Walt Before Mickey

Walt Before Mickey is a 2015 American biographical drama film about the early years of Walt Disney based on the book Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years, 1919–1928 by Timothy S. Susanin, with a foreword written by Diane Disney. The film stars Thomas Ian Nicholas as Walt Disney, Armando Gutierrez as Ub Iwerks, and Jon Heder as Roy Disney. The film covers Walt Disney's early years in business, during which he started various businesses including Laugh-O-Gram Studio and The Walt Disney Company with fellow animator Ub Iwerks and his brother, Roy Disney. Plot The film is narrated periodically by Walt Disney. At the age of thirteen, he develops a love for animation and film. In 1919, after returning from his time with the Red Cross, Walt moves in with his older brother Roy and his girlfriend Edna, in Kansas City. Roy later moves to California, staying in a veterans hospital to deal with tuberculosis. Walt is hired as an artist at Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio, meeting Ub Iwerks. However, Walt and Iwerks are made redundant weeks after when the company's revenue declines. Walt and Iwerks found their own business, Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists, located in an old barn. They are joined by animators Fred and Hugh Harman, and come up with the "Laugh-O-Grams" to show in Frank L. Newman's theatres. With help from new investors, the Laugh-O-Gram Studio is founded. Walt hires new staff including Friz Freleng and Rudy Ising. The studio struggles financially, and Walt is unable to pay his animators, or keep up his rent. Walt finds solace in a mouse occupying the studio, and contacts New York City-based distributor Margaret Winkler, pitching her a live action-animated Alice series, which Winkler approves of. However, Laugh-O-Gram Studios goes bankrupt shortly after.