AceShowbiz -

The life of Walt Disney before he became a household name is captured in the first trailer of "Walt Before Mickey". The animator and businessman behind Mickey Mouse and numerous other beloved characters began showing his fascination of animation by drawing on his father's barn with chalks.

Per Deadline, the indie period drama chronicles nine years of his struggle to build his empire. It offers the look of pre-Depression Era in which he launched four studios and moved from Missouri to California. The trailer shows how he began animating with one other staff inside a barn and then moved to a stylish office with more people involved. But as he gained success, Disney also encountered some conflicts.

Thomas Ian Nicholas of "American Pie" portrays Walt Disney, supported by Jodie Sweetin, Jon Heder and David Henrie among others. Khoa Le makes his feature directing debut. Arthur L. Bernstein and Armando Gutierrez wrote the script based on 2011's book "Walt Before Mickey: Disney's Early Years. 1919-1928" by Timothy S. Susanin with a foreword by Diane Disney Miller.

The pic is yet to secure a distributor but Deadline reports that a deal is close for a fall release.