After watching episode 2 of Walt Disney on Amazon Prime, I learned that Disney, as much of a man as a symbol of modern cinematic history, was a resilient character. His many successful films were just as much Hail Mary’s tossed against the wall in hopes that what sticks would save the empire he built before it was all gone. An empire that would have gone under if Walt did not relent from his way of sticking to the way things were then to adapting to the evolving times. With one final move, Walt Disney was able to miss the hangman and cement his figure in cinematic lore.

When I think of union strikes, I always think of prohibition era Chicago and Jimmy Hoffa, and not the animator strikes of the 1940’s I perked up when I had read in the presentation that IATSE was a part of it and remembered being apart of the union back in Alaska; I had a job at the Alaska Performance Arts Center as a stagehand. Those people really put in the time and work to make sure artists and technicians get stable jobs and honest paying jobs.

Disney inadvertently is responsible for unions. He was a reason why those unions exist but kind of like the way we have Batman, as in that Disney was the person who shot Bruce Wayne’s parents. I’m not so sure how I got there but anyway.

I think it’s bugged out that I might have a job someday writing for the mouse factory. I’d take that up in a second, if it was ever offered. It is quite a legacy and to have my name attached to a film would be quite the accomplishment. But after seeing how hard Disney worked, himself, I would have to prepare myself to make a few big decisions and put in the work.

It must be really humbling as well, to have back to back successful classic animations to be facing failure. He really kept at it, kept reaching for his dreams. Big dreams. I couldn’t imagine one of the things that I do in life is to create a whole theme park named after myself. Mad props to Walt.