Playing off the urban legend that Walt Disney had himself cryogenically preserved, a new feature film, produced and shot in the Orlando area, is premiering. The movie was made without the knowledge or permission of the Walt Disney Company or family.
The Further Adventures of Walt’s Frozen Head is a quirky comedy about the unlikely friendship between the frozen head of Walt and Peter, a low level theme park employee. During his yearly dethaw to oversee the direction of his company and guard his creative legacy, Walt demands to be finally allowed up to see his final dream, Walt Disney World. When management scoffs, he recruits Peter, a low level cast member, to kidnap him for a day in the Magic Kingdom.
A local screening of the film will take place at the Marshall Ellis Theater in Orlando on October 13 at 7pm. Many of the cast and crew are expected to attend. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director and cast. Tickets are available online.
The film’s world premiere will be held at the Santa Cruz Film Festival a week earlier on October 4, with an additional screening at the festival on October 6. Tickets are available on the festival’s website.
The film stars Ron Schneider as Walt and Daniel Cooksley as Peter. Schneider is known for his long history performing and writing for theme parks across America, including Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Universal Orlando, and EPCOT Center, where he originated the strolling character of Dreamfinder for the much beloved Journey into Imagination pavilion.
“I’ve been a passionate fan of Walt Disney’s since the 1950s, I never could have imagined I could have been a part of anything like this,” says Schneider. “It’s a wild story told with respect, humor and a lot of love.”
Significant portions of the film were shot on Walt Disney World property without the knowledge of the Walt Disney Company. It is the first feature film about the urban legend of Walt Disney’s cryogenic preservation.
Publicity for the film began almost five years ago, long before any official announcement, with the creation of the popular Twitter parody account @waltsfrzenhead. The account tweets humorous commentary on the parks, films, and general news from the perspective of the cryogenically preserved head of Walt.
The producers are anticipating announcing more screenings at film festivals across the country soon.
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