Film Review: "The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales" (2022).

From Abigail Disney and Kathleen Hughes comes The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales. This documentary directed by Disney and Hughes. In this personal essay documentary, filmmaker and philanthropist Abigail Disney grapples with America’s profound inequality crisis. In 2018, after Abigail encounters workers at the company that bears her name struggling to put food on the table. Could she, a descendent, with no role in the multinational conglomerate, use her famous last name to help pressure Disney and other American corporations to treat low-wage workers more humanely? Believing her conservative grandfather, Roy Disney, (Walt Disney’s brother and company co-founder) would never have tolerated employee hunger at "The Happiest Place On Earth", Abigail reexamines the story of modern American capitalism from the middle of the last century, when wealth was shared more equitably, to today, when CEO’s earn upwards of eight-hundred times more than their average employees. What happened? What Abigail learns-about racism, corporate power, and the American Dream, is eye-opening, unexpected, and inspiring in that it begins to imagine a path to a fairer future for everyone. 

On January 24, 1960, American documentary filmmaker, philanthropist, social activist and grandniece of Walt Disney, Abigail Edna Disney, was born. She is the daughter of Patricia Ann (née Dailey) and Roy E. Disney. She is the granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, who co-founded The Walt Disney Company with her granduncle Walt Disney. Abigail, along with Hughes, produced and directed the Outstanding Social Issue Documentary Emmy Award winning The Armor of Light (2015) and The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales (2022). In late April 2019, Disney, through several tweets, criticized Disney CEO Bob Iger's compensation. In 2018, Iger earned a $66 million package, while in 2019, his compensation package was estimated to be approximately $35 million. One month before this statement, she had claimed that CEOs are generally "paid far too much," saying that "there is nobody on Earth [who is] worth 500 times his median workers' pay." In late April, the Disney Corporation responded in a statement that the company has made "historic investments" in its workers' pay and benefits, and defended the CEO's compensation, which it said is "90% performance-based." The company stated that Iger "has delivered exceptional value for shareholders." In late April, The Washington Post published an op-ed by Abigail Disney where she again criticized the "never [before] so profitable" Disney corporation and called for pay equity reform. In July, Abigail Disney criticized working conditions at Disneyland after a meeting with employees at their union office. She stated that the Disneyland employees she talked to have to forage for food in other people's garbage. Again turning to Twitter in 2020, Disney publicly criticized the corporation for furloughing hundreds of thousands of low paid workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Disney gave a TED talk in which she criticized the pay rates of employees at Disney theme parks. Disney said that when she was growing up, a custodian at Disneyland could make enough money to feed a family, own a modest home, and access decent health care. Today, "three out of four of the people who smile when you walk in, who help you comfort that crying baby, who maybe help you have the best vacation you ever have, can't consistently put food on the table." She added, "Disney has turned a pretty profit on the idea that families are a kind of magic, that love is important, that imaginations matter. That's why it turns your stomach a little bit when I tell you that Cinderella might be sleeping in her car." In 2022, Disney joined current and past Disney employees in criticizing Bob Chapek for refusing to make a statement concerning (Florida House Bill 1557) which is officially named the Parental Rights in Education Bill and was passed in February of that same year. The law prohibits the teaching of gender identity in schools prior to fourth grade.

Filmed over a two-year period, the film expertly weaves together Abigail’s family story and the stories of Disneyland workers; with commentary from historians, authors, and academics. The film artfully employs archive, animation, and never-before-seen Disney family movies. From the boardroom to the union hall, the film will no doubt jump-start urgently needed conversations, about how to make American capitalism work for everyone. As Abigail concludes, "it won’t be easy, but with imagination and courage it can be changed."

Whether you are a former Disney employee (like me), a current Disney employee, a Disney fan or a non Disney fan, watch this excellent and multi-layered documentary film, the sophomore film effort directed by the grandniece of Walt Disney. The Walt Disney Company and America's corporate culture are the subjects of Abigail Disney's intelligent and emotionally charged documentary. The film condemns the organizations that create cultures of fear in order to line their own pockets, cultures that end up putting human life below profits. The film takes the viewer along on Disney's journey as she learns more about her family's company and corporate culture, and also investigates the historical political affiliations of America's Crony Capitalism. Disney is a sensitive and articulate guide to the issues at play here; she has a way of making her own questions resonate in the viewer's mind. It's slickly filmed, making great use of the Disney employees' personal moments and framing the difficult conversations beautifully. The film pokes its camera eye into about a dozen distinct forms of controversy. And yet it is a calm, measured, and very visually attractive film. Not every point of view portrayed in the film will sit well with each viewer, but Abigail Disney do their utmost to present everything in good taste. The only time my heart broke and my soul was enraged more during a movie than the first time I saw this film was probably the second time I saw this film. There aren't any easy answers, but plenty of tough questions in this compelling documentary. This is a powerful film, all the more so because it struggles with its subjects to find common cause.

Simon says The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales receives: