Disneyland swings big and hits a home run with Walt Disney animatronic

Walt Disney Imagineering swung for the fences with its new Walt Disney animatronic and hit a home run with the “moonshot” robotic figure of Disneyland’s founder.

Disneyland showcased “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” during a media preview on Monday, July 14 in the Main Street Opera House at the Anaheim theme park.

“Walt Disney — A Magical Life” will debut to the general public on Thursday, July 17 — the 70th anniversary of Disneyland’s grand opening in 1955.

Imagineering vowed to create the “most life-like animatronic ever” and has succeeded with the world’s first robotic figure of Walt Disney.

The show starts with a 15-minute adaptation of “Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream,” the documentary film that plays at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.

But it’s the two-minute conclusion that everybody in the theater will be waiting to see when the movie screen rises to reveal an animatronic Walt in his studio office leaning against his desk.

Robot Walt seems most lifelike in the moments before he speaks — raising an eyebrow, tapping his leg and blinking his eyes as the stage lights brighten.

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The Walt animatronic seems like he is about to walk toward the audience as he puts his hands on the edge of the desk, leans forward and takes a couple steps.

The hand and arm movements are the most reminiscent of the “Uncle Walt” many people will remember from his television appearances in the 1950s and ‘60s promoting Disneyland and the “Wonderful World of Color.”

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The Walt animatronic counts on his fingers, throws his hands forward and rests his hand on his hip like a teacup.

A corneal bulge gives robot Walt’s eyes a glint framed by his expressive eyebrows.

The audio track of the animatronic show seamlessly combines together snippets of archival dialogue.

The level of detail is impressive — from the Legion of Honor ring Walt wore as a wedding band to the Smoke Tree Ranch tie tack paying tribute to his Palm Springs vacation home.

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Most Disneyland visitors will never stare at a single animatronic figure for two minutes straight. The more you do, the more you focus on the head and mouth at the expense of the scenic set and surroundings.

It’s in those moments when the illusion is broken and you realize you’re watching a robot rather than an actor or ghost.

Despite the impressive swing, Imagineering didn’t hit a grand slam with “Walt Disney — A Magical Life.” There’s still room for improvement in the show.

Some of the archival audio tracks of Walt Disney’s narration during the documentary film are hard to hear and understand — which is understandable with soundbites that are more than six decades old.

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The face of the Walt animatronic looks too broad and wide. His mouth doesn’t move enough when he speaks. His desk seems way too small for a company chief executive.

But there’s no denying the “moonshot” leap forward made by Walt Disney Imagineering. The secretive creative arm of the company vowed to create a “truly believable” figure of Walt Disney and succeeded in advancing the art form of Audio-Animatronics technology.

The Walt animatronic looks authentic and natural while capturing the appearance, movements and mannerisms of a man considered one of the 100 most influential people of the last century.

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The new animatronic figure is as close as Disneyland visitors will get at the moment to spending a few minutes listening to Walt talk about how he got started, his thoughts on his career and his dreams for the future.

Along with the new show, several exhibits have been added to the Opera House lobbies that look at the evolution of Disneyland, the history of animatronics and plans for upcoming projects.

The new “Walt Disney — A Magical Life” animatronic show will initially run solo before playing in rotation with “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.”