How Disney Built America
Series Premiere:
Upcoming TV Airings
The airings below are based on a generic national schedule. Times and dates can vary by TV provider.
Sunday, May 19
Now Available in Stores New
Season 1 • Episode 4
Disney hires a marketing whiz who helps them get their characters into the hands of millions.
Monday, May 20
Now Available in Stores
Season 1 • Episode 4
Disney hires a marketing whiz who helps them get their characters into the hands of millions.
Sunday, May 26
The Birth of Mickey
Season 1 • Episode 1
Recounting the birth of Mickey Mouse, how he began as a pencil sketch and rocketed to lasting fame.
Sunday, May 26
Dawn of the Animated Blockbuster
Season 1 • Episode 2
Facing criticism and rising costs, Walt Disney creates the first full-length animated feature film.
Sunday, May 26
Destination Disneyland
Season 1 • Episode 3
Walt Disney overcomes obstacles to create the first theme park and provide an immersive journey.
Sunday, May 26
Now Available in Stores
Season 1 • Episode 4
Disney hires a marketing whiz who helps them get their characters into the hands of millions.
Sunday, June 2
Creating a New World New
Season 1 • Episode 5
Walt Disney World opens a triumph of imagination, technology, and a dream.
Matt Roush says...
Disney is one of the world’s most recognized (though in some corners vilified) brands, but Walt Disney’s beginnings were far humbler. A six-part docuseries charting the rise of the Disney entertainment empire begins in the 1920s with “The Birth of Mickey.” That would be Mickey Mouse, created by Walt and animator Ub Iwerks after Disney lost creative control of his first cartoon character (the now-obscure Oswald the Lucky Rabbit). With the iconic “Steamboat Willie,” also notable as the first animated short with synchronized sound, the Disney business is off and running.