Walt Before Mickey – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Walt Before Mickey

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2015

52%

WISE Score

5.9

IMDb

Low-budget biopic about Walt Disney's early failures—inspiring story, but the movie itself is kind of a failure too.

5.9/10

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Walt Before Mickey

movie

PG, 2015

52%

WISE Score

5.9

IMDb

Low-budget biopic about Walt Disney's early failures—inspiring story, but the movie itself is kind of a failure too.

5.9

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Screenwise Verdict

Here's the thing: Walt Disney's early story is genuinely inspiring—bankruptcy, betrayal, sleeping in his studio, and still believing in his vision. That's great stuff for kids to learn about perseverance and creative entrepreneurship.

But this movie? It's just not good. A 40% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and 2.7/5 on Letterboxd tells you everything. Low production values, slow pacing, and melodramatic execution turn what should be an exciting underdog story into a slog.

If your kid is doing a school project on Walt Disney or is genuinely obsessed with animation history, sure, throw it on. But for entertainment value? There are way better biopics and way better ways to teach resilience. The story deserves a better movie than this one delivered.

Age Fit

Common Sense says 10+, which tracks for the business/financial stress themes, but honestly the bigger barrier is that this movie is just boring. Kids interested in animation history or entrepreneurship might tolerate it ages 10-14, but most will check out.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Biographical drama about Walt Disney's early struggles shows perseverance, dedication to dreams, and family relationships. Models hard work and resilience through setbacks. However, film quality issues and melodramatic tone may undercut emotional authenticity.

Imaginative

Subject matter—early animation pioneer and creative visionary—is inherently imaginative, but execution appears pedestrian based on low audience scores (40% RT, 5.9 IMDb, 2.7/5 Letterboxd). Doesn't seem to capture the magic or innovation that made Disney iconic; more paint-by-numbers biopic than inspiring creative journey.

Safe

Common Sense Media rates it for age 10+, suggesting clean content appropriate for families. Biographical drama genre typically avoids graphic content. No red flags in available data. Safe assumes some mild business/financial stress scenes but nothing traumatic or inappropriate.

Enriching

Learning about Walt Disney's entrepreneurial journey and early failures before success has educational merit—shows grit, business risk-taking, and creative vision. However, poor execution (evidenced by consistently low ratings across platforms) likely makes any lessons feel heavy-handed or boring rather than genuinely inspiring.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Shows kids that even Walt Disney faced bankruptcy, rejection, and massive setbacks before creating his empire
Models genuine perseverance and dedication to a creative vision despite everyone telling you to quit
Safe, clean content appropriate for family viewing without worrying about surprise inappropriate scenes
Could spark interest in entrepreneurship, animation history, or creative risk-taking

⚠

What to Watch For

Production quality is noticeably low-budget—think Hallmark movie vibes, which may make it hard for kids to stay engaged
Pacing reportedly drags; this isn't a fun Disney movie, it's a slow biographical drama about business struggles
Some financial stress and failure themes might be heavy for younger or sensitive kids
Consistently poor reviews (40% RT audience, 5.9 IMDb) suggest even adults find this a slog

Conversation Starters

"Walt Disney went bankrupt and lost everything before he created Mickey Mouse—what would you do if your big dream failed at first?"
"The movie shows how Walt kept drawing and creating even when no one believed in him. What's something you'd keep doing even if people said it wouldn't work?"
"Walt had to convince people to invest money in his crazy animation ideas. How do you think you'd pitch something you really believed in?"
"What do you think was harder for Walt—coming up with the ideas or getting people to take him seriously?"

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