MOVIE URBAN LEGEND: Walt Disney was an informant for the FBI.

Before I say anything else, let me note that if the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wanted Walt Disney to be an informant for them, especially in the late 1940s and early 1950s (when Disney, like many Americans, believed that there was a dire Communist threat to the country) than I suspect he very likely WOULD have done so.

However, that is a lot different than whether Walt Disney WAS an informant for the FBI.

It all turns on paperwork from 1954 that was released to the public a number of years ago that saw the FBI head, J. Edgar Hoover, approve of making Walt Disney a Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Contact. People saw that and assumed that that meant that Disney was serving as an informant for the FBI.

That's not really the case. A SAC Contact was just someone who was friendly to the FBI that FBI agents knew they could turn to if they ever needed information about a given industry. Disney, as a television, film and animation expert, would be perfect if FBI agents had questions about those industries. It does not appear as though anyone ever actually DID turn to Disney for any questions.

In fact, it looks like the FBI and Disney eventually had a bit of a falling out for some ridiculous reasons.

Disney, like most Americans, was a really big fan of the FBI back in the 1950s. So much so that he had a special series of short films made for the Mickey Mouse Club in 1958 about the FBI, starring young Dirk Metzger.

Disney showed the rough cuts of the films to the FBI and they made a number of requested changes. Disney worked with them on all of it, but he refused to give them final approval over the films (which, again, were very much PRO the FBI) and they were so angry at that that essentially ruined the FBI/Disney relationship, despite, again, Disney being very much PRO the FBI in the films.

Then, in the 1960s, Disney did two film comedies, Moon Pilot and That Darn Cat, that showed federal agents in comedic, sort of slapstick, roles...

This outraged the FBI and really, most of the FBI files on Disney are basically just them complaining about his comedic depictions of them in those two films.

The legend is...

STATUS: False Enough for a False, but you could argue it's really more of an elaboration than anything else.

Thanks to the amazing Jim Korkis for the information for this piece!

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