Who better than teen movie "American Pie"'s own Thomas Ian Nicholas to play one of the most celebrated, influential, and history-changing personalities of all time, the creator of Mickey Mouse himself, Walt Disney?
In a casting choice that I'm sure will baffle most, Nicholas, with his boyish good looks (or despite them) is most surely not the right choice for the role. But it's not "Walt Before Mickey's" only pitfall, even if it's the worst.
As a whole, the movie feels flat, uninspired, and at times downright depressing, bordering on awful late night soap opera drama from old days that have since been forgotten.
There's no one of particular note on the cast, the story (as often happens with biopics) feels rushed, while at times slumping away, and the final product just feels very unfinished. (The sound people in particular, it seems, couldn't have cared less edgewise.)
Which is actually sad, considering the subject matter at hand: the rise of an immensely prominent figure, not just in the United States, but across the world. There simply wouldn't have been a "Snow White", a "Cinderella", and countless other animated works of fiction that brought a whole genre to the mainstream and made Disney the household powerhouse that it is today, were it not for Walt Disney.
I checked the IMDb rating before even watching the movie, and was rather surprised. "How can it possibly be so poor, given the subject?" And alas, unfortunately it is.
So other than Tom Hanks' "Saving Mr. Banks", which deals with a more advanced stage in Walt Disney's career, I'm afraid we'll have to wait for a movie that will actually pay a worthy homage to the man himself, and will be heralded in movie history as such.
