Walt Disney Tribute

The Wonderful World of Walt Disney

Walt Disney is a real hero and legend of the 20th Century. Although many people at the time told him that a career in animation did not have a real future and that he would not make any money, he persisted and followed his dreams led by his creativity and imagination. Walt changed the world of animation and led the way to the art of animated films. He stood for the best in animation and television entertainment, giving people hours of fun and enjoyment by letting them forget their problems for a while.
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. His father was Elias Disney and his mother was Flora Call Disney. He had three brothers and one sister. Soon after Walts birth his family moved to Marceline, Missouri where he spent most of his childhood. When Walt was very young he would sell his drawings to friends and neighbors to make extra money and later, encouraged by his brother and mother he studied art and photography at night courses at the Chicago Art Institute while going to McKinley High School during the day. Walt dropped out of High School to join the war (WWI). Since he was too young to enlist, he joined the Red Cross as an ambulance driver. While he was in France in 1918, he decorated his ambulance with cartoon characters. When Walt returned from the war, he pursued a career in Commercial Art. He started a company called Laugh-O-Grams and it soon went bankrupt. Walt went to Hollywood searching for a new start. Soon after arriving in Hollywood, Walt married one of his first employees, Lillian Bounds. Later they had two daughters. He died on December 15, 1966 of lung cancer.
Walt Disneys great success in animation had an impact during the Great Depression and WWII. Walts first success was the Alice Comedies, made in 1925. Walt Disney went on to create his most famous character, Mickey Mouse in 1928. Disney received an Honorary Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. He also received an Academy Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937 as the first full length animated musical. The film made $1,499,000 during the time of the Great Depression, a dramatic worldwide economic hardship. Although people were suffering very hard times, they made it to the theater to see the film. He was determined to make the world a happy place to live in through the time of war (WWII). During the next five years he completed other full length animated favorites like Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi but they were not a financial success because of WWII. The Army contacted most of the Disney Studios facilities and had the staff create training films for the military. Later, Disney devoted his time and creative talents to television production and in 1955 the studios first daily show called Mickey Mouse Club was first seen and is still watched in a more modern version today. On July 17, 1955, Walt opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It is the most successful amusement park in history with 6.7 million people visiting by 1966.
Disneys work and contributions had a big impact on society. Disney was very daring and tried many new methods to develop a better quality of film and animation. People thought that his idea to produce an animated feature length version of Snow White would fail. He hired an art professor to train his studio staff and experimented with realistic human animation, distinctive character animation, special effects and the use of specialized processes and equipment like the multi-plane camera. Snow White was the highlight of Disneys success and it started the Golden Age of Animation. Walt Disney received a lot of awards and holds the record for sixty-four Academy Award Nominations and for winning twenty-six of them. In 1961, Disney put his energy into creating the California Institute of Arts known as Cal Arts where students could train for careers in art animation and television production.
Walt Disney changed the world of animation and led the way to the art of animated film. His worldwide popularity was because of his great imagination, creativity and never giving up his dreams. By the 1960s Disneys hard work and vision had led him to a very successful business empire and to being the worlds leader in the production of family entertainment. Disneys theme parks, Disneyland and Walt Disney World were based on Walts vision of a place where his employees could spend time with their children. Since 1966, Disney Theme Parks had opened in Tokyo and Paris and also the EPCOT Center, which he designed more for adults than children. Today, Disneys animation, motion picture studios and theme parks are a multi-billion dollar business. Walt Disney stood for the best in animation and entertainment by being creative, full of imagination and having a vision for the future. -GULPJR

Watch videos on: CartoonsWorldTV