It's fitting that "Walt: The Man Behind The Myth" since the Executive Producer is the grandson of Walt Disney. It has much of the heart and sentiment that we have come to know and expectfrom a Disney film.There can be no doubt that not only was Walt Disney a genius and visionary, but he was also a good man who cared for children, and a good, old fashioned way of life. He touched our hearts, and stirred our imaginations, and believed that nothing was impossible.This film tells his story from boyhood thru to his passing at 65 in December, 1966. For me, the best parts were the stories that were told by the people who worked for him in the animation departments. The way they fondly recount the ways that Disney was able to not only share his vision, but get them excited and caught up in it as well.The movie moves along quickly, never spending too much time on any one topic. And that is the trouble. Disney was so active and so involved in so many different areas, that I came away not knowing enough about anything. There is not much in depth analysis over any one project.Very little is actually said about the films, in terms of inspiration, casting, etc. I guess I felt that this could have easily extended to another two hours. It touches ever so briefly on, and dispels the rumors of Disney's being a racist or anti-Semite. Beyond that there is absolutely nothing controversial about Disney's personal or business life. He comes across as a simple man, who loved his family, his country, and felt that the world could be a better place, and he tried to make it so.

Speaking as a fan and amateur historian of Walt Disney, this is quite an amazing film about Walt's life. There is so much in this film about Walt that isn't easily found in the books written about him.I'm so happy that Walt's daughter Diane and the Family Foundation decided to create this film to preserve Walt's history. And it's emotional to see the interviews of his friends, family, employees and business associates who all thought so much of this unique man.I've watched this many times with many different types of people, and everyone has been interested in this documentary.HIGHLY recommended for those who love history, or Walt Disney! As I used to say when I was a "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" Tour Guide at Disneyland - "There aren't many individuals in the history of the world who have touched so many people in the countless ways that Walt Disney did."

It was great seeing a more balanced biography of Walt Disney after all these years. I felt like there have always been 2 extremes: the sugary and perfect Walt who loved children, and the diabolic Communist smasher that hated Jews. Well, here's a news flash: he was human. Walt was a taskmaster, and perfectionist, but he was dedicated to entertaining people and making them laugh. This movie showed us how he was a 12-year old at heart, full of the vigor that made his cartoons great and prone to being naive when it came to labor and politics. To work for Walt was probably a roller-coaster, being "under the eyebrow" one moment when he was concentrating on a project, then elated when he dispensed a single iota of praise from his gruff businessman persona. The next second he could transform himself into a character from the storyboard he was demonstrating, brimming with energy and enthusiasm like a middle-aged Huck Finn. People have tried to villify him over the years, pecking away and trying to drag down his overly-sweet reputation perpetuated by the studio after his death. But you can say this about him: he loved children, wanted to make people laugh, and in some small way felt that by making the childhood of others happier, he was a happy child himself.

I never really knew much about Walt Disney, so I bought this film. And I think it was a great place to start. It gave a lot of background information, and you really got to see things from the point of view of the time. Instead of looking at it from 2005, I was looking at the film from the early 1900s and into the future. Walt's early life really interested me. He was basically a regular guy (aka genius) following something that really interested him.I recommend this to anyone who wants a nice base of information about Disney. It's got that warm fuzzy feeling to it as well, but without hiding much. I think most will enjoy it.