Unleashing the life and works of Walt Disney
Text: FWD Media Images: Various sources
Walt Disney: Pioneer of cartoon films & Creator of Disneyland
Born – December 5, 1901
Died – December 15, 1966
Quote: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Early Life
Walter Elias “Walt” Disney was born in Chicago, US. Born to Elias and Flora Call Disney, Walt was the fourth child of five children in the family. Walt Disney spent his childhood days in Missouri where he began practising drawing and painting. He used to also sell his pictures to neighbours to make a living. He also earned money by selling snacks and newspapers to travellers.
Education
Disney did his schooling in McKinley High School in Chicago where he also took drawing and photography classes. He also contributed cartoons for the school paper. At 16, Disney dropped out of school to join Army but was rejected for being underage. He then joined the Red Cross and was sent to France to take a job as a driver of an ambulance.
Career
After returning from France in 1919, Disney moved back to Kansas City to pursue a career as a newspaper artist. Then, he worked at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio, where he met cartoonist, UbIwerks. He then worked at the Kansas City Film Ad Company where he made commercials based on cutout animation. Disney started experimenting with the camera and began doing hand-drawn cel animation. He decided to open his animation business. He recruited Fred Harman as his first employee and made a deal with a local Kansas City theatre to screen their cartoons, which was named Laugh-O-Grams. Then, Disney was able to acquire his own studio – Laugh-O-Grams. After hiring employees, Disney did a series of seven-minute fairy tales – Alice in Cartoonland. By 1923, the studio was in debt.
Career Growth
Disney and his brother Roy soon pooled their money and moved to Hollywood. Together with Iwerks, Disney and his brother began the Disney Brother’s Studio. Their first deal was to distribute their Alice cartoons. Later, they invented a character Oswald-the Lucky Rabbit. In 1925, Disney hired an ink-and-paint artist named Lillian Bounds. After some years of courtship, the couple married. Disney brother, their wives and Iwerks produced three cartoons featuring a new character Walt had been developing called Mickey Mouse. Though the first silent films with the central character failed to find distribution, the cartoon equipped with sound and music was an instant sensation later. In 1929, Disney’s Silly Symphonies which featured Mickey’s newly created friends, including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Flower and Trees, the first cartoon produced in colour won an Oscar. Later in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film produced $1.499 million and won a total of eight Oscars. In next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed an array of full-length animated films that were well-received by the public.
In 1939 a new branch of Walt Disney Studios was opened in Burbank. Though the company faced a setback in 1941, it recovered soon and released a series of live-action film that became an instant hit. More than 100 features were produced by his studio. Disney’s dream to open an amusement park, came true, as Disneyland Park opened in 1955. The $17-million magic kingdom soon had increased its investment tenfold, and by the beginning of its second quarter-century, had entertained more than 200 million people. Disneyland has expanded its rides over time and branched out globally with parks in Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong.
Achievements
Walt Disney Productions, which became one of the best-known motion-picture production companies in the world. Disney was also among the first to use television as an entertainment medium. Disney was an innovative animator and created the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. He won 22 Academy Awards during his lifetime and was the founder of theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Family and Personal life
Walt Disney and his wife Lillian Disney were blessed with two children – Diane Disney Miller and Sharon Mae Disney.
