27. Ken Kebow on Rolly Crump, The Whimsical Imagineer

Poster for The Whimsical Imagineer starring Rolly Crump and directed by Ken Kebow

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Few Imagineers are present in the Disney fan community more than Rolly Crump. His work on legendary attractions like It’s a Small World, The Haunted Mansion, and the Enchanted Tiki Room is part of the draw, but it’s more than that. Crump is a natural story teller and enjoys recounting “cute stories” of his time with Walt Disney. This makes him the perfect subject of a documentary, and The Whimsical Imagineer from Ken Kebow does a great job presenting Crump’s story. The 30-minute film is a must-see for Disney fans, especially history buffs. It’s a refreshing look at an outspoken artist that achieved great success under Walt’s effective tutelage.

Kebow is my guest on this episode of The Tomorrow Society Podcast to discuss how the film came together. A chance meeting through a friend brought him into contact with Crump, and Kebow has created a charming documentary. It was great to learn more about working with Crump and the tough decisions required to edit down the engaging stories. I can’t learn enough about the early days of WED, and it’s even more interesting when it comes from such a charming guy. There’s no artifice from Crump, who speaks candidly about his days as a Disney Imagineer.

It’s exciting to hear Kebow’s passion for presenting Crump’s story during this podcast. That enthusiasm shines through in The Whimsical Imagineer and made for a fun conversation. We also talked about Kebow’s background with Disneyland and his other work as a documentary filmmaker. Kebow has a lot of great stories about the production, including shooting at Disneyland one morning prior to opening.