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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disney's grandchildren divided over new animatronic of Walt as one calls it 'dehumanizing'
Disney's Imagineers are working on a new animatronic of iconic American visionary Walt Disney, but some members of his family have opposing views about whether it celebrates his legacy or dehumanizes him. Disney's Main Street Opera House plans to unveil a new theme park attraction called Walt Disney – A Magical Life, featuring an audio-animatronic of the company's founder. But Joanna Miller, one of Disney's grandchildren, slammed the idea of an animatronic as "dehumanizing" in a viral Facebook post. Among her claims, she suggested that her grandfather had told early Imagineer Sam McKim he never wanted to be commemorated with an animatronic. She went on to speak to the Los Angeles Times about why she believes it goes against her grandfather's wishes. Shortly after she wrote her post, she met with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Imagineers to see the animatronic in production, crediting the current company head as being "very kind" and noting he listened to what she had to say. The robot itself, however, left her cold. As 'Snow White' Struggles, Here Are Five More Disney Controversies That Rocked The Company "I think I started crying," Miller told the L.A. Times. "It didn't look like him, to me." Read On The Fox News App She wrote in a separate letter to Iger, "I strongly feel the last two minutes with the robot will do much more harm than good to Grampa's legacy," and worried people "will remember the robot, and not the man." As for claims that Disney would not have wanted to be commemorated as an animatronic, Imagineer Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz said, "In all our research, we never found any documentation of Walt saying that. We know that it's anecdotal and we can't speak to what was told to people in private." After Miller's comments were published, The Walt Disney Family Museum shared a statement with Fox News Digital indicating other family members feel far more positively about the animatronic of the Disney family patriarch and were included in the process of its production. "Walt Disney Imagineering invited museum Board members—five of Walt Disney's grandchildren and three of his great-grandchildren—to view the progress of the attraction's development, which included a preview of the new Audio-Animatronics figure of Walt in its animated form," the statement said. "As part of their meticulous eVorts to produce a historically accurate likeness, Walt Disney Imagineering also reached out to the team at The Walt Disney Family Museum for guidance in identifying items that Walt Disney regularly wore," it added. Chris Miller, Disney's eldest grandson and a member of the museum's Board of Directors, said in the release, "I watched the show with my sisters Tammy and Jenny and the Imagineering team welcomed our feedback." He added further, "The level of innovation and technological advancement has exceeded anything that has been seen before in Audio-Animatronics. While our family has our own memories of Walt as our grampa, we left the presentation feeling confident that he will be depicted in the show as the public remembers him from his introductions on the "Disneyland and Wonderful World of Color TV" series." Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture Tamara Miller, Disney's granddaughter and vice president of the museum's Board of Directors, offered similar praise. "It was an honor to be welcomed by Imagineering to preview the 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' attraction. Having this representation at the park that grampa built is the right place for this, to educate people about who he was and introduce him to new audiences," she said in the release. "This attraction is a great opportunity for an audience to get a good representation of him. We believe that our grandfather would have been enthusiastic about the project. I look forward to having my children and grandchildren see this representation of my grandfather." Fox News Digital reached out to The Walt Disney Company for article source: Disney's grandchildren divided over new animatronic of Walt as one calls it 'dehumanizing'
New York Post
03-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Walt Disney is being turned into a robot — and his granddaughter is ‘pissed off': ‘I started crying'
Disney World is the happiest place on Earth — but one member of the Disney family isn't smiling about a new park innovation. Joanna Miller, granddaughter of the late Walt Disney, blasted Walt Disney Co. for creating an audio-animatronic version of her beloved grandfather to honor Disneyland Resort's 70th anniversary in July. In a scathing Facebook post, Miller blasted the new park addition as 'dehumanizing' and said that the 'robotic grampa' went against the wishes of the family patriarch, who died when she was 10. 3 (L-R) Jennifer Goff, Tammy Miller, Joanna Miller, Walter Miller and Chris Miller speak onstage during The Walt Disney Family Museum's 2nd Annual Gala at Disney Grand Californian Hotel & Spa at The Disneyland Resort on November 1, 2016 in Anaheim, California. Joe Scarnici 'People are not replaceable. You could never get the casualness of his talking,' she wrote in the post. The Walt Disney recreation would live in the opera house on Main Street, U.S.A. for a new show, 'Walt Disney — A Magical Life,' which hopes to give parkgoers an idea of 'what it would have been like to be in Walt's presence.' Miller is one of the few who have actually seen the immortal animatronic, as Disney is notoriously secretive about its developments. 'I think I started crying,' Miller recalled of her reaction. 'It didn't look like him, to me.' Most of the current animatronics are either representative of the company's film characters or real-life political figures for the Hall of Presidents; most do not speak or move much. The incoming Walt Disney animatronic promises to be the most lifelike one yet, pulling dialogue from his speeches and more deliberate, subtle movements. 