Disney preservationists launch $4M campaign, add key collaborators to save iconic animator’s KC studio

The legacy of Walt Disney’s foundational time in Kansas City — and the structure the famed animator left behind on Troost Avenue — must be preserved frame by frame, said supporters of an ambitious redevelopment project at the former Laugh-O-gram Studios.

Laugh-O-gram Studios, October 2024; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

A newly launched “Dreams Start Here” campaign aims to secure a future for the historic space near 30th and Troost, which served as Disney’s first animation house starting in May 1922. The $4 million fundraising goal would help transform it into a digital storytelling center aimed at nurturing young animators and artists.

Preservationists with the nonprofit Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. began working to prevent the deteriorating building’s collapse in the late 1990s, gradually building funding and a plan to use the site not just as a relic of the past, but a bridge to a new generation of animators.

From the archives: First house of mouse: Reanimating Walt Disney’s KC film studio closer to reality than ever before

“We’ve saved the shell of the building, and now we have to decide — how do we best utilize it? How do we tell the story of Walt Disney and the animators who began their careers here?” said Butch Rigby, founder and chair of Thank You Walt Disney, Inc.

An event Thursday at MultiStudio in Kansas City’s Westport neighborhood marked the fundraising effort’s official launch.

Click here to donate to the Thank You Walt Disney campaign.

Walt Disney, 1922, Laugh-O-gram Studios in Kansas City

Walt Disney's Laugh-O-Gram Studio

Rigby, representing, Thank You Walt Disney, Inc., signed contracts Thursday with construction company Centric and architectural designer MultiStudio, solidifying key partnerships to help bring Disney’s Kansas City legacy back to Troost.

The Laugh-O-gram Studios site will house a digital storytelling group, dedicated to teaching young people from Kansas City’s urban core skills in animation, graphic design, and other digital arts, supporters said at the event. Their vision includes preserving the historic integrity of the building while creating an active hub for entrepreneurial and creative opportunities.

“We thought, what better purpose for a little cartoon studio that really launched Hollywood animation than to put a digital storytelling group in that building,” said Rigby, “We’re creating a space for the next generation of creators in the very rooms Walt Disney worked in.”

Click here to to take a virtual walkthrough of Multistudio’s vision of how the Laugh-O-gram building will be designed.

Still image from a virtual walkthrough of the Laugh-O-gram building; image courtesy of Multistudio

Not just ‘some Mickey Mouse town’

A series of contributions from foundations, businesses, and private donors have already begun the restoration process, but additional funding is necessary to bring the center fully to life. 

Among those thanked and acknowledged during the gathering included Diane Disney, Walt’s late daughter, whose donation to restore the building’s shell was instrumental. Local financial institutions, like UMB Bank and Bank of America, also played key roles in preserving the studio.

Though Laugh-O-gram studios was only open from May 1922 to August 1923 before Disney went into bankruptcy and left the region, legendary animators and Kansas City natives Ub Iwerks and Bugs Hardaway got their start at the building before ultimately joining Disney in Hollywood — cementing Kansas City as the foundational “cradle of Hollywood animation.”

That group went on to lead animation efforts not only at Disney, but also for MGM Studios, Hanna Barbera, and Warner Brothers, among others.

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Missouri, shares about his role in the Laugh-O-gram Studios project, alongside developer and preservationist Butch Rigby; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Missouri — who previously helped secure federal funding for the project — emphasized the importance of ensuring Kansas City’s role in Disney’s legacy isn’t forgotten.

Sharing his son’s experience attending CalArts in California, he said, “My son was telling people, ‘Walt Disney’s from Kansas City,’ and it angered him that they didn’t know. But we’ve got to do our part to make sure people understand this is not some Mickey Mouse town.”

Bridget Lowe, chief marketing officer for MultiStudio, speaks at MultiStudio alongside U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Missouri; Richard Wetzel, president and CEO at Centric; and Dan Viets, president of Thank You Walt Disney; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Building a lasting impact

Architects from MultiStudio, led by chief marketing officer Bridget Lowe, are working to restore the building with sensitivity to both its past and future. Lowe noted the team’s dedication to preserving an iconic space almost lost to time. 

Support beams are visible at the former Laugh-O-gram Studios site where in 2021 a driver impacted the building with a vehicle, forcing a portion of the structure to be rebuilt; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“To think this building was nearly demolished — it goes straight to the heart of why architects do what we do,” said Lowe. “Every restoration is a chance to tell the world what we value.”

Construction partners Centric, represented Thursday by President and CEO Richard Wetzel, committed to starting work immediately to secure the structure. (Preservationists with Thank You Walt Disney have worked for decades to keep the building standing — narrowly avoiding structural damage in 2021 when a driver collided with the former studio, temporarily punching a hole in the organization’s progress.)

“We’re thrilled to be part of preserving not only Disney’s legacy but the unique character of this neighborhood,” he said.

The project is about to start its first phase of construction, which will stabilize the building. Future phases will focus on installing exhibits, co-working spaces, and educational areas.

With substantial funding already secured through federal grants, tax credits, and private donations, the campaign remains ambitious. 

“This building is a bridge between Kansas City’s past and its creative future,” said Rigby, “It’s only fitting that we’re here on Troost Avenue, a place that now represents connection, creativity, and opportunity.”