Biography Category
Name :
Walt Disney
Date :
Views :
685
Category :
Birth Date :
05/12/1901
Birth Place :
Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Death Date :
DEC.15, 1966
Not Available
Walt asked his father to let him use the family’s garage as a studio for which he would pay $5 a month for the rent, though his brother Roy would later joke that he never recalled ever seeing any transactions ever being made as rent payment. After work, Walt would stay up late into the night working on animation. At the time, Kansas City theaters rented cartoons made by East Coast animators. Walt decided to become a competitor to them by creating his own cartoons with a local twist. He succeeded in selling the idea to the Newman Theater and began making his own Newman Laugh-O-grams. At first, he priced them too low and made no money. But he was in the cartoon business. His parents returned to Kansas City, but they didn't stay for long. In 1921, Herbert, Ruth, Flora, and Elias moved to Portland. Then his brother Roy was infected with tuberculosis and went to a hospital in Arizona. Walt, finding himself all alone, found a place in a rooming house.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt threw himself entirely into making cartoons, and brought in several young, unpaid apprentices. Using his surprisingly resourceful gift of salesmanship, Walt managed to raise $15,000 from investors. He then quit his job, and started a small company called Laugh-O-gram Films. He made an agreement to sell a series of fairy-tale cartoons for $11,100, accepting a down payment of $100. After six months of working hard at the cartoons, he got the shocking news of his client claiming bankruptcy. Walt would never see another penny. Despite his working desperately to make money, Walt was not able to pay the rent, so he moved into the Laugh-O-gram office. In due time, his workers left him one by one. At times, he barely had enough money to feed himself. After some time, he got $500 for making a dental hygiene film, and with the money he soon began a new effort called Alice's Wonderland. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Unfortunately, before it could be completed, he had to[br /]
declare himself bankrupt. With the unfinished film in hand, he took his remaining few dollars and purchased a train ticket to California. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After this setback, he went to Hollywood in search of a job with only a few dollars and his unfinished Alice's Wonderland in hand. He built a studio in Uncle Robert’s garage where he continued his work on animation. He wrote to a film distributor, M.J. Winkler, announcing that he was establishing a studio in Los Angeles to produce a new and novel series of cartoons. Little did Winkler know that Walt’s studio was a garage and the film, his unfinished Alice's Wonderland. Winkler bought half a dozen Alice cartoons – a combination of a real little girl and a menagerie of animated characters, for $1,500 a piece. From then on, his career took off. His business was thriving, Walt convinced his brother Roy, to join him as partner in business and also to look after the financial aspects of the company. Walt was now free to concentrate fully on his animation work. In 1923, they started the Disney Brothers Studio with the collection of about $3,000 pooled through friends and family sources. They purchased a used camera; rented a studio, employed assistants and commenced the making of cartoon series.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Among the employees was a beautiful woman named Lillian Bounds. Walt as a routine, would drop her home at night. Walt liked to listento Lillian’s stories about her life. They went for long drives and used to talk a lot. Walt refused Lillian’s repeated invitations to meet her family. He met them only after he had saved up enough money to buy a new suit. He fitted into the family like a glove. Meanwhile, Roy married his longtime girlfriend Edna Francis and soon after Walt and Lilly took the vows on June 13th, 1925. Walt put all his efforts into the making of the Alice series. Success was not far behind. After some time, the demand for the Alice series dropped and he was forced to create a new character, Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald gave them stardom.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
With
this newfound fame, Walt decided to renew his contract with Charlie Mintz, M. J. Winkler’s husband, who now handled Winkler’s business affairs, for a better price. Little did Walt know that Mintz had bought off his staff offering them more money and freedom.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Most importantly, Walt was also unaware of the fact that Charlie Mintz and Universal Pictures owned the legal rights to Oswald. Though Walt created the star 'Oswald', Mintz and Universal held the star’s contract. Mintz asked Walt to give up his business and work exclusively for him.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt was not ready to accept this. Greatly disheartened, Walt left New York. Before leaving, he sent a telegram to Roy which read,[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"LEAVING TONIGHT. STOPPING OVER KC. ARRIVE HOME SUNDAY MORNING SEVEN THIRTY. DON’T WORRY. EVERYTHING OK. WILL GIVE DETAILS WHEN ARRIVE – WALT." [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt did not like to give up easily. He also wanted prove true his words in the telegram. He had to come up with a new character, which would be as famous as Oswald, if not more. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]MICKEY MOUSE :[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