3 Walt Disney died when Joanna was 10 years old. Getty Images Miller, who lives an extremely private life, doesn't regret calling out the company. She does fear that speaking out against Walt Disney Co. might cause the entertainment company to retaliate by taking away her access to the park, a perk agreed upon when Miller's late father, Ron W. Miller, stepped down as Disney CEO in 1984. 'You just start to get pissed off. And you get tired of being quiet. So I spoke up on Facebook. Like that was going to do anything? The fact that it got back to the company is pretty funny,' she told the Los Angeles Times. Soon, Miller was face-to-face with current Disney CEO Bob Iger to discuss the animatronic. Miller makes it clear she isn't representing her five siblings or other family members — but, as she emphasized in a letter to Iger, 'I do speak for my grandfather and my mother.' Not long after sharing her concerns on Facebook, she was invited to view the figure in person and sit down with Iger and members of Walt Disney Imagineering, the behind-the-scenes team that brings the parks' immersive experiences to life. 'He was very kind,' Miller said of the CEO. 'He let me do my spiel.' Miller's main argument is that her grandfather did not want an animatronic version of himself. Her mother, Diane, founded San Francisco's Walt Disney Family Museum and rejected a robotic version of Walt. 'In all our research, we never found any documentation of Walt saying that,' Imagineer Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz said back in April. 'We know that it's anecdotal and we can't speak to what was told to people in private.' 3 Miller's main argument is that her grandfather did not want an animatronic version of himself. Getty Images That's one of the biggest challenges Miller is up against. The people she says best understood Walt Disney's wishes — her parents and trusted collaborators like former Imagineering head Marty Sklar — have all passed away. Unless others step forward, she's the last direct link to that legacy. Still, Miller isn't naive about the situation. In her view, the family's biggest misstep was selling the rights to Walt Disney's name, image, and likeness back in 1981 — a $46.2 million stock deal that effectively severed their control. As a result, the family has little to no influence over how Walt is portrayed in the parks. Imagineering, however, maintains that it consulted the Walt Disney Family Museum and current board-member descendants during the development of the animatronic tribute.
USA Today
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Walt Disney holds the record for the most Oscars won. How many did the late producer win?
Walt Disney holds the record for the most Oscars won. How many did the late producer win? Show Caption Hide Caption Conan O'Brien to host 2025 Oscars Comedian Conan O'Brien will host the 97th Academy Awards, marking his first time in the role. In just three weeks the largest celebration of filmmaking achievements will be held, the Oscars. Since the award ceremony's establishment in 1929, one filmmaker has stood above the rest, taking home the the most golden statuettes. The late Walt Disney holds the record for the most Oscar wins at 22, with four additional honorary awards. It was actually Disney who coined the nickname "Oscars" for the Academy Awards. When he accepted the cartoon short subject award for his short cartoon, "The Three Little Pigs" in 1934, Disney said he was excited to take home his little "Oscar," according to The Walt Disney Family Museum. Up until this point, the term "Oscar" has been used as an inside industry name for the award and Disney's remarks were the first time the public became aware of it. What Oscars did Walt Disney win? 1932: Cartoon Short Subject for "Flowers and Trees" 1934: Cartoon Short Subject for "Three Little Pigs" 1935: Cartoon Production for "The Tortoise and the Hare" 1936: Cartoon Production for "Three Orphan Kitties" 1937: Cartoon Short Subject for "The Country Cousin" 1938: Cartoon Short Subject for "The Old Mill" 1939: Cartoon Short Subject for "Ferdinand the Bull" 1940: Cartoon Short Subject for "The Ugly Duckling" 1942: Cartoon Short Subject for "Lend a Pow" 1943: Cartoon Short Subject for "Der Fuehrer's Face" 1949: Two-Reel Short Subject for "Seal Island" 1951: Two-Reel Short Subject for "In Beaver Valley" 1952: Two-Reel Short Subject for "Nature's Half Acre" 1953: Two-Reel Short Subject for "Water Birds" 1954: Feature Documentary: "The Living Desert" 1954: Short Subject Documentary: "The Alaskan Eskimo" 1954: Cartoon Short Subject for "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" 1954: Two-Reel Short Subject for "Bear Country" 1955: Feature Documentary for "The Vanishing Prairie" 1956: Short Subject Documentary for "Me Against the Arctic" 1959: Live Action Short Subject for "Grand Canyon" 1969: Cartoon Short Subject for "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" Disney also won the following honorary awards: 1932: For the creation of Mickey Mouse 1939: For "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," recognized as a "significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon" 1942: For an "outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures throuh the production of 'Fantasia'" 1942: The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award First awarded in 1938, The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award is presented to a "creative producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production," according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website. When are the Oscars? The 97th Academy Awards are Sunday, March 2. What time are the Oscars? The 2025 Oscars will air from 7-10 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 2. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
