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102. Lesley Iwerks, Executive Producer and Director of The Imagineering Story

05.04.2020 by Dan Heaton // Leave a Comment

Lesley Iwerks directed the incredible new Disney Plus series The Imagineering Story, which premiered in November.


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It’s difficult to explain the allure of theme parks. Regular guests enjoy them but don’t have the obsessive need for details from behind the scenes. I love discovering the backgrounds of Imagineers that created Disneyland and parks around the world. Their stories are what makes The Imagineering Story such an incredible series. Produced and directed by Leslie Iwerks, this six-part show hits all the right notes.

Iwerks is my guest on this episode of The Tomorrow Society Podcast to talk about The Imagineering Story and more. She describes the origins of the ambitious five-year project and what it was like to make it. It was a huge challenge to condense more than 65 years of theme park history into only about six hours. Iwerks also talks about what excited her about producing this series.

What strikes me about The Imagineering Story is how different it looks from typical features. Iwerks is an accomplished filmmaker with past features including The Pixar Story, Citizen Hearst, and Pipe Dreams. Her family history with father Don and grandfather Ub Iwerks gives her a unique perspective on Disney and Imagineering. We also talk about her family background and how it played a role in this project. I really enjoyed the chance to learn more about such an effective series.

Show Notes: Lesley Iwerks

Learn more about Lesley and her company at the official site for Iwerks & Co.

Follow Iwerks & Co on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Read my recaps of each of the six episodes of The Imagineering Story on this page.

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Categories // Tomorrow Society Podcast Tags // Disney Plus, Interviews, Podcasts, The Imagineering Story

About Dan Heaton

Dan’s first theme-park memory was a vacation at the Polynesian Resort in 1980 as a four-year-old. He’s a lifelong fan who has written and podcasted regularly about the industry. Dan loves both massive Disney and Universal theme parks plus regional attractions near his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. His favorite all-time attraction is Horizons at EPCOT Center.

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