On his way home he came up with the idea of a new character, a mouse. There are many stories about Walt's having a mouse living in his desk during the days of Laugh-O-Gram in Kansas City. The thought behind this story was Walt's feelings for animals, and especially mice, who would gather about his waste-basket when he worked late at night. He would lift them out of the basket and place them in little cages on his desk. He had one particular mouse that had become a sort of a friend, and before leaving Kansas City, he carefully carried him out into a field and let it go.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He christened his new creation ‘Mortimer’. But his wife Lilly refused, saying it sounded to 'sissy'. Then he himself suggested the name 'Mickey.' Lilly agreed. Thus, Mickey Mouse, an icon who would become a household name and a friend to millions of children all around the world, was born. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
As soon as he reached home, Walt created three cartoons featuring his new character. His initial efforts to sell Mickey Mouse cartoons were discouraging. Mickey had to compete with characters like Felix-the cat and Mintz’s Oswald.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
One exhibitor, explaining the reason why he was reluctant to book the series, came straight out with "It's no use, Walt," he said. "Nobody has ever heard of Mickey Mouse."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt had only two words to say: "They will."[br /]
The only way he could sustain Mickey Mouse was if he added something new. He came up with the brilliant idea of synchronizing one of his cartoons with sound. Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in Steamboat Willie, the world’s first sound cartoon, in New York.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
His initial efforts to sell Mickey were unsuccessful, but he was able to accomplish the task with the help of a person named Pat Powers who provided him with sound equipment and even distributed his cartoons. Within a short span of time, the popularity of Mickey Mouse touched new heights. The cash registers started ringing. There were enough funds to hire the best animators and many more trainees. Within a couple of years, more than one million children joined the Mickey Mouse Club. Famous personalities like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mary Pickford, King George V, and the Nizam of Hyderabad were all his fans. Mickey’s star blazed even brighter. Disney himself provided the voice for Mickey.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Mickey Mouse’s popularity extended not only to cartoon films but also in the merchandising market. Disney Studio was still in need of more funds, so they decided to merchandise the character of Mickey Mouse. Fortunately there was an offer from a manufacturer in New York, who quoted $300 to acquire the license to put Mickey Mouse on some pencil tablets. Soon the trend of Mickey Mouse merchandising began. Mickey Mouse dolls, dishes, toothbrush, radio etc. started to spread out in the market. A book on Mickey Mouse was also published.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b] Walt Disney on Mickey Mouse :[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt said, "When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, its because he’s so human, and that is the secret of his popularity." He even said, "I hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"Mickey Mouse to me is a symbol of independence. He was the means to an end. He popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at the lowest ebb and deserter seemed right around the corner. Born of necessity, the little fellow literally freed us of immediate worry. He provided the means for expanding our organization to its present dimensions and for expanding [br /]
the medium of cartoon animation towards new entertainment levels. He spelled production liberation for us." [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]SILLY SYMPHONIES[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
As the studio cranked out Mickey Mouse cartoons Walt moved on to newer ideas. All the existing popular cartoons were based on individual characters and had extremely predictable plots. Walt’s new series Silly Symphonies was conceived to break this existing mould. The series basically were animated pictures, set to a classical tune, which also gave the animators endless opportunities to experiment.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The first among this series, The Skeleton Dance, featured ghastly dancing skulls and bones twirling their way through a graveyard on a moonlit night. This series turned out to be highly profitable for Walt, but the cheques he received from Pat Powers were smaller than he had estimated. Roy visited Powers and reached a conclusion that Powers was a crook. Powers had been withholding cash to make the Disney brothers desperate. He had plans to take over Disney Studio. He had even managed to convince Ub Iwerks, Walt’s star animator into jumping ship in exchange for a cartoon
series of his own. Ub gave up a 20% interest in the Disney Company that would be worth billions of dollars today.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Mickey and Silly Symphonies forged on. Mickey also acquired a body of supporting players who became stars in their own right, including, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy. Now Walt turned to colors. He experimented with existing, completed cartoon Flowers and Trees and redid it entirely in Technicolor, for which he won an Academy Award in 1932. Mickey appeared for the first time in color in The Band Concert. Two other films, Three Little Pigs and The Old Mill gave Walt a chance to experiment with techniques to add depth to the cartoons. This was his next leap ahead.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b] WALT – THE FAMILY MAN[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt loved children. Before the birth of his daughter, Diane Marie Disney, he showered his love on his nieces Dorothy and Marjorie. Walt wanted to have more children, but when Lilly went through a second miscarriage, they decided to adopt a little girl. The two-week-old, Sharon Mae Disney was welcomed into the family in January 1937.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt and Roy had great love for their parents. When they became financially sound, they purchased a new house in California, where their parents stayed for the rest of their life. They also hired a housekeeper to take care of them. The heating system in the house was not properly installed. Walt even sent men from his studio to repair it.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
