A screenshot of Walt Disney’s Snow White trailer (Photo – wikimedia, public domain).
Shortly after Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, rumors started circulating around about his body being frozen awaiting future advanced technology to bring him back to life.
By Wafic Khalil
First the rumor started with the frozen body being placed at Disneyland in Anaheim (under Pirates of the Caribbean ride,) then it morphed into placing the body at one of the secret “refrigerated” walls at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), the famous art school that Walt helped found in his later years.
Disney’s magic school was originally conceived as a way to funnel a steady stream of talented animators into the Disney studios. Every freshman entering CalArts has heard the rumor. Every year, you can almost bet on seeing one or two new students banging on walls late at night trying to locate the “secret” frozen chamber. In reality, Walt’s body was cremated and interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA.
The legend of Walt’s frozen body has taken so many humorous turns throughout the years. Recently, at CalArts’ famed “Character Animation Producers’ Show 2017,” a short animation was specifically created for the show and presented as the opening sequence. The animation depicted Walt unfreezing himself and walking throughout the school, checking it out after all these years. The clever animation was made by Yonatan Tal ’17, a Disney TV and CalArts Character Animation Alum. Watch the fun short animation below and enjoy:
Wafic Khalil is the Editor in Chief of ColoradoBoulevard.net. He’s a graduate of CalArts with a Masters in Fine Arts.
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