‘The Further Adventures Of Walt’s Frozen Head’: Another Movie Filmed On Disney Property Without Disney Approval
In 2013, a low-budget independent movie calledEscape From Tomorrowmade headlines as the first feature film to shoot at Walt Disney World without getting the proper approval from Disney beforehand. you may readPeter Sciretta’s full review here, but it’s a trippy, disorienting, disturbing piece of experimental filmmaking, showing a dark side to the “Happiest Place on Earth” that a family-friendly company like The Mouse House couldn’t have been pleased about (even though theyultimately didn’t sue to stop the movie’s limited release).
Now comesThe Further Adventures of Walt’s Frozen Head, another indie movie shot “illegally” inside Disney World without permission, and this one actually features Walt himself as a character – or at least his floating and talking head, anyway. Watch the trailer below.
The Further Adventures of Walt’s Frozen Head trailer
This Kickstarter-backed film takes that urban legend and runs with it. Writer/directorBenjamin Lancaster(Lightning in a Bottle) has crafted a story in which a low-level Disney World employee named Peter (Daniel Cooksley) ends up discovering Walt’s frozen head (Ron Schneider) and giving him a tour of the park in exchange for a nice promotion. The film was shot on Disney property and elsewhere in the Orlando area, and joins movies likeEscape From Tomorrow, 2010’sExit Through the Gift Shop, and a 2012 short calledMissing in the Mansionas the few high-profile enterprises that managed to pull off the feat of fooling Disney’s vigilant security. (Hat tip toInsideTheMagicfor letting us know about this one.)
Warning:spoilersfor Sean Baker’sThe Florida Projectahead.
Of course, Sean Baker’sThe Florida Project(which debuted last year) also featured footage that was captured “clandestinely,” as he calls it, on Disney property. “It’s not against the law, it’s just against the rules, and sometimes you have to break rules to make a film,” Baker toldTHR. Looks like Lancaster shared the same sentiment; his film has been in post-production for over a year, so I think he beat Baker to the punch.
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 Magic Kingdom Cast Member. During his yearly dethaw to oversee the direction of his company and guard his creative legacy, Walt demands to be allowed up to see his final dream, Walt Disney World. When management scoffs, he recruits Peter to kidnap him for a day in the Magic Kingdom.
The Further Adventures of Walt’s Frozen Headis hoping to make its debut on the film festival circuit sometime in2018. You can find out more info about the film atits official website.