But one morning on November 26, 1938 the gas fumes spread all over their house. Both Elias and Flora passed out. The housekeeper discovered them in this unconscious state. Help was called for but it was too late. Walt’s mother Flora was no more. His father, Elias survived the accident, but never recovered from it completely. The accident left such a deep impression on Walt that he could not even share this tragedy with anyone. After a few years, his father Elias passed away. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The Second World War caused a decline in Walt’s international market. His company was once again falling into debt. But Walt did not give up. He continued to work on further animation series and produced some very successful films. Soon he repaid all his debts. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In those days, Walt developed new hobbies like making miniature trains and playing polo. Walt had loved trains all his life. Once he wrote to his sister Ruth, "I bought myself a birthday present, something I’ve wanted all my life – an electric train…. you probably can’t understand how much I wanted one when I was kid, but I’ve got one now." He also built new houses. His daughter, Diane married a handsome young boy named, Ron Miller. Disneyland Park was inaugurated a few months before Walt became a grandfather.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In 1963, Walt and his brother Roy had a serious battle regarding business. Roy felt that there was conflict of interests between Walt’s personally owned company and stockholder company. He instructed Walt to sell portions of WED (Walt Disney, Incorporated later – Walter Elias Disney) to Disney Company. The end of the conflict was brought through a compromise. And Walt gave Roy a Native American peace pipe saying, "It was wonderful to smoke the pipe of peace with you again – the clouds that rise are very beautiful." In the last days of his life, he took a yacht ride through British Colombian waters with his family. Walt was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital for the treatment of lung cancer caused by years of smoking the pipe. He passed away on December 15, 1966.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
But his legacy lives on. Every moment that passes, a child somewhere in the world is watching a Disney cartoon, and smiling at the antics of his favorite character Mickey Mouse, and somewhere Walt Disney must be looking on and smiling too. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt threw himself entirely into making cartoons, and brought in several young, unpaid apprentices. Using his surprisingly resourceful gift of salesmanship, Walt managed to raise $15,000 from investors. He then quit his job, and started a small company called Laugh-O-gram Films. He made an agreement to sell a series of fairy-tale cartoons for $11,100, accepting a down payment of $100. After six months of working hard at the cartoons, he got the shocking news of his client claiming bankruptcy. Walt would never see another penny. Despite his working desperately to make money, Walt was not able to pay the rent, so he moved into the Laugh-O-gram office. In due time, his workers left him one by one. At times, he barely had enough money to feed himself. After some time, he got $500 for making a dental hygiene film, and with the money he soon began a new effort called Alice's Wonderland. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Unfortunately, before it could be completed, he had to[br /]
declare himself bankrupt. With the unfinished film in hand, he took his remaining few dollars and purchased a train ticket to California. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After this setback, he went to Hollywood in search of a job with only a few dollars and his unfinished Alice's Wonderland in hand. He built a studio in Uncle Robert’s garage where he continued his work on animation. He wrote to a film distributor, M.J. Winkler, announcing that he was establishing a studio in Los Angeles to produce a new and novel series of cartoons. Little did Winkler know that Walt’s studio was a garage and the film, his unfinished Alice's Wonderland. Winkler bought half a dozen Alice cartoons – a combination of a real little girl and a menagerie of animated characters, for $1,500 a piece. From then on, his career took off. His business was thriving, Walt convinced his brother Roy, to join him as partner in business and also to look after the financial aspects of the company. Walt was now free to concentrate fully on his animation work. In 1923, they started the Disney Brothers Studio with the collection of about $3,000 pooled through friends and family sources. They purchased a used camera; rented a studio, employed assistants and commenced the making of cartoon series.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Among the employees was a beautiful woman named Lillian Bounds. Walt as a routine, would drop her home at night. Walt liked to listento Lillian’s stories about her life. They went for long drives and used to talk a lot. Walt refused Lillian’s repeated invitations to meet her family. He met them only after he had saved up enough money to buy a new suit. He fitted into the family like a glove. Meanwhile, Roy married his longtime girlfriend Edna Francis and soon after Walt and Lilly took the vows on June 13th, 1925. Walt put all his efforts into the making of the Alice series. Success was not far behind. After some time, the demand for the Alice series dropped and he was forced to create a new character, Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald gave them stardom.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
