Walt Disney was a genius. And, at least to many Baby Boomers, nearly God. If Uncle Walt told you to brush your teeth and not talk back to Mom, well, you listened, and then you obeyed. It's difficult for later generations to grasp perhaps, but the people we saw on those tiny, flickering, black & white screens seemed giants, kindly, helpful giants of intellect or understanding - funny, loving, incredibly talented people. When Walt Disney died of lung cancer in 1966 we felt as though we had lost a distant but much-loved benevolent Uncle. But appearances can be deceiving, and are doubly so in this case. Genius can have a dark side; great wealth and the enormous power it brings might corrupt anyone.
Immediately
after his death was announced one of the most lasting urban legends grew up around
it - that Walt had cheated death by being cryogenically frozen, awaiting his revival
when a cure had been found for his form of lung cancer. Like most such things,
this had just enough believability in it to keep it going, helped along by the
curious circumstances immediately following his death. With no funeral home visiting
- or viewing - hours, no wake, no funeral, only one announcement the day after
his
death that his body had been cremated, there was lots of material for speculation.
Thus are legends made.
Walt Disney was extremely interested in the "what ifs" of life. Well, "what if" he truly was cryogenically frozen in 1966, awaiting his second chance? The extremely rich and influential group that originally helped Walt disappear discovers that there is finally a promising experimental cure for the particular kind of cancer Walt had. This, coupled with what appears to be the imminent demise of the Disney Company from financial sabotage within and corporate raiders without, causes them to make the decision to wake Walt up after 30+ years. With the aid of some friends and younger family members they embark on a mission to save Disney, both the man and the company. In this snappy thriller Mr. Pontius takes us on a roller coaster ride of a read that, unlike the crocodiles at Pirates of the Caribbean, shows real teeth.
The beginning was superb, in the best thriller tradition but without excessive gore or brutality, although there are several gently cruel touches. As a good thriller must, it grabbed me and wouldn't let go, with nasty happenings occurring left and right. By page 100 I was talking back to the author - i.e., "If you kill off that old man I am going to be so *mad* at you!". The characters are many, and at first difficult to keep track of, but we soon come to know and, in most cases, like them.
The middle is somewhat slower, focusing more on character development, but still the plot - and Walt - keeps moving. As the bad guys hunt for Walt to finish him off for keeps, his circle of friends tries to dodge them and maybe keep a step or two ahead of them, all the while trying to bring Walt up-to-date (and up to speed). We meet the "real Walt" in these pages, a cranky, opinionated, difficult old man, lost in time, confused and worried. And that's on a *good* day. But he's still a very smart man, with a great deal of power. And he'd do anything to keep his dream alive.
The ending is, sadly, slower still, with a one-two punch that only succeeds with the first hit. The second denouement is less physical but more important to the resolution of the plot, and is much too brief after all the buildup. It is pretty much complete and the loose ends are tied, but very sketchily, with what could have been a terrific climactic meeting with the businessmen who want to strip the company given in only a paragraph or two, and a major plot twist tossed away in a sentence. Plus a lovely little dream-like scene at the very end slows it down even more, and would have worked much better in the middle as part of Walt's awakening to the current-day world.
Many of the pacing problems are editorial - this book is too long overall and could have been much tighter, plus rearrangement of some of the episodes and crises might have made it easier to follow the people around. Still, this was an enormously enjoyable read of the "very good thriller" variety. But WAKING WALT is rather more than just a thriller. It's a fairy tale for grownups as well, with its evocation of misty childhood dreams and appreciation of gentle beauty still present in the world, especially the small kindnesses that people sometimes show to one another.
Walt Disney was a risk-taker, a far-thinking, extremely intelligent man with more than enough money for any project he might dream up, and a medical problem not solvable at the time. Could he have grasped at this slim straw? It's entirely within character, and one of the best things Larry Pontius has done in WAKING WALT is that the characters ring true. The supporting cast is varied and interesting, the cadre of old men is funny, lovable, and tough, and Walt is, quite simply, unique.
Soft-edged and fast-moving, I certainly hope this isn't the only good novel Mr. Pontius has in him, and that the dreaded Sophomore Jinx doesn't get him. I'd be glad to read more of his lyrical and frequently haunting prose, but hope he and his editors become a bit more ruthless in the future. This is a very good book that might have been a superb one, with characters that move around the chase plot with reality and charm, woven together with a premise that is at the least intriguing and in 2003, almost timely.
Time
has at last caught up with Walt Disney. Cryogenic suspension no longer seems The
World of Tomorrow item it was in the 1960s, and is now a possibility for anyone
with enough money. Based in fact, built with dreams, this book is highly recommended.
Read it. And while you're at it, you might raise a glass to that great old man
in the time-honored tradition, thus finally, and truly, WAKING WALT.
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