Everyone knows the name “Walt Disney,” but how much do you know about his past?
DeLAND, Fla. –
Everyone knows the name “Walt Disney,” but how much do you know about his past?
Filming in is underway for a new movie highlighting Disney’s life and career before he became an entertainment icon. “Walt Before Mickey” is shooting in DeLand through the middle of this month.
According to screenplay writer Arthur L. Bernstein, the story shows us Disney’s early life and failures.
“He’s human, just like us,” Bernstein said. “That’s what we wanted to show. To get to that dream he had so many leaps and bounds.”
The film stars Thomas Ian Nicholas as Disney. You may recognized Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder as Roy Disney. Disney star David Henrie plays one of Disney’s first animators.
His presence in Volusia County has been quite the talk among his Twitter followers.
“Oh, good old DeLand. It’s beautiful. It’s nice. It’s very community based and people are proud. They’ve been recommending good place to eat. I’ve had a really good time.”
The cast and crew of about a hundred includes Winston the Mouse. We’re told he’s quite the scene stealer and provides inspirations for the most famous mouse on the planet.
“The facts in the book are a lot of things people don’t know. The fact that Walt Disney had financial issues. it’s timely, ” said producer and actor Armando Gutierrez.
And according to Henrie, this film is much more than just the story of Disney.
“You watch and you see stories about how literally that guy started just like you and stories like that are good. I think this will send that message,” he said.
Opening day is tentatively set for June 20. You can follow the progress on Facebook.
