Disney Historian Jeff Kurtti Brings Film Series to Frida

Jeff Kurtti, a Disney historian who has written more than 40 books on the company and whose erudite but approachable demeanor has made him the closest thing the Disney community has to a Robert Osborne, is crafting a new screening series for the Frida Theater.

Located in Santa Ana, California, it is Orange County’s only nonprofit arthouse theater. And we have the exclusive first details on Kurtti’s series, which celebrates Disney’s rich history of big screen storytelling, complete with guest speakers and exclusive programming.

The inaugural Walt Disney Studies film series begins on Sept. 27 with a screening of 1954’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” with a conversation between Kurtti and Kevin Kidney, who Disney fans will know as one of the designers of your favorite piece of Disney merchandise (among many other things) and concludes on Nov. 29 with a double-feature of the terrific 2009 documentary “Walt and El Grupo” (about Walt’s wartime visit to South America) and “Saludos Amigos,” one of the package films that came out of that journey. The double-feature will be accompanied by a conversation between Kurtti and Theodore Thomas, the son of legendary Disney animator Frank Thomas and the director of “Walt and El Grupo.”

“When I was a presidential fellow at Chapman University, I did a very successful speakers series. One of the things I realized is that a lot of Walt Disney’s film work doesn’t get seen in a curated way,” Kurtti told TheWrap about the origins of the series. “My interest in developing the film series was creating an opportunity for film buffs, young and old, to number one see some of these rarities on the big screen where they don’t get seen a lot anymore, but also to provide a component of information and background to contextualize how the films were made, why they were made, and how they relate to Walt Disney. My core subject is always Walt Disney, his biography, and his professional life.”

In terms of figuring out which films and which speakers would be a part of this inaugural wave of programming, Kurtti said that he worked with his partner Jeremy Martinez, a twentysomething who “has a very different viewpoint than I do, to select the films because someone in their mid-20s has a very different life experience than an old guy like me who’s seen all of this stuff.”

“In choosing the films, we then looked at what we could do to supplement that experience,” Kurtti explained.

Together, they created a “Got to See It on a Big Screen” list of movies, reaching out to Kevin Kidney, Kurtti’s longtime friend and colleague, to discuss “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “Swiss Family Robinson” (on Nov. 1). Kidney has a new book on “Swiss Family Robinson” coming out next year and just hosted a panel at D23. It just made sense. “He has done a lot of work with the concept art and background materials, and done a lot of research, particularly about Harper Goff, the designer and imagineer who was behind a lot of the Jungle Cruise and Disneyland attractions, but was also the driving force behind ‘20,000 Leagues,’” Kurtti said.

As for why the Frida, well, Kurtti said, “The Frida reminds me of the art houses and revival houses that I grew up with in Seattle in the late ‘70s, and when I moved to LA in 1983, I worked for Landmark. Most of my film history education came from attending theaters just like the Frida, and the Frida has been aggressively pursuing such a varied and broad spectrum of film types. It seemed like a natural fit.”

And, yes, Kurtti is already thinking about another round of programming for the theater – and for the series itself.

“I feel like I feel like there’s such an interest in seeing these films in a theatrical setting and sharing them with an audience. It’s not just the big screen, but it’s the communal aspect of being with other people to enjoy these films that the filmmakers themselves certainly thought about,” Kurtti said. “I feel we have a fairly deep resource in terms of films that people would like to see in a theater setting again, or for the first time.”

Tickets will go on sale Friday on the Frida’s official website. See the full program below.

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

Sun Sept 27

5:30 PM 8:30 PM

Director: Richard Fleischer Run Time: 127 min. Release Year: 1954 Starring: Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre

Board the submarine Nautilus and plunge into a strange undersea world of spellbinding adventure! Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre star as shipwrecked survivors taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo, brilliantly portrayed by James Mason. Wavering between genius and madness, Nemo has launched a deadly crusade across the seven seas. But can the captive crew expose his evil plan before he destroys the world? Disney’s brilliant Academy Award®-winning (Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects) adaptation of Jules Verne’s gripping tale makes 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea a truly mesmerizing masterpiece, his first feature in the widescreen CinemaScope process!

