Gallery 8
Walt & the Natural World
True-Life Adventures:
Walt’s affinity for nature prompted him to send a small crew to film the Alaskan wilderness. What the footage revealed fascinated Walt—in particular, scenes of seals in the Pribilof Islands. In 1949 Seal Island became the first in a series of award-winning nature documentaries for The Walt Disney Studios.
“I said, keep shooting!”:
Capturing nature’s wonders required months, sometimes even years. Under unpredictable shooting conditions, Walt’s cinematographers were reluctant to waste film. Walt recalled, “I had to sell them on the idea that the film was the cheapest thing.” The films would yield some of nature’s most spectacular moments ever seen.
Face-to-face with Nature:
In contrast to the typical nature education films, True-Life Adventures brought excitement to the screen. Walt’s innovative approach combined professional cinematography with intriguing storytelling to create a different kind of documentary—one that he believed would increase the appreciation and understanding of nature worldwide.
A Big Idea on a Small Park Bench:
Saturday was always Daddy’s Day for Walt’s two girls. “And we’d go to Griffith Park and there was a beautiful carousel there,” recalled Diane. While observing his daughters at play, Walt imagined a place where children and parents could have fun together—an idea he would later realize as Disneyland.
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