How Disney Built America
Explores the history of Walt Disney and how the iconic brand, fueled by the creation of beloved characters, family films, thrilling theme parks, and technological innovation, continues to shape generations as a cultural and worldwide phenomenon.
- 2024-2024
- 1 season
- History Channel
- Documentary
- TV-PG
Explores the history of Walt Disney and how the iconic brand, fueled by the creation of beloved characters, family films, thrilling theme parks, and technological innovation, continues to shape generations as a cultural and worldwide phenomenon.
Season 1 Episode Guide
6 Episodes 2024
Episode 1
The Birth of Mickey
Sun, Apr 28, 2024 43 mins
Recounting the birth of Mickey Mouse, how he began as a pencil sketch and rocketed to lasting fame; the story starts with Walt in his early days in Hollywood when he quickly loses his first successful cartoon character to a powerful middleman.
Episode 2
Dawn of the Animated Blockbuster
Sun, May 5, 2024 43 mins
Facing soaring costs, mounting criticism, and a tight deadline, Walt Disney creates the first full-length animated feature film, giving rise to the billion-dollar business of animated films.
Episode 3
Destination Disneyland
Sun, May 12, 2024 43 mins
Walt Disney overcomes immense obstacles to create the first Theme Park, where instead of thrill rides, he gives the visitor an immersive journey into a story, like the experience of being inside a movie.
Episode 4
Now Available in Stores
Sun, May 19, 2024 43 mins
Disney faces financial struggles, hires a marketing expert who proposes licensing characters for merchandise. Mickey Mouse appears on cereal boxes, sparking a lucrative licensing industry that sets a precedent for multimedia corporations.
Episode 5
Creating a New World
Sun, Jun 2, 2024 43 mins
Disney transforms 27,000 acres of Florida swampland into Walt Disney World, the world's largest theme park, overcoming personal tragedy, construction delays, and secrecy as "Project X" to open a triumph of imagination and technology.
Episode 6
The Marvelous World of Disney
Sun, Jun 9, 2024 41 mins
For nearly 70 years, Disney has pushed the boundaries of art and science through the work of a team of dreamers, designers, and builders known as the Imagineers. This is the story of how, since their earliest days with Walt himself, Imagineers have turned the impossible into reality-creating thrilling mass entertainment experiences and changing the world in the process.