With
this newfound fame, Walt decided to renew his contract with Charlie Mintz, M. J. Winkler’s husband, who now handled Winkler’s business affairs, for a better price. Little did Walt know that Mintz had bought off his staff offering them more money and freedom.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Most importantly, Walt was also unaware of the fact that Charlie Mintz and Universal Pictures owned the legal rights to Oswald. Though Walt created the star 'Oswald', Mintz and Universal held the star’s contract. Mintz asked Walt to give up his business and work exclusively for him.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt was not ready to accept this. Greatly disheartened, Walt left New York. Before leaving, he sent a telegram to Roy which read,[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"LEAVING TONIGHT. STOPPING OVER KC. ARRIVE HOME SUNDAY MORNING SEVEN THIRTY. DON’T WORRY. EVERYTHING OK. WILL GIVE DETAILS WHEN ARRIVE – WALT." [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt did not like to give up easily. He also wanted prove true his words in the telegram. He had to come up with a new character, which would be as famous as Oswald, if not more. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]MICKEY MOUSE :[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
On his way home he came up with the idea of a new character, a mouse. There are many stories about Walt's having a mouse living in his desk during the days of Laugh-O-Gram in Kansas City. The thought behind this story was Walt's feelings for animals, and especially mice, who would gather about his waste-basket when he worked late at night. He would lift them out of the basket and place them in little cages on his desk. He had one particular mouse that had become a sort of a friend, and before leaving Kansas City, he carefully carried him out into a field and let it go.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He christened his new creation ‘Mortimer’. But his wife Lilly refused, saying it sounded to 'sissy'. Then he himself suggested the name 'Mickey.' Lilly agreed. Thus, Mickey Mouse, an icon who would become a household name and a friend to millions of children all around the world, was born. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
As soon as he reached home, Walt created three cartoons featuring his new character. His initial efforts to sell Mickey Mouse cartoons were discouraging. Mickey had to compete with characters like Felix-the cat and Mintz’s Oswald.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
One exhibitor, explaining the reason why he was reluctant to book the series, came straight out with "It's no use, Walt," he said. "Nobody has ever heard of Mickey Mouse."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt had only two words to say: "They will."[br /]
The only way he could sustain Mickey Mouse was if he added something new. He came up with the brilliant idea of synchronizing one of his cartoons with sound. Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in Steamboat Willie, the world’s first sound cartoon, in New York.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
His initial efforts to sell Mickey were unsuccessful, but he was able to accomplish the task with the help of a person named Pat Powers who provided him with sound equipment and even distributed his cartoons. Within a short span of time, the popularity of Mickey Mouse touched new heights. The cash registers started ringing. There were enough funds to hire the best animators and many more trainees. Within a couple of years, more than one million children joined the Mickey Mouse Club. Famous personalities like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Mary Pickford, King George V, and the Nizam of Hyderabad were all his fans. Mickey’s star blazed even brighter. Disney himself provided the voice for Mickey.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Mickey Mouse’s popularity extended not only to cartoon films but also in the merchandising market. Disney Studio was still in need of more funds, so they decided to merchandise the character of Mickey Mouse. Fortunately there was an offer from a manufacturer in New York, who quoted $300 to acquire the license to put Mickey Mouse on some pencil tablets. Soon the trend of Mickey Mouse merchandising began. Mickey Mouse dolls, dishes, toothbrush, radio etc. started to spread out in the market. A book on Mickey Mouse was also published.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b] Walt Disney on Mickey Mouse :[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt said, "When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, its because he’s so human, and that is the secret of his popularity." He even said, "I hope that we never lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"Mickey Mouse to me is a symbol of independence. He was the means to an end. He popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at the lowest ebb and deserter seemed right around the corner. Born of necessity, the little fellow literally freed us of immediate worry. He provided the means for expanding our organization to its present dimensions and for expanding [br /]
the medium of cartoon animation towards new entertainment levels. He spelled production liberation for us." [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]SILLY SYMPHONIES[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
As the studio cranked out Mickey Mouse cartoons Walt moved on to newer ideas. All the existing popular cartoons were based on individual characters and had extremely predictable plots. Walt’s new series Silly Symphonies was conceived to break this existing mould. The series basically were animated pictures, set to a classical tune, which also gave the animators endless opportunities to experiment.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The first among this series, The Skeleton Dance, featured ghastly dancing skulls and bones twirling their way through a graveyard on a moonlit night. This series turned out to be highly profitable for Walt, but the cheques he received from Pat Powers were smaller than he had estimated. Roy visited Powers and reached a conclusion that Powers was a crook. Powers had been withholding cash to make the Disney brothers desperate. He had plans to take over Disney Studio. He had even managed to convince Ub Iwerks, Walt’s star animator into jumping ship in exchange for a cartoon
