"The Perfect American" is a fictionalized biography of Walt Disney's final month
s, as narrated by Wilhelm Dantine, an Austrian cartoonist who worked for Disney
in the 40s and 50s, illustrating sequences for "Sleeping Beauty." It is also the
story of Dantine himself, who desperately seeks Disney's recognition at the ris
k of his own ruin.
Peter Stephan Jungk has infused a new energy into the genre
of fictionalized biography. Dantine, imbued with a sense of European superiorit
y, first refuses to submit to Disney's rule, but is nevertheless fascinated by t
he childlike omnipotence of a man who identifies with Mickey Mouse. We discover
Walt's delusions of immortality via cryogenic preservation, his tirades alongsid
e his Abraham Lincoln talking robot, his invitation of Nikita Khruschev to Disne
yland once he learns that the Soviet Premier wants to visit the park, his utopia
n visions of his EPCOT project, and his backyard labyrinth of toy trains. Yet, i
f at first Walt seems to have a magic wand granting him all his wishes, we soon
discover that he is as tortured as the man who tells his story.