Welcome & Introduction by Jeff Kurtti

Presentation and Discussion with Disney Historian Kevin Kidney

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Sun Oct 04

5:30 PM 8:00 PM

Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske Run Time: 75 min. Release Year: 1951

Starring: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna

In this beloved and oft-filmed story, bored young schoolgirl Alice falls down a rabbit hole and lands in a strange world where nonsense rules. She encounters “curiouser and curiouser” characters as she travels through Wonderland, trying to learn the logic of the place and find her way out.

Made under the supervision of Walt Disney himself, Alice in Wonderland and its animation are often regarded as some of the finest work in Disney Studio history, despite the lackluster, even hostile, reviews it originally received—though it did receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.

Welcome & Lecture by Disney Historian Jeff Kurtti

In the presentation “Walt in Wonderland” Jeff Kurtti tells the story of Walt Disney’s lifelong affection for the Lewis Carroll heroine, and how the stories wove a pathway through a lifetime of Disney projects, from the 1923 Disney “Alice in Cartoonland” shorts to coming to life in Disneyland.

DISNEYLAND: DOUBLE DOCUMENTARY

Sun Oct 25

5:30 PM 8:30 PM

Director: Leslie Iwerks Run Time: 78 min. and 58 min. Release Year: 2026

A pair of remarkable documentaries from renowned director Leslie Iwerks tell a Disneyland story in two directions: the influence of film design professionals on the building of Disneyland, and how Disneyland has in turn impacted and influenced film professionals over seven decades.

Disneyland Handcrafted documents the exhilarating year that gave rise to The Happiest Place on Earth. Assembled entirely from rare archival footage and original audio recordings, this film reveals the extraordinary artistry, grit and pressure it took hundreds of craftspeople to build Walt Disney’s impossible dream into a reality — from groundbreaking to Opening Day.

Disney Worldbuilders goes behind-the-scenes of how movies and franchises such as Frozen, Zootopia and more are turned into immersive worlds across the global Disney parks. James Cameron, Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Pete Docter, Jennifer Lee and Jared Bush are among the filmmakers who feature in the documentary.

Welcome & Lecture by Disney Historian Jeff Kurtti

SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON

Sun Nov 01

5:30 PM 8:30 PM

Director: Ken Annakin Run Time: 126 min. Release Year: 1960
Starring: John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur, Janet Munro, Sessue Hayakawa, Tommy Kirk

This spectacular screen version of the literary classic is full of breathtaking South Seas scenery, exotic animals and treacherous pirates. The heroic tale chronicles the courageous exploits of the Robinson family after they are shipwrecked on a deserted island. Using teamwork and ingenuity, they skillfully overcome the obstacles of nature and transform their new home into a “civilized” community. But the ultimate challenge comes when a band of cutthroat pirates threatens to destroy the Robinsons’ impromptu paradise.

Welcome & Intro by Jeff Kurtti

Discussion with Kevin Kidney

SOUTH OF THE BORDER WITH WALT DISNEY

Sun Nov 29

Walt and El Grupo

Director: Theodore Thomas Run Time: 107 min. Release Year: 2009

It was 1941, a critical time for the world and for the Walt Disney Studio. When the U.S. Government asked Walt to be a cultural ambassador to South America, the stage was set for his very own real-life adventure. With a group of handpicked artists, later called “El Grupo,” Walt’s road trip achieved the impossible: goodwill. And in the process, it paved the way for two classic Disney films, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros.

During the interval between the features, a discussion and Q&A with the director, Theodore Thomas, will be hosted and moderated by Disney Historian Jeff Kurtti.

Saludos Amigos

Director: Bill Roberts, Jack Kinney, Ham Luske Run Time: 42 min. Release Year: 1943

A whimsical blend of live-action and animation, Saludos Amigos is a colorful kaleidoscope of art, adventure and music set to a toe-tapping samba beat. From high Andes peaks and Argentina’s pampas to the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro, your international traveling companions are none other than those famous funny friends, Donald Duck and Goofy. They keep things lively as Donald encounters a stubborn llama and “El Gaucho” Goofy tries on the cowboy way of life…South American style.