Disney Worldbuilders, a brand new documentary from the incredible filmmaker Leslie Iwerks (The Imagineering Story), will debut at D23 on August 16th and be available on Disney+ on August 20th, but Disney were kind enough (and trusting enough) to send a movie and theme park nerd a very early screener to bring you this review today.
This documentary showcases a whole variety of storytellers who come together to discuss their IP and how it went from concept to film to a fully realised attraction within a Disney park. Where The Imagineering Story takes a more historical documentary approach and the wonderful Disneyland Handcrafted took a more behind-the-scenes approach, this particular documentary is more of your stereotypical TV-style documentary with talking-head segments followed by a whole variety of footage (including quite a bit of never-seen-before first-look footage, might I add).
I will start off by saying that this particular Disney documentary is stacked. Leslie has pulled out all the stops to get all of the big hitters onboard, as we have interviews with industry figures such as Pete Docter, Jennifer Lee, Dave Filoni, James Cameron, Jared Bush, Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige.
These are the big hitters, the writers and creators of the worlds we not only see on screen but the experiences we now live within in a theme park. From Marvel to Lucasfilm and Pixar, these are the first-hand accounts of those who played a significant role in these worlds, and their insight helps to really give the documentary that sense of prestige and straight-from-the-source authenticity.
Let’s dive into the show, shall we?
Pete Docter (Monsters Inc)
Pete Docter, creator of Monsters Inc, kicks off the documentary by passionately discussing his creation ahead of his Monsters Inc land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in a couple of years’ time. It’s within this introductory interview that we get the format of the show, which consists of interview segments intertwined with sneak peek footage and insight into future projects.
The documentary itself acts like a D23 announcement expanded into documentary format with passionately inspirational filler that drip-feeds fans just enough to keep them hooked from start to finish.
There’s a little bit of Bob Iger fandom that is sprinkled throughout the documentary (maybe a little too much at times), but if you’re going to have the best of the best within the documentary, it’s only fair they should get the credit where credit is due.
Disney Worldbuilders clocks in at just shy of a 60-minute run time, so sadly it’s not as much of a deep dive as fans probably would wish to see, but it does whet the appetite for future projects, and that’s the majority of what this documentary seems to be as it becomes less about one CEO and more about the environment he has created that has allowed the creative talent within the documentary to express themselves and create these wonderful destinations.
Jon Favereu and Dave Filoni (Star Wars)
Our next section dives into the world of Star Wars as Jon Favreau (Director) and Dave Filoni (Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm) go into a little bit of a deep dive into Lucasfilm history, showcasing archive film footage of the movies and a glimpse into a prop house.
Large parts of this section, for me, felt too heavy on the film side of things and not enough on the attractions side of things, with only a glimpse of Galaxy’s Edge being showcased within the segment.
It was great to see some sneak peek footage of how the new 2026 Mandalorian and Grogu overlay for Smuggler’s Run was shot, but ultimately this particular section doesn’t translate from film to attraction as smoothly as all of the other sections within the documentary. But fear not, the section ends with a little announcement that I’m sure fans will love.
Like I said before, this documentary feels packed full of little D23 announcements, which is funny as this very documentary is being showcased at D23 for the first time in just 11 days’ time at the time of writing (August 16th).
Jennifer Lee (Frozen)
For me, this section with Jennifer Lee, writer and director of Frozen, is where the documentary truly dives into the emotional impact that these stories not only have on their creators but the guests who experience them.
Jennifer steps foot into the World of Frozen at Disney Adventure World adjacent to Disneyland Paris for the very first time, and what we see is this natural reaction to witnessing something so beautiful for the very first time, as we the guests would feel and experience the same way.
What Leslie Iwerks does so beautifully is let the guest really emote their true feelings and thoughts without directing it as a puff piece. The documentary is simply collaborators and artists who truly care about their vision, and there was no section more beautiful than Jennifer’s emotional delivery of seeing the World of Frozen land for the first time and being overwhelmed at what she was witnessing.
Kevin Feige (Marvel)
CEO of Marvel Kevin Feige then dives into the Marvel universe and the world-building around it that is currently residing at Disney parks and will soon be residing at Disney parks in the near future.
This section certainly showed off the most sneak peek footage within the entire documentary, so fans, get ready for it because it’s exciting stuff!
A little bit of a controversial opinion from me here, but the Marvel lands are perhaps the weakest lands within a Disney park (sorry Disney). I just feel like every Marvel attraction (outside of Cosmic Rewind and Mission: Breakout) feels a little hollow and underdeveloped, as though the chains of red tape are weighing them down from being truly spectacular.
One ride of Flight Force at Disneyland Paris made me get on a plane straight to Florida to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster as it was immersive and fun, as opposed to this shell with recognisable characters within it. I certainly feel many of the attractions that are Marvel-focused haven’t truly grasped that emotional resonance quite as wonderfully as Cosmic Rewind and Mission: Breakout, but maybe that’s just me.
Maybe it’s just a case of franchise fatigue as I’m about done with superhero movies, so I can only hope the attractions coming in the future reignite the love I once had for this genre.
But Disney, if you’re reading this, less screens and more physical sets… PLEASE!!!
James Cameron (Avatar)
James Cameron takes us into the world of Avatar, which is one of the most breathtaking lands ever created within a Disney park that still, to this day, hasn’t been topped.
It’s the most beautiful space within any theme park in the world in my opinion, and with another Avatar-themed land on the way at Disney’s California Adventure, the bar has been set awfully high before construction even begins.
This section was very short and sweet compared to the other sections, but the passion with which James Cameron speaks about any of his creations is always an inspiring watch. He really goes all in on his creations, and the land of Pandora at Animal Kingdom reflects his passion, desire, perfectionism and attention to detail.
Jared Bush (Zootopia)
Jared Bush dives into Zootopia, which is a land that I’ve never personally visited as it’s located in Shanghai Disneyland, but Jared also worked on Moana and Encanto, so this section bounces around between all of these IPs. However, there is very little focus on next year’s Encanto land opening at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
I thought this was a missed opportunity as it would have been the perfect place to showcase current construction, but at the same time I’m unsure of when this documentary wrapped shooting, so perhaps the timescales didn’t quite add up, which is a shame as this would have been the perfect opportunity to dive into this very exciting new land coming in 2027.
The Future
As the documentary comes to a conclusion, there’s a wonderful transition section that allows Josh D’Amaro into the documentary after seeing Bob Iger throughout the entirety of the interview segments up until this point, and this is where the tone of the documentary changes, a passing of the torch, if you will.
The rest of Disney Worldbuilders after this point now looks towards the future and the growth of the Disney portfolio across the world, starting with the groundbreaking Abu Dhabi project, which I found to be utterly captivating.
Disney fans are not going to want to miss this part as the Disney brand celebrates its past but looks to its future by introducing one of the most futuristic theme parks the world has ever seen.
The future is bright for Disney, and this documentary merely serves as a reminder of those behind it who care, who treasure their vision, and what has transpired from set to screen to fully built lands for guests to explore.
This documentary goes far beyond a puff piece and gives fans just enough to look forward to whilst celebrating everything that has come before it. Certainly a different presentation from Leslie Iwerks, but one that is captivating enough for fans to invest in, and the time spent watching it absolutely flies by.
Our Rating
Summary
A documentary that steers clear of being a puff-piece and gives us first hand accounts of the creative minds behind some of Disney’s greatest theme park lands and attractions. Whilst not a comprehensive deep dive into the attractions themselves there’s just enough here to keep fans hooked as numerous sneak peeks and future projects are intertwined within interview footage to keep things interesting.