series of his own. Ub gave up a 20% interest in the Disney Company that would be worth billions of dollars today.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Mickey and Silly Symphonies forged on. Mickey also acquired a body of supporting players who became stars in their own right, including, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy. Now Walt turned to colors. He experimented with existing, completed cartoon Flowers and Trees and redid it entirely in Technicolor, for which he won an Academy Award in 1932. Mickey appeared for the first time in color in The Band Concert. Two other films, Three Little Pigs and The Old Mill gave Walt a chance to experiment with techniques to add depth to the cartoons. This was his next leap ahead.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b] WALT – THE FAMILY MAN[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt loved children. Before the birth of his daughter, Diane Marie Disney, he showered his love on his nieces Dorothy and Marjorie. Walt wanted to have more children, but when Lilly went through a second miscarriage, they decided to adopt a little girl. The two-week-old, Sharon Mae Disney was welcomed into the family in January 1937.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt and Roy had great love for their parents. When they became financially sound, they purchased a new house in California, where their parents stayed for the rest of their life. They also hired a housekeeper to take care of them. The heating system in the house was not properly installed. Walt even sent men from his studio to repair it.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
But one morning on November 26, 1938 the gas fumes spread all over their house. Both Elias and Flora passed out. The housekeeper discovered them in this unconscious state. Help was called for but it was too late. Walt’s mother Flora was no more. His father, Elias survived the accident, but never recovered from it completely. The accident left such a deep impression on Walt that he could not even share this tragedy with anyone. After a few years, his father Elias passed away. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The Second World War caused a decline in Walt’s international market. His company was once again falling into debt. But Walt did not give up. He continued to work on further animation series and produced some very successful films. Soon he repaid all his debts. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In those days, Walt developed new hobbies like making miniature trains and playing polo. Walt had loved trains all his life. Once he wrote to his sister Ruth, "I bought myself a birthday present, something I’ve wanted all my life – an electric train…. you probably can’t understand how much I wanted one when I was kid, but I’ve got one now." He also built new houses. His daughter, Diane married a handsome young boy named, Ron Miller. Disneyland Park was inaugurated a few months before Walt became a grandfather.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In 1963, Walt and his brother Roy had a serious battle regarding business. Roy felt that there was conflict of interests between Walt’s personally owned company and stockholder company. He instructed Walt to sell portions of WED (Walt Disney, Incorporated later – Walter Elias Disney) to Disney Company. The end of the conflict was brought through a compromise. And Walt gave Roy a Native American peace pipe saying, "It was wonderful to smoke the pipe of peace with you again – the clouds that rise are very beautiful." In the last days of his life, he took a yacht ride through British Colombian waters with his family. Walt was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital for the treatment of lung cancer caused by years of smoking the pipe. He passed away on December 15, 1966.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
But his legacy lives on. Every moment that passes, a child somewhere in the world is watching a Disney cartoon, and smiling at the antics of his favorite character Mickey Mouse, and somewhere Walt Disney must be looking on and smiling too. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]Walt Disney,[/b] a name that instantly conjures up in one's mind the wonderful world of fairy tales, heroic stories, fantastic amusement parks, and of course, cartoons that have left their imprint on the minds of generations past and present, and it is pretty much certain that they will continue to do so in the future. This extremely talented man has become a legend and folk hero of the 20th century gained worldwide recognition based mainly on the ideals that his name represents : imagination, optimism and self-made success in the American tradition. He became a household name because of his creations like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. He touched the [br /]
hearts, minds and emotions of millions of people in the past century. Through his work he brought joy, happiness and a universal means of communication to the people of every nation. Even though Walt Disney passed away more than 30 years ago, his particular attention to detail still lives in his first theme park – Disneyland. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, his masterpieces, live on to delight people of all ages. A man of faith, courage and dignity, he was a man who not only shone in his own era but a persona that will forever shine for future generations also.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
As Walt put it, "I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
