Documentary turns Disney-loving autistic man into a star

NEW YORK — Owen Suskind had largely retreated into silence in the years after his autism began to manifest, around age 3. Three painfully mute years later, and after countless rapt hours spent watching Disney animated movies, a word broke through.

“Juicervose!”

His parents, Ron (a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist) and Cornelia, initially thought he was asking for juice. But he wasn’t. He was repeating back a line from “The Little Mermaid,” a scene he often rewound to watch again, where Ursula the sea witch sings “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” She sings, “It won’t cost you much, just your voice!” (“juicervose”)

It was just the first phrase from a Disney film that Owen would go on to recite, but it was the first hint of his rediscovery of language. For the Suskinds, it was a lifeline back to their son. A few weeks later, Ron picked up a puppet of Iago, the parrot from “Aladdin,” and had his first conversation with his son in years.

Roger Ross Williams’ documentary “Life Animated,” which opens Friday, chronicles Owen’s remarkable growth, aided by the colorful sidekicks of Disney movies. The film, inspired by Ron Suskind’s book “Life Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes and Autism,” is both about Owen’s impressive maturity and the power of movies, of stories, to connect people across daunting divides.

The film has been a hit on the festival circuit where 25-year-old Owen has bounded down theater aisles, high-fiving cheering crowds. Owen, a movie lovers, is now a star himself.

“I’ve never experienced anything like I’m experiencing with this film,” says Williams. “What I hope is that it not only gives parents hope, but it inspires everyone to realize the potential of people living with autism. There are all these gifts they have to offer to the world.”

Speaking by phone from Los Angeles, Owen cheerfully greeted this reporter.

“Hi Jake,” said Owen. “That’s also the name of the hilarious, awesome, cool, wise-cracking kangaroo rat from Disney’s ‘The Rescuers Down Under.”‘

Owen had what’s called “regressive autism,” which only reveals itself once a child is a toddler. “Life Animated” captures Owen at a universal crossroads: He’s graduating from school, moving out of his parents’ house, finding (and losing) a girlfriend and getting a job at a movie theater.

He speaks knowingly about why Disney films so resonate for him.

“I live in these characters and they live in me,” he says. “It speaks to me. It helps me with my own life, to find my place in the world, to touch a lot of people.”

In his best-seller, Suskind writes of Owen finding “a language and a tool kit” in Disney films that gave him fables to live by.

“He starts with the moral — beauty lies within, be true to yourself, love conquers all — and tests them in a world colored by shades of gray,” wrote Suskind. “It’s the sidekicks who help him navigate that eternal debate, as they often do for the heroes in their movies.”

“It says something about the power of story for all of us, that we all need a story for us to survive,” says Williams. “It’s kind of the lifeblood of human interaction. These Disney films are basically classic fables and Owen was raised on these fables.”

The normally guarded Disney approved the use of clips from its films for “Life Animated,” though it has no involvement in the movie’s release. Suskind’s book, however, was published by an imprint owned by Disney.

Owen is a fan of recent Disney films like “Zootopia” and Pixar’s “Inside Out.” His favorite movie is “Aladdin.”

“Life Animated” has earned Owen’s endorsement, too.