Leslie Iwerks on ‘Disney Worldbuilders’ and How Jennifer Lee, James Cameron and Jared Bush Carry Forward Walt Disney’s Legacy
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- "Disney Worldbuilders" premieres on Disney+ on Aug. 20, featuring Bob Iger, James Cameron, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Jennifer Lee, Pete Docter, Dave Filoni, Jared Bush, and Josh D'Amaro sharing how franchises like Avatar, Star Wars, the MCU, Pixar, Frozen, and Zootopia became park experiences.
- Leslie Iwerks is the granddaughter of Ub Iwerks, who co-created and drew Mickey Mouse alongside Walt Disney in 1928, and the daughter of Donald Iwerks, who spent over six decades on Disney projects pioneering projection technology, 3D, and large-format immersive attractions.
- Jennifer Lee, writer and co-director of "Frozen" and "Frozen 2," is filmed at Disneyland Paris ahead of the World of Frozen opening, riding the Frozen attraction with her sister — the sibling bond that inspired the film — for the first time.
- Lee cites Fantasyland and her childhood love of Cinderella as formative; Iwerks frames the moment as "the gist of what Walt Disney wanted" — characters that guests can now experience live in the parks.
- The documentary threads Walt Disney's quote "Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there is imagination left in the world" throughout, framing Cameron, Lee, Bush, and the other subjects as continuators of Walt's imaginative lineage.
- Iwerks emphasizes that risk and struggle run through every creative endeavor profiled — "What shines through is the passion everyone has to create."
Why it matters: Iwerks is leveraging her family's deep Disney pedigree — grandfather Ub co-created Mickey Mouse in 1928, father Donald pioneered immersive projection over a 60-year Disney career — to deliver a studio-sanctioned documentary that functions as both park marketing and legacy stewardship, debuting ahead of the World of Frozen expansion at Disneyland Paris.
