5 reasons you might like Stolen Kingdom (2026)

I’m Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five, and here are 5 reasons you might like Stolen Kingdom, an insane 2026 documentary directed by Joshua Bailey.

Reason number 5, if you’re into the urban exploration hobby, you’re going to love this. Urban exploration is basically going into abandoned places to look around and take pictures, and believe it or not, there are places at Disney World that these folks have documented. Some of the most popular Disney urban explorers like Hoot, Chief and Matt Sonswa are interviewed and there’s a ton of really awesome footage. Plus most of these guys seem like really chill people.

Reason number 4, if you’re into Disney parks and vintage Disney, this is like a treasure chest of cool, retro stuff. There’s footage of rides and attractions I’ve never even heard of that Disney has just deemed too expensive to rip out so they just leave it there to rot. Discovery Island is one of the rarest places that we get to see, but we also get to see the inside of an old ride that sat dormant for a decade called Cranium Command, which was opened in 1989 and closed in 2007.

Reason number 3, if you’re into heist films, there’s a big one here. At its core, this film is trying to uncover the mystery of who stole Buzzy, the animatronic that was the face of Cranium Command. He was the pilot of the ‘brain’, and would teach young viewers about emotions and how the brain worked. Think Inside Out, but decades earlier. The story also has NBA player Robin Lopez buying stolen Disney goods without his knowledge and while the mystery of who took Buzzy is still unsolved in the eyes of the law, this film does posit that the party responsible was interviewed in this very documentary - who was it? Well, you’ll have to watch Stolen Kingdom to find out.

Reason number 2, it opened my eyes to the incredibly risky, and in turn, incredibly lucrative Disney black market. While there are a ton of urban explorers shown, there’s also a thief named Patrick Spikes who was interviewed for the documentary who’s made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling stuff that he’s smuggled out of the park in one way or another. The fact that he doesn’t seem that smart is a documentarian’s wet dream, as he’s willing to spill all of his illegal deeds on camera. At least we get to see his ass dragged to the floor by cops at one point, that had me laughing uncontrollably if I’m being honest.

Reason number 1 that you might like Stolen Kingdom? It’s just a really well made documentary with interesting characters, immaculate editing and great music. For the most part, the urban explorers seem cool, but Hoot Gibson, also known as Dave Ensign was by far my favorite. “What’s the Mona Lisa worth? Nothing.” was my favorite quote. His tales made me tear up at one point. It’s also a really funny movie at times. It’s edited in a really propulsive style, and the music is rad, composed by Brendan Canty, the drummer for the legendary band Fugazi.

If any of those reasons appeal to you, check out Stolen Kingdom. It’s currently making it’s festival rounds but I know this will be wide at some point and it’s totally worth a theater seat, especially if you have any nostalgia for Disney parks or just want to see some really cool archived footage.

Have you seen Stolen Kingdom? If so, what did you think of it? And who do you think took Buzzy? Let me know down below in the comments, or email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com.