‘Why Should I Run for Mayor When I’m Already King?’: Inside Ray Bradbury’s Unique Bond With Walt Disney

In a lighthearted 2004 interview with film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, legendary sci-fi author and futurist Ray Bradbury reflected on his personal friendship with Walt Disney, offering rare insights into the mind of the entertainment visionary.

In the conversation, Bradbury excitedly recounts the first time he met Disney while Christmas shopping over forty years prior. He spotted Disney struggling with an armful of presents and, summoning his courage, approached his childhood hero, only to be met with a surprising response; Disney immediately suggested lunch the next day.

Over soup and sandwiches at a simple card table, the two creative giants “babble[d] like a couple of kids,” forging a friendship that would span years.

Bradbury fondly recalls Disney’s unassuming nature, likening lunch with him to sharing a meal with his own father. Yet behind that ordinariness, Disney’s boundless enthusiasm often derailed even his own schedule, once keeping Bradbury at the studio for hours past his allotted time just to show off innovations like the animatronic Lincoln and the PeopleMover.

In a humorous exchange, Bradbury once encouraged Disney to run for mayor of Los Angeles, citing the city’s chronic transit issues. Disney’s reply? “Ray, why should I run for mayor when I’m already king?”

The interview also delves into Disney’s forward-thinking genius. Bradbury credits him not just as an animator or park builder, but as an urban designer whose Disneyland and Epcot projects pioneered modern placemaking, designing environments that people didn’t realize they needed until they experienced them.

Describing Disneyland as a living time machine, Bradbury praised Disney’s blend of past nostalgia and future optimism, reflecting a shared belief that productivity and enthusiasm are at the heart of a meaningful life.

For Bradbury, Disney’s legacy isn’t confined to the past: “Walt is immortal,” he proposed, encountering no objections from Maltin.