Stolen Kingdom

Although I'm not a frequent visitor nor a "Disney Adult," I love walking around Walt Disney World. Even more than riding the rides, I like standing in certain spots, such as looking out on the patently man-made World Showcase Lagoon in EPCOT Center, while listening to the faint bleed of canned cheesy music from the different pavilions wafting in and out of earshot with the breeze. For me, WDW is about as America as America gets, and standing in the middle of it is like mainlining a carefully prepared speedball that mixes everything delightful and everything toxic about this country. So I was intrigued by the prospect of. Joshua Bailey's directorial debut. This documentary shines a light on the various underground communities of rule breakers, urban explorers, and black marketeers obsessed with abandoned areas and discarded property within the various Disney theme parks. The film focuses on the most well-known of these individuals, starting with the two kids known as Hoot and Chief, who, back in the '90s, discovered they could jump out of the transport cars of EPCOT's then-soon-to-be-closed Horizons attraction and video themselves exploring the ride's massive futuristic sets without anyone noticing. Then there are the folks like Matt Sonswa, who documented their illegal and hazardous swims out to the long-abandoned subtropical bird sanctuary, Discovery Island, in Bay Lake near the Magic Kingdom.

The film is shot and edited in much the same rough, amateur style as the VHS, HI-8, and Mini-DV recordings ripped off of the YouTube channels of these punk park tourists. I'm not sure that was the best artistic approach, as this film, especially when seen on a big screen, is not a pleasant watch. The talking head interviews keep things interesting, but they are also cut and digitally downgraded in cheesy ways that make the film feel more like a lark than a serious exploration of its subject. These interviews feature several of the YouTubers, who seem to have no problem admitting to childish criminal behavior that I assume they're now immune from prosecution for. We also get to hear from individuals like Dan Bell, director of the similarly themed Dead Mall, and Leonard Kinsey, author of the seminal unauthorized travel guide "The Dark Side of Disney," which details the various tricks, scams, and illicit, often drug-fueled methods people have used to more fully enjoy all the aspects of Walt Disney World by getting around its rules and high prices.

The first half of Stolen Kingdom gives you that feeling of watching a film that really should have been a short rather than a feature—I must admit, I nodded off for about 5 of the 74-minute running time. But when Bailey starts to dig deep into the story of a former Disney Park employee named Patrick Spikes, who was arrested for stealing over $14,000 worth of WDW cast member costumes, props, and the custom-made clothing off a disused audio-animatronic character from a long-defunct EPOCT attraction, the film elevates to something much more special than what it started as. Spikes is a documentarian's dream, not only because of how forthcoming and entertaining a subject he is, but also because his story features newsworthy video footage that is far more compelling—and hilarious—than any of the home movies taken by the teenagers and grown men who sneaked into off-limits areas of the parks. Spike's jailable offences involve black market memorabilia sales to NBA player Robin Lopez and the possible theft of an entire audio-animatronic figure.

By the time this movie reaches its conclusion, it has delved significantly into the mindset of some unusual subsets of American fan culture and underground capitalism. Bailey clearly put in the time to win the trust of his subjects, especially Spikes, and the film's depiction of these rascky nerd warriors is both loving and honest. Audiences will draw their own conclusions as to whether they consider these young men crusading heroes valiantly fucking with one of the world's most heartless, hypocritical, and all-powerful corporations, or just loosers without much direction in life. Either way, their eagerness to share their crimes with Bailey's camera should make you smile. I just hope they don't get pulled over for running a red light in Orlando anytime soon after this movie comes out.