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, profiling the creative forces behind park experiences built from Avatar, Star Wars, the MCU, Pixar, Frozen, and Zootopia worlds
- Leslie Iwerks anchors the documentary alongside Bob Iger, James Cameron, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Jennifer Lee, Pete Docter, Dave Filoni, Jared Bush, and Josh D'Amaro as featured subjects
- Jennifer Lee is followed to Disneyland Paris for the opening of World of Frozen, where she rides the Frozen attraction with her sister for the first time and becomes emotional seeing Elsa and Anna come to life
- Leslie Iwerks' Disney lineage runs three generations deep: her father Donald Iwerks spent six decades at the Walt Disney Company, and her grandfather Ub Iwerks cocreated Mickey Mouse alongside Walt Disney in 1928
- James Cameron is featured experiencing his Avatar world of Pandora brought to life inside the parks, with Iwerks noting these grown filmmakers still carry the "magic spark of Disney"
- Walt Disney's quote — "Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there is imagination left in the world" — threads through the film as its thematic spine, with Iwerks saying she wants to inspire the next generation of world-builders
Why it matters: Iwerks brings a three-generation Disney pedigree to the documentary, giving her access to top creators that outside filmmakers rarely achieve. For Disney and theme-park enthusiasts, the film offers an unusually intimate look at how Jennifer Lee, James Cameron, and other marquee creatives personally experience seeing their stories translated into physical park lands.