hearts, minds and emotions of millions of people in the past century. Through his work he brought joy, happiness and a universal means of communication to the people of every nation. Even though Walt Disney passed away more than 30 years ago, his particular attention to detail still lives in his first theme park – Disneyland. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, his masterpieces, live on to delight people of all ages. A man of faith, courage and dignity, he was a man who not only shone in his own era but a persona that will forever shine for future generations also.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
As Walt put it, "I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• DEC. 5, 1901
Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1906 Family moved to Marceline, Missouri.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1909 He was admitted to Park School, Marceline.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1910 Family moved to Kansas City, Missouri.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1930 Joined the Kansas City Art Institute.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1915 Graduated from Benton School.
Moved to Chicago to join his parents.
Enrolled in McKinley High School, Chicago.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1917 Bought his first movie camera.
Joined the American Ambulance Corps of Red Cross.[br /]
Sailed abroad the SS Vaubin to France.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1919 Formed a company with Ubbe Iwwerks (later–Ub Iwerks) called Iwerk - Disney Commercial Artists.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1920 Produced an animated film in Kansas.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1922 Established Laugh-O-gram films.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1923 Laugh-O-gram venture ended in bankruptcy. He inaugurated the Disney Brothers Studio. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1925 Married Lillian Bounds.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1926 Changed the name of studio from Disney Brothers to Walt Disney Studio.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1928 Conception of the first most popular cartoon character ever – Mickey Mouse.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1932 Was presented with an Academy Award for creating Mickey Mouse.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1934 Introduced Donald Duck.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1937 Appeared on the cover page of Time Magazine.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1954 Disney and ABC signed an agreement for building ‘Disneyland’.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1964 He was honored with ‘Medal of Freedom’ by President of United States.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• DEC.15, 1966 Died of lung cancer at the age of 65.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1906 Family moved to Marceline, Missouri.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1909 He was admitted to Park School, Marceline.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1910 Family moved to Kansas City, Missouri.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1930 Joined the Kansas City Art Institute.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1915 Graduated from Benton School.
Moved to Chicago to join his parents.
Enrolled in McKinley High School, Chicago.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1917 Bought his first movie camera.
Joined the American Ambulance Corps of Red Cross.[br /]
Sailed abroad the SS Vaubin to France.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1919 Formed a company with Ubbe Iwwerks (later–Ub Iwerks) called Iwerk - Disney Commercial Artists.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1920 Produced an animated film in Kansas.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1922 Established Laugh-O-gram films.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1923 Laugh-O-gram venture ended in bankruptcy. He inaugurated the Disney Brothers Studio. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1925 Married Lillian Bounds.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1926 Changed the name of studio from Disney Brothers to Walt Disney Studio.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1928 Conception of the first most popular cartoon character ever – Mickey Mouse.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1932 Was presented with an Academy Award for creating Mickey Mouse.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1934 Introduced Donald Duck.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1937 Appeared on the cover page of Time Magazine.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1954 Disney and ABC signed an agreement for building ‘Disneyland’.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• 1964 He was honored with ‘Medal of Freedom’ by President of United States.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
• DEC.15, 1966 Died of lung cancer at the age of 65.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]Walt Disney[/b] was not a man who could sit at ease. After the success of motion pictures and television programs, he branched out with many new ideas. Among these was his idea of building the amusement park-Disneyland. It was by sheer chance that he came up with this idea. One relaxed Sunday, Walt took his little girls to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. The park was in very bad shape : dirty, smelly and unsafe. As the children took their umpteenth ride on the merry–go–round, Walt sat on a bench nearby watching them have loads of fun. He also noticed that while children had fun, the parents waited, bored and anxious to get back home. They had nothing to do. This is where Walt conjured a new type of amusement park, which would be clean and have[br /]
attractions for parents and children alike. Years before Disneyland was constructed, Walt was continuously thinking, creating and generating new ideas in his mind. He visited [br /]
