Review of Walt Before Mickey (2015) by Alex F — 22 Sep 2015

"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." - Walt Disney.

Disney is all about magic and bringing joy and happiness for all ages; and from one of Disney's most important quotes, as seen above, that it was a mouse that gave him magic that's still growing. But what was the source or how Disney was able to use such magic that made him a hugely successful "magician" that granted his dream and done a definition of happiness? Magic is usually seen coming from a wand when held by a light or firm grip of a hand. The source of magic comes somewhere from between the wand and the hand. Wherever or whatever the source is, "Walt Before Mickey" tells the origin story of the magic and gives more depth on the one man's dream whilst understanding more about Disney's life story.

This biopic drama tells the early years of Walt Disney (Thomas Ian Nicholas - the second actor to ever portray him) from his fascination of drawing animation such as the farm animals in his father's barn to his road of accomplishing his dream and sharing his talents. But no one says it was going to be an easy road when he decided to start up his own company with his oldest friend he made prior Ub Iwerks (Armando Gutierrez) and being supported by his brother Roy (Jon Heder). The main trouble that was keeping him from being successful that he thought he would get is financial troubles such as evictions and losing faith from his fellow employees that were put as supporting structures of growing his dream. But he never lost his sight when he's befriended with a certain mouse that gave him a magical push of faith and hope, then later a huge inspiration.

"Walt Before Mickey" might not be a Disney film made by the Walt Disney Studios, but it's a typically-fashioned and -powered biographical film of Disney being told by a different studio of two: Conglomerate Media and Lensbern Entertainment. Those studios are lesser-known with the screenplay written and produced by Gutierrez and Arthur L. Bernstein - who also stars as Disney's first distributor Frank Newman in the film. Even though the film wasn't made by a Disney studio, it was still a Disney story that was being told and their biggest success was replicating the Disney magic when telling how it originates.

This biopic drama is based on a same-titled book by Timothy S. Susanin, and foreword by Walt and Lillian Disney's daughter Diane Disney Miller, which helps the film's credibility. The credibility of what was being told and shown has some problems on being whether actually true in few areas that might have somewhat threatened the narrative pace to have an occasional rush to tell Walt's pre-Mickey story. But the end result of the credibility proves to have no such problems to bother the film and its narrative contents when it was only the important power of hard times that seems to do some little threatening to the film's level when it's too much and unappealing. Simply overall a satisfaction on the narration and the biopic's credibility.

Now on the performing branch, the performances were exquisite, especially for a small film to have some good cast while also benefitting from the lesser-known cast that takes up most of the film's roster. Ian Nicholas's performance of Walt Disney done some well-done work to get the man's approval - like Brandon Routh to Christopher Reeve in "Superman Returns" to just better describe how he did - even though his performance was already inferior to Tom Hanks' portrayal of the man in the superior "Saving Mr. Banks". Heder's performance as Walt's older brother matches Nicholas's performance position as in going for their best in a dramatic approach. That goes the same for David Henrie a few years after finishing his days as a wizard and portrayed Rudy Ising. And returning to perform in a show before a broader audience before the upcoming Netflix revival sequel series "Fuller House" is Jodie Sweetin as Charlotte Disney with her pleasant presence.

"Walt Before Mickey" may not be great as Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks", it still has magic like any other Disney film when giving us depth and understanding of the origin story while also defining Disney. It also has the power of a regular biopic drama, while powered up by the performances from the cast to express some emotions and how hard life was for and how much hard work was done by Walt Disney before "Snow White" and Disneyland. The film may not have a big potential like any other biopics than telling a worthy, important story with some inspirational stuff to teach, but it's a definite must-see for those who enjoys the magic of Disney and likes to learn more about it through a moviegoing experience. (B+).