THE ANIMALS SPEAK follows a depressed Walt Disney in 1941 with his wife and a small crew of artists on a goodwill tour funded by the U.S. Government to sway South America from the influence of Nazis. Walt is trying to forget everything: the near bankruptcy of the company, the ongoing animator’s strike, and the recent death of his mother, for which he blames himself. Mary Blair, a young artist with the company, has tagged along and struggles to find a true artistic voice separate from her husband’s. But with a bit of encouragement and late-night gins with Walt’s wife Lillian, her work blossoms and might end up being the inspiration everyone needs to keep going.