almost all of America and also visited buildings of the most prolific inventors and creators of America. He visited Thomas Edison’s workshop, the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop and the home of Noah Webster, the dictionary magnate. Throughout these visits he was formulating ideas for his Mickey Mouse Park. This idea culminated into today’s DISNEYLAND.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He originally planned to build this park on an 8-acre land next to the Burbank Studio so that his family and employees could go and relax there. The Second World War put these plans on hold. His visits to America confirmed that 8 acres would not be enough to build his dream. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In 1953, the Stanford Research Institute conducted a survey for a 100-acre site outside Los Angeles. Walt needed space to build rivers, waterfalls and mountains. He also wanted it to have flying elephants and giant teacups, a fairy-tale castle, moon rockets and a scenic railway, all in his project DISNEYLAND.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Location was the top priority. Accessibility by freeway, location within Los Angeles metropolitan area and affordability were the necessary perquisites.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The search finally ended at the rural area of Anaheim, California. A 160-acre orange grove near the junction of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) and Harbor Boulevard was selected. Numerous attempts made to get bank finance were in vain. As Walt once said, "I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After a passionate determination, financing finally came through. Disneyland now became a reality.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Construction of Disneyland began on July 21, 1954, just 12 months before it was scheduled to open. Walt planned out meticulously. Walt made Main Street, U.S.A. the entrance to a "weenie", as he called it. He said, "What you need is a weenie, which says to people ‘come this way’. People won’t go down a long corridor unless there’s something promising at the end. You have to have something that beckons them to ‘walk this way’."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He also planned Adventureland, ‘an exotic tropical place in a far off region of the world’. To create this place, he imagined himself to be far away from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]FRONTIERLAND :[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Frontierland was made to relive the pioneer days of the American frontier. Walt said : "All of us have a cause to be proud of our country’s history, shaped by the pioneering spirit of our forefathers….Our adventures are designed to give you the feeling of having lived, even for a short while, during our country’s pioneer days."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Fantasyland’s goal was to ‘make dreams come true’. As Walt truly said, "What youngster…has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over moonlit London, or tumbling into Alice’s nonsensical Wonderland? In Fantasyland, these classic stories of everyone’s youth have become realities for youngsters-of all ages-to participate in." Fantasyland also featured a Fantasy Village and a large Sleeping Beauty Castle.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Tomorrowland was created with a view to look at the ‘marvels of the future.’ "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come…", said Walt.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt faced many troubles working on Tomorrowland. He rightly said, "When we do Tomorrowland, it will be outdated".[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Bit by bit, Disneyland was ready for inauguration. The ‘magical little park’ was really a $17,000,000 ‘Magic Kingdom’. The staff worked round the clock. Finally the great day arrived. Disneyland was inaugurated on July 17, 1955. On the opening day, about 20 cameras took pictures of the great ceremony. But the day was a disaster. Rides broke down, water fountains didn’t work, roads were jammed with cars and no sufficient parking arrangement was available. The people were irritated and crowded the park. A 15-day heat wave raised temperatures to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The asphalt still steaming as it had been laid out the night before, trapped high-heeled shoes. The heat wave continued and almost wiped out the park. Despite these problems, the opening day was a day to remember. As many as 6,000 invitees had been mailed and almost 28,000 ticket holders stormed the gala affair. A 90-minute live telecast of the opening was made on television. Commentaries delivered by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings and Ronald Reagan were added attractions.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Despite a terrible opening day, the park did pick up eventually. By 1965, 10 years after opening day, 50 million people had come through the gates.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt continuously made changes. Dumbo Flying Elephants, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Mike Fink KeelBoats were projects in progress before the end of the year. Walt was always aware of the requirements of the park and maintained regular contacts with the administrative staff.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Once when he was wandering in the park he observed that a few things were a little sloppy. He called the maintenance engineer and told him "I want this place painted. The engineer agreed and said "We’ll do it over the weekend." Walt said, "No, I want the job done by morning." Dozens of painters worked till morning and finished their job. Walt had once said, "Disneyland will never be complete. It will continue to grow as long as there is the final bit of imagination left in the world."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
