Press
The Kansas City Institute for Media, Animation & Graphic Innovation in Education (KC IMAGINE) hosted the following “Sneak Preview” Zoom events to inform stakeholders and interested citizens about the Laugh-O-gram renovation initiative:
The Legacy of Laugh-O-gram, December 3, 2020
A Peek at the New Laugh-O-gram, December 17, 2020
Troost Gets a Boost, January 7, 2021
The videos below are recordings of presentations from those events.
April 2012
Yesterland: Saving Walt Disney’s Laugh-O-gram Studio Building in Kansas City
Summer 2014
Jackson County Historical Society: The Roots of Animation in Kansas City
May 2020
Starland News: First house of mouse: Reanimating Walt Disney’s KC film studio closer to reality than ever before
December 2020
Startland News: Book the office where Walt met Mickey? Plexpod helping make Disney dream a reality
Flatland News: New Strategy Touted to Reanimate Disney Laugh-O-Gram Building
January 2021
Kansas City Star: Walt Disney got his start in this Kansas City spot. Here’s the plan to transform it
February 2021
Kansas City Business Journal: Disney's former KC studio lands $300K in grants for museum transformation
May 2021
Flatland KC: 'The Mystery of KC's Missing Walt Disney Murals
NPR: A People's History of Kansas City
July 2021
Fox 4: Car hits Walt Disney’s historic Laugh-O-Gram Studio damaging it, slowing renovation process
CitySceneKC: No Joke, Car Punches Laugh-O-Gram Building – CitySceneKC
August 2021
Mickey Blog: Walt’s Laugh-O-Gram Studio Damaged By Car Crash
June 2022
KC Star: Walt Disney’s Legacy Deserves Commemoration
December 2022
Fox 4: Kansas City nonprofit planning $7M renovation of Disney’s Laugh-O-Gram studio
February 2023
KMBC-TV (Channel 9): Thank You Walt Disney receives $2 million grant, funding will help development at Laugh-O-Gram studio
WDAF-TV (Fox 4): Kansas City’s Disney IMAGINE Project to get huge funding boost
dapsmagic : Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. Receives $2 Million Grant For Walt Disney’s Laugh-O-Gram Studio
Flatland KC: Disney Story
Laughing Place: United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver II Presents Two Million Dollar Check to Thank You Walt Disney Inc.
Mickey Blog: Project To Restore Walt’s Laugh-O-Gram Studio Receiving Huge Funding Boost
Dirt: Walt Disney’s Century-Old First LA Studio Still Stands in Los Feliz
Startland News: $2M in federal funds secured for Disney’s forgotten ‘cradle of Hollywood animation’ in KC
June 2023
KC Today: Laugh-O-Gram Studio and the start of Walt Disney’s animation career in Kansas City
October 2023
KCTV5: Kansas City nonprofit awarded grant to produce film on Walt Disney’s first animation studio
Fox 4: Nonprofit to make film about Disney’s Laugh-O-gram studio in Kansas City
KSHB 41: Grant to help fund movie, renovation of former Walt Disney studio in Kansas City
KC Today: Laugh-O-Gram Studio and the start of Walt Disney’s animation career in Kansas City
October 2024
KCTV5: Disney Dreams: Campaign launched to restore Kansas City’s Laugh-O-gram studio
KCTV5: Honoring Walt Disney: Kansas City studio museum closer to reality
Fox 4: Nonprofit launches campaign to renovate Disney’s first KC studio
Startland News: Disney preservationists launch $4M campaign, add key collaborators to save iconic animator’s KC studio
June 2025
Axios Kansas City: Walt Disney's 1st studio in Kansas City gets $6M creative reboot
December 2025
KCTV5: Renovators still need help to restore forgotten Disney history in Kansas City
February 2026
We are proud to announce that the Missouri Development Finance Board voted in February 2023 to extend $500,000 in Missouri tax credits for contributions to Thank You Walt Disney, Inc
Misc. Coverage
VisitKC
Walt Disney Archives: Laugh-o-gram Megaphone
Laugh-o-gram.org
Wikipedia: Laugh-o-gram
Walt Disney: Ub Iwerks: Master of Animation and Technology
NPR: Remembering Ub Iwerks, The Father Of Mickey Mouse
Wikipedia: Ub Iwerks