Disney just officially crossed the milestone of being a company for an entire century this week. As the animation juggernaut blew out the proverbial candles on a successful 100 years around, the company took part in the festivities with a historical short film called Once Upon A Studio. It’s an emotional eight-minute celebration of all the beloved Disney animated characters the studio has thought up across ten decades, and even includes a cameo to The Walt Disney Company’s longest-serving employee ever: Burny Mattinson, who worked there for 70 years.
Mattinson was employed at at Disney up to his death in February 2023 at the age of 87 years old. He got his start at the company in the mailroom and worked his way up, serving as an animator, story artist, producer and director across his seven decades there. At the beginning of Once Upon A Studio, which is now streaming with a Disney+ subscription, Mattinson can be seen in a red sweater walking out of the Disney Animation building in Burbank, CA with a young intern before turning and saying “If these walls could talk.” There he is on the right:
Burny Mattinson first became the longest employee to work at the House of Mouse back in 2018, when he crossed over 64 years with the company. Given Mattinson’s death earlier this year, it’s especially sweet that he took part Disney’s massive anniversary. The employee actually got to be around for most of those years! After Mattinson closes the door, audiences watch each character jump off paintings on the wall and interact with one another to take a photo altogether for the 100-year milestone.
CinemaBlend had the chance to speak to the co-writer/directors behind Once Upon A Studio, Dan Abraham and Trent Correy, who thought up the idea of the short as a passion project before making it happen. Correy shared with us how they got Mattinson to be part of the short with these words:
Early on when we boarded this and gave that first pitch to Jennifer Lee, Dan [Abraham] had drawn Bernie walking out with a young intern. And the whole idea being that Bernie was gonna pass this torch onto the next generation, and that's kind of a tradition at Disney animation. And, so that was always in there and we didn't ask Bernie for another three or four months, until we got it actually greenlit and moving if he wanted to be a part of it. And thankfully he did.
Mattinson had credits on a ton of Disney projects, starting with his work as an “inbetweener” in 1955’s Lady and the Tramp, up to being a story artist on last year’s Strange World. He clearly loved what he did at The Walt Disney Company and was touched by the short as well. As Abraham told us:
And when we showed this to him, it was still in rough form, but he got to see the footage of himself and all of that and see himself on the screen. And much like in the short when he says if these walls could talk, there is a sparkle in his eye. There is no other way to describe that look on his face. And, when he saw himself on the screen, we were in editorial and it had this big screen and he was looking at it and he turned to us and he had that same sparkle in his eye, and he just, he said, ‘Oh, this is, this is wonderful. So it just, you know, it meant the world to us that we got that sort of sign off from him and that he was so into it. He was so into it. It was great.
Correy also added that they believe they did Burny “proud,” and that’s “probably all that matters.” How great is it that Mattinson got to be an active part of Once Upon A Studio? Along with the short being available to stream, it will also play in front of the next of the upcoming Disney movies, Wish, which is also reportedly dedicated to Mattinson. Happy 100th, Disney!
