Why was Bruce's silence referred to as a "Walt Disney"?
Early on in Bruce Almighty, Bruce learns that he's been passed over for promotion in favour of Evan Baxter, and immediately afterwards he has to deliver a report on the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls. When the anchors hand over to him, he's still staring at the camera in dumbfounded silence, and the director remarks,
We've got a Walt Disney.
It's fairly obvious that he's referring to Bruce's silence, but why did he refer to it as a "Walt Disney"? Is there a reference I'm not getting? i know Walt Disney pioneered sound cartoons, so is it meant to be ironic?
Best Answer
Is there a reference I'm not getting? i know Walt Disney pioneered sound cartoons, so is it meant to be ironic?
At one point in time, it was rumored that Walt Disney had been cryogenically frozen upon his death, so that he could be reanimated in the future. This, however, did not happen..
In 1972, Bob Nelson, who was at that time the president of the California Cryogenics Society, is quoted saying the following:
"Walt Disney wanted to be frozen. Lots of people think that he was, and that the body's in cold storage in his basement. The truth is, Walt missed out. He never specified it in writing, and when he died the family didn't go for it. They had him cremated. I personally have seen his ashes. They're in Forest Lawn. Two weeks later we froze the first man. If Disney had been the first it would have made headlines around the world and been a real shot in the arm for cryonics. But that's the way it goes." source
So, by saying, "we've got a Walt Disney", it's making a joke out of the rumor that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen after he died.
To provide a bit more dialogue from Bruce Almighty which further supports this:
DIRECTOR: We've got a Walt Disney.
CONSOLE OPERATOR: Frozen solid.
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