Like lemmings running off a cliff
PlayStation.Blog
Boasting an exclusive BBC Archive clip
of Walt Disney—presumably by way of bumming a seat at TWDC's centennial celebrations—Myles Burke examines the birth of Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie: How Walt Disney came back from ruin. Emboldened by the success of the world's first sound animation, Walt went on to greater animation heights, and even branched out into wildlife documentaries.
Inspired [by the foundation work for Bambi], he launched an ambitious project, the True-Life Adventures, a series of documentaries offering a fascinating glimpse into lives of animals in the wild. As with his animation, Disney's team of filmmakers pushed the boundaries of technology and innovation. The studio pioneered the use of long-range lenses and underwater cameras, enabling viewers to see wildlife behaviour and the intricate interplay of ecosystems in unprecedented detail. The series, which carefully balanced educational and engaging storytelling, went on to win multiple Academy Awards, including the first-ever best documentary feature Oscar for The Living Desert in 1954.
Myles Burke, Steamboat Willie: How Walt Disney came back from ruin, BBC Culture
Its educational and engaging storytelling
also helped to spawn one of the all-time great wildlife myths in White Wilderness: that of lemmings' mass-suicide, which was staged for the camera in such unprecedented detail
that it included what seems to have been an act of animal cruelty. But, without which, the video game probably wouldn't have enjoyed the success it did.
Fortunately for Walt, this was in the days before the internet, and misinformation became a thing. (wink)