:

Days of Disney

INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

NARRATOR is shown, sitting.

NARRATOR
Among the craziness of constant
moving during his childhood years,
Walt had developed an interest in
drawing, selling his creations to
neighbors and family friends.

A drawing created by Walt for his high school shown.

 2.

NARRATOR (CONT’D)
In 1917, Walt began drawing his
own cartoons for the McKinley High
School newspaper. A year
following, at 16, he dropped out
of school to join the military. He
was denied, so he lied about his
age in order to join the Red
Cross.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN:

EXT. PESMAN-RUBIN COMMERCIAL ART STUDIO - DAY

UB walks up to the Pesman-Rubin Commercial Art Studio,

opening the door.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
After a year overseas, Disney
returns to the U.S. and moves to
one of his childhood cities,
Kansas City. Here he works at the
Pesman-Rubin Commercial Art
Studio.

WALT (O.S.)
Hold the door!

Ub holds the door open for Walt.

WALT (Walking on screen)

Thank you.

UB
No problem. Are you the new
employee... Disney?
 3.

WALT
Yeah, my friends call me Walt.

UB
Nice to meet you. I’m Ub.

Walt and Ub walk into the studio.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
He meets another artist living in
Kansas City, Ub Iwerks, and they
soon founded their own company
which they titled Iwerks-Disney
Commercial Artists.

EXT. KANSAS CITY SLIDE COMPANY - DAY

Walt and Ub walk into the studio.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
The company quickly fails, and
both are employed at Kansas City
Slide Company where Walt learns
animation.

Walt hangs up a sign reading “Now featuring Laugh-O-grams”,

then takes it down.

NARRATOR (V.O.)(CONT’D)
With this knowledge, he creates
Laugh-O-gram Films, which are
short animations and
advertisements. Just two years
later, in 1922, Laugh-O-gram goes
bankrupt.

EXT. DISNEY BROTHERS STUDIO, HOLLYWOOD, CA - DAY

Walt walks into to the studio with his belongings in a

suitcase.
 4.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Walt perseveres and moves to
Hollywood, California, where he
and Roy create the Disney Brothers
Studio.

Walt hangs a sign that reads “NOW HIRING”.

NARRATOR (V.O.)(CONT’D)
In order to expand their company,
the brothers employ new animators
and inkers. Some of the new
employees are Lillian Bounds,
Walt’s future girlfriend, and Ub
Iwerks. A year later, Lillian and
Walt wed.

Walt covers the “Disney Brothers Studio” sign with one that
reads “Walt Disney Studios”.

NARRATOR (V.O.)(CONT’D)
The brothers rename the studio to
Walt Disney Studios as Walt
becomes the face of the company.

A picture of Oswald is displayed, followed by another of

Mickey.

NARRATOR (V.O.)(CONT’D)
He produces a new cartoon series –
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit​ – which is
stolen by Charles Mintz, who had
commissioned the cartoons. The
following year, he creates a new
character, Mickey Mouse, who
becomes famous nationwide in 1929.
From now on, Disney only
accumulates more success.
 5.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN:

INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

Narrator is shown, sitting.

NARRATOR
Walt Disney Studios releases the
world’s first full-length animated
film: ​Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs​. It proves to be highly
successful, winning an honorary
Academy Award.
For the next decade, the studio
continues to create more
successful films such as ​Pinocchio
and ​Bambi​. Around the corner is
the start of a project bigger than
any other that Walt has
encountered.

INT. ABC CONFERENCE ROOM - NIGHT

Walt is sitting in front of a desk. Behind the desk is the

current CEO of ABC.

TITLE OVER:

American Broadcast Company

1954

WALT
The theme park will be called
Disneyland.
(MORE)
 6.

WALT (CON’T)
It will be located in Anaheim,
California, on 244 acres of land
and feature eight uniquely themed
lands. To fund its construction,
I’ll need $500,000.

CEO OF ABC
Mr. Disney, we’d love to fund your
project. Would you be interested
in airing a one hour program
weekly on television?

WALT (holds out hand and smiles)

That sounds perfect.

Walt and the CEO shake hands.

INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

Narrator is sitting.

NARRATOR
As part of the deal, ​The Wonderful
World of Disney​ premiers on ABC.
On July 17th, 1955 Disneyland
opens months after it was planned
to, and is still unfinished. The
amusement park receives more than
1 million guests in its first two
months.
In 1964, Walt receives the
Presidential Medal of Freedom from
then U.S. President, Lyndon B.
Johnson. It is highest award a
civilian can receive in the
nation.

INT. SPACESHIP EARTH, WALT DISNEY WORLD - DAY

 7.

Parts of the ride are shown that depict important moments

of history.

TITLE OVER:

Spaceship Earth in Walt Disney World

Inspired by the Magic Skyway

NARRATOR (V.O)
At the 1964-1965 World’s Fair in
NYC, Disney presents four exhibits
which go on to inspire later
attractions at the Disney theme
parks. One exhibit was a vehicle
ride following through history
sponsored by Ford called “Magic
Skyway”.

INT. CAROUSEL OF PROGRESS, WALT DISNEY WORLD - DAY

Parts of the introduction and first scene are shown.

TITLE OVER:

Carousel of Progress in Walt Disney World

Inspired by the World’s Fair version

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Another was a rotating theater
showcasing the evolution of
electric home appliances sponsored
by GE called “The Carousel Theater
of Progress”.

INT. IT’S A SMALL WORLD, WALT DISNEY WORLD - DAY

The camera pans the Queue.

 8.

TITLE OVER:

It’s a Small World in Walt Disney World and Disneyland

Inspired by the World’s Fair version

NARRATOR (V.O.)
The third was a boat ride
traveling through the world with
small audio-animatronics sponsored
by Coca-Cola. It was also a
fundraiser for UNICEF and called
“It’s a Small World”.

INT. ONE MAN’S DREAM, WALT DISNEY WORLD - DAY

A model of the Abraham Lincoln animatronic is shown.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Finally, he built an attraction
featuring an audio-animatronic
President Abraham Lincoln
sponsored by the state of Illinois
called “Great Moments With Mr.
Lincoln”. All of these exhibits
had audio-animatronics, which Walt
and his company created
themselves.

EXT. PEOPLEMOVER, WALT DISNEY WORLD - DAY

The camera shows a model of Walt’s original plan for EPCOT.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Secretly, in 1965, Walt purchases
small amounts of land at a time in
Lake Buena Vista, FL under aliases
in order to avoid public
attention.
(MORE)
 9.

NARRATOR (V.O.) (CON’T)

This is where he creates Walt
Disney World, then planned to be
the Experimental Prototype
Community Of Tomorrow, abbreviated
to EPCOT, a futuristic city for
people to live in.

EXT. MAGIC KINGDOM ENTRANCE - DAY

The statue of Walt and Mickey is filmed, originally showing

Walt’s face, then zooming out until the entire statue is
seen.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Tragically, Walt was unable to
construct his version of EPCOT. On
the morning of December 15th,
1966, he passed away in St.
Joseph’s Hospital from lung
cancer. Although the world lost an
inspiration to many, it will never
forget the legacy that all started
with a man and his mouse.

FADE OUT.

THE END