In 2013, Disney Studios released the feature film Saving Mr. Banks, which tells the story of Walts quest to bring P.L. Travers character Mary Poppins to the big screen. Audiences and critics found the feature delightful. Saving Mr. Banks earned over a hundred million dollars at the worldwide box office and respectable critical accolades. However, it wasnt long before people to took issue with the version of Walt Disney portrayed in the movie. Some critics accused the picture of deliberately ignoring some of the less wholesome aspects of Walts character. Others found it hard to believe that Travers and Walts relationship was as amicable as the film would have us believe. In response to Saving Mr. Banks historical inaccuracies, actress Meryl Streep publicly accused Walt of being a racist and an anti-Semite. Later, Walt's niece, Abigail Disney, took to social media to agree with Streeps assessment of her uncle. Abigail Disney derided the film for being a thinly veiled attempt to gloss over Walts less flattering attributes. Disney studios chose to ignore these issues in their feature, preferring to focus on the sunnier aspects of the Walt Disney persona. It seems Walt possessed some troubling characteristics Disney prefers we forget altogether.
