Disney WORLDBUILDERS Explores the Magic Behind Themed Lands

The documentary Disney WORLDBUILDERS is now available on Disney+, offering an inside look at how Disney theme park lands are created. The film's director, Leslie Iwerks, got the idea for the documentary while working on Disneyland Handcrafted and imagining what it would be like to ask Walt Disney himself about his themed lands.

Iwerks shared that she sat down with people who actually build these immersive worlds today, including Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Lucasfilm President Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu director Jon Favreau, and Walt Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer Jared Bush.

The panel discussed the challenge of building experiences for multigenerational fanbases while staying true to Walt Disney's original vision. They also touched on the emotional experience of seeing their work transformed into real-world lands, with each person sharing genuine emotional stories about walking through their own themed lands for the first time.