Notable Disney creative leaders wil assemble for DISNEY WORLDBUILDERS a new feature-length documentary directed by Leslie Iwerks coming to Disney+ on August 20th. In this latest exploration, Iwerks looks at the creative synergy between Disney’s legendary films and its global theme parks. The film premieres August 16 at D23 before streaming globally on Disney+ on August 20.
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Audiences have always experienced Disney as one connected universe. DISNEY WORLDBUILDERS pulls back the curtain on the creative minds behind it, with candid conversations featuring Bob Iger, James Cameron, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Jennifer Lee, Pete Docter, Dave Filoni, Jared Bush, and Josh D’Amaro. Together they reveal how stories like AVATAR, STAR WARS, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar, and the worlds of FROZEN and ZOOTOPIA, become real places you never want to leave.
DISNEY WORLDBUILDERS captures the architects of these franchises in their own words, on what they’ve built together and where they’re taking it next. Audiences will get a look at upcoming lands at Disney destinations around the world — a window into one of the most ambitious periods of creative expansion in the company’s history, with more still to come.
About the Film
In DISNEY WORLDBUILDERS, a new feature-length documentary from Academy Award®- and Emmy®-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks streaming August 20 on Disney+, some of Disney’s most influential storytellers reflect on the memories, moments and creative breakthroughs that shaped their work, tracing how those stories come to life at Disney’s theme parks around the globe. Their conversations reveal a creative practice that moves in every direction — where a story can inspire a place, and a place can then inspire the next story. It’s a way of creating that dates back to Walt himself— a creative tradition that continues to shape every new story Disney tells.
For Disney fans, Iwerks is a familiar name. Leslie’s grandfather, Ub Iwerks, was Walt Disney’s original animator and co-creator of Mickey Mouse; her father, Don Iwerks, was a camera technician and inventor at Walt Disney Studios. Both are Academy Award® winners and Disney Legends. Leslie has directed such acclaimed documentaries as THE IMAGINEERING STORY, THE PIXAR STORY, INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC: CREATING THE IMPOSSIBLE, and most recently, DISNEYLAND HANDCRAFTED.
The film is produced by Iwerks & Co. for Disney+.
See it for Yourself
DISNEY WORLDBUILDERS is available only on Disney+ on August 20, 2026.
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