We both thought it was good ... if a bit simplefied. And while I know a lifetime is a lot to cover in even 4 hours there was a lot left out. Some only hinted at. It is forgotten or ingored that both people and events shape an indivigual. How can you tell the story of a man's lifetime without looking at those that influenced others? And while it stresses that Walt held grudges ... it doesn't touch on the split that happened with Iwerks. This perhaps the biggest equalling the effects of his father and Mintz. And the fact that he set aside his feelings to let Ub come back to work for the company.
The worst you can say is that Walt was a man ... a man with all the foils and follies that is inherant in us all. He is proof that a man ... an artist can have the vision but not the skill to carry it through. A man driven to create but has to depend on others to be his hands. This does not create an enviroment of understanding or self expression. But if you worked for Disney ... you had best not go into it with any other ideas.
What this bio show is that Walt was a complex man and no matter what nay sayers might say ... accomplished a lot in his lifetime. And there is still pieces of of the story to be told. Hard to believe if you look at the thickness of the Gaibler book.
It will be playing in all probabilties to be playing again on this Sunday on your local PBS channel. It is worth a peak or a slot on your DVR. And for those so inclined here is a short articale on how Walter Lantz came to head Universal's animation department and take Oswald from Mintz.
http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/walter-lantz-plays-it-lucky-1928/
Let's just say it was all in the cards.
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