Filmmaker Leslie Iwerks is bringing a brand new feature length documentary to D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, and it is headed to Disney+ afterward. The project was revealed as part of the full programming lineup announced by D23 for the August 14 through 16 event in Anaheim.
Where Story Meets The Parks
According to the official description, the session invites fans to “Discover how Disney’s greatest storytellers draw inspiration from the parks where their worlds were always meant to live.” The presentation will feature a panel with top filmmakers and special guests, followed by the debut screening of Iwerks’ new feature before it arrives on Disney+. A title and streaming date have not yet been announced.
The premise flips the usual relationship between Disney movies and Disney parks. Rather than tracing how films become attractions, the documentary appears to explore how the parks themselves feed back into the imaginations of the company’s directors, animators, and storytellers.
A Filmmaker With Disney In Her DNA
Leslie Iwerks is no stranger to documenting the company’s creative engine. She directed The Imagineering Story, the acclaimed Disney+ series chronicling Walt Disney Imagineering, along with documentaries on Pixar and Industrial Light and Magic. She is also Disney royalty in her own right as the granddaughter of Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney’s original partner and the animator of Mickey Mouse, and the daughter of Disney Legend Don Iwerks, the camera and projection pioneer who passed away on July 9 at the age of 96.
That timing gives the D23 debut an added layer of meaning, as the documentary will premiere just weeks after the Iwerks family lost one of its own legends. Expect the screening to be one of the more emotional tickets of the weekend for longtime Disney fans.
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