Now’s your chance to get a peek into the early years of one of the world’s most iconic film producers and animators.
“Walt Before Mickey”—a biopic about Walt Disney co-produced by West Palm Beach native Arthur Bernstein and filmed in Florida—will soon be playing in a theater near you.
Based on Timothy Susanin’s book of the same name, the film follows the business challenges Walt Disney faced in the 10 years before “Steamboat Wille,” the animation that put Mickey Mouse on the map.
“He’s a legend, but this part of the story needed to be told,” Bernstein told Palm Beach Post. “I couldn’t believe it hadn’t been done already.”
The film premiered Friday in Downtown Disney and is set to hit select theaters nationwide next month.
When “Walt Before Mickey” makes its limited release on Sept. 4, Lake Worth, Delray Beach and Palm Beach Gardens will be among the cities hosting screenings, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Bernstein, who is an alum of Palm Beach Gardens High School, earned his film degree from the University of Miami in 2000 and now lives in Palm Beach Gardens.
Scenes depicting Kansas City and Los Angeles were actually shot around Central Florida, in cities including Sanford, Orlando, Tampa and DeLand, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Thomas Ian Nicholas of the “American Pie” series stars in the drama as Walt Disney, but much of the rest of the independent film’s cast is equally recognizable.
“Walt Before Mickey” also features “Full House” actress Jodie Sweetin, Jon Heder of “Napoleon Dynamite” and David Henrie, who starred in The Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place.”
Watch the movie trailer below:
