“’Tomorrowland’ is a quintessential Disney movie,” says executive producer Jeff Jensen, who is credited with story by with Bird & Lindelof. “ It is steeped in the values of Walt Disney: you’re going to see some amazing special effects and very innovative storytelling. And we’ve tried to remain true to the spirit embodied in places like Tomorrowland and Epcot—places Walt imagined would constantly develop new ideas for the future. Walt and his work was constantly changing, constantly evolving because in his mind the future was never fixed; the future is a project that is never done.” Lindelof and Jensen wrote a detailed story draft, then Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof went out for lunch and, according to Lindelof, “It turned out that Brad knew quite a bit about Walt Disney and the hook was in. Brad and I started writing together from that point on.” It is true that writer/director Brad Bird is no stranger to the world of Disney and it isn’t just from working on his previous films. When he was 11, Bird developed an interest in animation and visited the Disney Studios. Over the course of three years he finished a 15-minute animated film that came to the attention of Disney Animation, who offered to assign a mentor—the famous Master Animator Milt Kahl—to the then 14 year old. Bird stayed with a family friend in Los Angeles to take advantage of the once-in-a- lifetime offer. Commenting on the story for “Tomorrowland,” Bird says, “It’s a very untraditional story and the protagonists are atypical. It’s a chance to do to work on a grand scale but do something that hopefully will be very surprising. It embodies both aspects of the future—the scary and the wondrous—both of which are somewhat unknowable, so it’s an interesting ride.” THE PROMISE OF TOMORROWLAND In the movie, the premise that the futuristic city of Tomorrowland could actually exist pays homage to Walt Disney’s vision for both Disneyland’s Tomorrowland and Disney World’s Epcot, where ever-evolving technologies are showcased along with ideas to make the world a better place for all. But many believe—although it is generally thought to be myth—that Walt Disney was part of a secret band of thinkers and optimists and that Tomorrowland might actually exist in another dimension as a direct result of the forward-thinking, futuristic ideas that the group developed. As the story goes, genius French structural engineer Gustave Eiffel, who designed and built the famous Eiffel Tower, built himself a private apartment in it where he would later conduct meteorological observations and perform various scientific experiments. Legend has it that on one fateful autumn evening in 1889, Eiffel quietly gathered together three of his most illustrious peers—the American Thomas Edison, Frenchman

• published: 12 May 2015
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