Speaking of the company, Mrs. Miller hasn’t been especially thrilled with aspects of its stewardship, either. “They try, but there is nobody there anymore who actually knew him,” she said. Disney the man, she frets, has gotten lost as his empire pushes its brand across the globe.

“My kids have literally encountered people who didn’t know that my father was a person,” said Mrs. Miller, who has seven children with her husband, Ronald. “They think he’s just some kind of corporate logo.”

Thus the museum. Financed by the family’s foundation and the sale of bonds, it aims to refocus attention on the man behind the myth by telling his life story, from humble beginnings in rural Missouri to a stint driving an ambulance in World War I to his fascination with utopian ideas. The work, of course, is also there, including an exhibit on the making of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” Hollywood’s first feature-length animated film, including the actual Academy Awards it received, a full-size Oscar and seven tiny ones.

“I’m really glad the family is doing this,” said Steven D. Lavine, president of the California Institute of the Arts, of which Walt Disney and his brother, Roy, were co-founders. “People who want to take pot shots at pop culture often focus on him, and the depth and profundity of his work can really get missed as a result.”