How Disney Built America

A struggling cartoon studio creates one of the most recognisable characters in the world. Mickey Mouse begins as a pencil sketch, and through a journey of failure, betrayal, innovation, and guts becomes an American icon.

Facing soaring costs and a tight deadline, Walt Disney pushes the limits of technology to create the first full-length animated feature film. Disney's magic combination of passion and tech innovation gives rise to a billion-dollar business.

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.

Disney hires an ingenious marketing whiz who helps them bring their characters into the hands of millions. Mickey becomes the first celebrity face to grace a cereal box and from there, the licensing of Disney products becomes a lucrative industry.

Against all odds, Disney turns 27,000 acres of muddy Florida swampland into the world's largest and most visited Theme Park. It began in secret as "Project X," and when Walt Disney World finally opens it's a triumph of imagination and a dream.

Disney has pushed the boundaries of art and science through the work of a team, known as the Imagineers. This is the story of how, since their earliest days with Walt himself, Imagineers have turned the impossible into reality.