The first image of Tom Hanks as Walt Disney has been made public, Digital Spy said.

Instagram user Mel Farley shared the photograph after she encountered Hanks filming Saving Mr Banks at Disneyland.

The Blind Side helmer John Lee Hancock directs the upcoming biopic, which centres on the troubled production of 1964 family classic Mary Poppins.

Emma Thompson stars as PL Travers, who wrote the original series of Mary Poppins novels, while Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti and Jason Schwartzman co-star.

Saving Mr Banks opens in the US on December 20, 2013, with a UK release date yet to be announced.