WD-FM Museum Musings (June 2021) Shownotes

Located in the Presidio of San Francisco, The Walt Disney Family Museum is one of the Bay Area’s most inspirational event and meeting venues. The breathtaking backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge, coupled with the natural beauty of the surroundings, embrace this unique venue in the charm of San Francisco. Meetings and events can be customized to include any or all of the spaces in The Walt Disney Family Museum to make your event a truly memorable and remarkable experience. 

Our team has customized an inspiring array of team building activities and workshops that groups can enjoy from the comfort of their own homes. These virtual programs are intended to promote creativity, encourage team bonding, and provide an opportunity to connect with colleagues.

In collaboration with the Bob Baker Marionette Theater in Los Angeles, join Executive Director and Head Puppeteer Alex Evans and Director of Development and Community Partnerships Winona Bechtle for an exclusive presentation about legendary puppeteer Bob Baker. Learn about Baker’s extensive background in puppetry and animation, including a puppet show he performed as a teenager for the animators of Walt Disney’s Pinocchio (1940), his role as a Technical Consultant on Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), and his magical marionette window displays for the Emporium on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort.

Join Director of Archives Karen Falk as she discusses her role at The Jim Henson Company—preserving the life and legacy of Jim Henson and curating exhibitions based on their beloved film and television projects, including Disney’s The Muppets, PBS’ Sesame Street (1969–present), The Dark Crystal (1982), and Labyrinth (1986).

Join Kate MacMurray, daughter of beloved Disney Legend and actor Fred MacMurray, for a special Fathers’ Day edition of Happily Ever After Hours as she discusses her father’s close friendship with Walt Disney, her childhood memories of Walt, and her experience growing up with a father who played the quintessential American dad in many prominent acting roles.

The Walt Disney Studios might not be the first thing that pops into your head when you think covert action. But did you know Disney worked directly with the US government to support the war effort during WWII? Featuring Kent Ramsey, curator of The Walt Disney Studios and World War II special exhibition, join the International Spy Museum for June’s Spies & Spymasters Happy Hour as they dive into the little-known intersection between Disney and the shadow world.

This program is co-presented by The International Spy Museum®.

This Pride Month, we are celebrating the LGBTQ+ community’s contributions to the world of animation. Join Producers and Directors Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey, notable for their work on Cartoon Networks’ animated series Adventure Time and Steven Universe, as they discuss their experiences working in television animation, the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in family entertainment, and Sugar’s impact as the first female and non-binary show creator at Cartoon Network.

Studio Series workshops are 90-minute sessions that explore animation principles and techniques.

This year, in honor of Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th anniversary, we will be making multiple stops around the Resort and delving into its history. Our next stops are Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios Theme Park.

Roy Disney was a financial genius. But he was more than that in the same way that Walt Disney was more than a film producer. Roy could read personality and sum it up with a succinct mastery that paralleled Walt’s determination to explore and assign a distinct character to each of the Seven Dwarfs, or his ability to discern talent from raiding artists’ wastepaper baskets for drawings. Roy’s gentle vision was supporting the creative aims of his younger brother. To that end, he advised him in ways other than financial. He had a knack for modest, clear language and picking apt names for entities of Walt Disney Productions. Above all, there was one name he upheld and insisted on: Walt Disney. As he put it, “It is a name that is good—more than good—anywhere in the world.”

Which Disney led the studio? It was a partnership. Both Walt and Roy Disney have been described as the spirit of Walt Disney Productions. Walt had the curiosity and drive that led from putting a little girl in an animated cartoon to welcoming families into an entertainment world spanning past, future, sky and sea. Roy, Walt’s 7½-year-older brother, took a protective attitude toward him, in finances and everything else.

Roy was scared. Although devastated by his brother’s death in December 1966, he mustered the resolve to see through Walt’s plans for the Florida project, which would not be a replica of Disneyland. John Hench recalled Roy saying, “I simply had to do it. Because when I meet Walt again, if I hadn’t even tried to build that thing, I would really catch hell.” Hench said, “He really believed that…And he did it for Walt.”

“I was taking my kids around these kiddie parks. We used to go out every Saturday and Sunday. They used to love to go with me in those days. That was some of the happiest days of my life. They were in love with their dad.”

 -Walt Disney