614. Walt Disney: The Great American Storyteller

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Described as the definitive biography of Disney, drawing on previously untapped sources. Quoted multiple times throughout the episode, including his description of 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf' as the nation's new anthem and his analysis of Snow White as a fully fabricated world.

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Described as the most venomous attack on Walt Disney as an individual, published in 1968. Schickel accused Disney of shattering childhood's secrets and silences and becoming a rallying point for the sub-literates of society.

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Described as a new book coming out next week that brilliantly explicates the history behind the making of the Mary Poppins film and P.L. Travers' conflicts with Disney over the script.

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Discussed as the novel that Walt Disney's daughters adored and that Disney had been trying to buy the film rights to since 1943. Travers resisted because she feared Disney would replace her dark, fantastical story with saccharine sentimentality.

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Mentioned as the source material for the animated film Disney was immersed in when he died in 1966, described as his most committed animation project since Bambi.

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Referenced in comparison to Walt Disney as a tinkerer figure, noting Smiles was fascinated by people who started tinkering like James Watt and Matthew Boulton.