An interesting thing to know about Disneyland is the selection of its address, 1313 Harbor Boulevard. Walt himself selected this address as all that was there in that area before Disneyland was orange groves. The explanation for the address, is either that, M is the 13th letter in the alphabet, making the address MM for Mickey Mouse, or that 13s being unlucky, was Walt’s way of thumbing his nose to those who thought that Disneyland would fail.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Another interesting thing is that Gum is not allowed and has never been sold inside Disneyland. Any gum found on the ground is scrapped off immediately. Walt felt that none of his guests should be required to pick gum off their shoes every few minutes, a common feature at other amusement parks. Alcohol is not available in any public area of the park.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
A small lamp in the window of the apartment above the fire house on Main Street, where Walt stayed overnight in Disneyland, is kept constantly lit in his memory. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"We don’t need to go on this ride. We have already seen it", a comment Walt overheard a guest say, was the reason why The Jungle Cruise went through a major overhaul.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt made sure the grass areas weren’t fenced in until he identified the areas people used frequently as short cuts. Those areas then had sidewalks added to them.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]WALT DISNEY WORLD [/b] [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After the grand success of Disneyland, Walt purchased 43 square miles of land in the heart of Florida. After working on it for seven years he planned a whole new Disney world of entertainment to include a new amusement theme park, motel-hotel resort, vacation center and EPCOT and on October 1, 1971 he inaugurated the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The MAGIC KINGDOM Park and Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park were also added later on. He said, "Here in Florida, we have something special that we never enjoyed at Disneyland… the blessing of size. There’s enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine". Walt Disney World Resort was not a replica of Disneyland. In fact it gave newer heights to Walt’s imagination.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]EPCOT[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
A section of the Walt Disney World, an Experimental Prototype Community for Tomorrow [EPCOT] grew out of Walt Disney’s vision for a futuristic society.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Future World, a part of EPCOT, includes most of the rides and attractions based on futuristic and educational themes.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The other half of EPCOT – ‘The World Showcase’ displays the culture and history of 11 countries:[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
American Adventure[br /]
Canada [br /]
China [br /]
France[br /]
Germany[br /]
Italy[br /]
Japan[br /]
Mexico[br /]
Morocco[br /]
Norway[br /]
United Kingdom[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Children and adults are both drawn alike, into an educational adventure.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
A visit to this park helps one to get a glimpse of the future.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The Test Track at EPCOT, presented by General Motors, takes one through the testing process of new cars. It does a marvelous job of educating while giving thrills. The sight of cars whipping around an outdoor track at over 50 mph is enough to send one’s adrenaline rushing.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Though EPCOT does not have any of the elements of a thrill park, except the Test Track, it is definitely worth a visit.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
A few years before he died, Walt took major interest in the establishment of California Institute of the Arts, a college-level professional school of all the creative and performing arts.Of CalArts, Walt once said, "It’s the principal thing I hope to leave when I move onto greener pastures. If I can help provide a place to develop the talent of the future, I think I will have accomplished something."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
CalArts was founded in 1961 with the amalgamation of two schools, the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and the Chouinard Art Institute. The campus is located in the city of Valencia, 32 miles north-east of downtown L.A. Disney conceived this school as a place where all the performing and creative arts would be taught under one roof in a ‘community of the arts’ as a completely new approach to professional arts training.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]HIS CINEMATIC CREATIONS :[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Though Walt had gathered a series of Academy Awards, he was not completely satisfied. He wanted to create the world’s first feature-length animated film 'Snow White.' Almost everyone thought that he was crazy. But Walt was a better businessman than many people realized. He knew that movie houses were now, no longer showing as many cartoons as they did earlier. Also his counterparts were giving his Mickey Mouse a tough fight with their cartoon–Popeye. He said once, "I knew if we wanted to get anywhere we’d have to go beyond the short subject."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt now fully concentrated on this challenge; he added 300 additional artists and taught them advanced skills of working. All his employees were working very hard on ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. Many a times, scenes were added and cut. When the film
was almost on its final stage, Walt felt that the character looked too pale, so he ordered inkers and painters to blush her cheeks in some thousands of drawings. The film was released on Dec. 21, 1937 in Los Angeles with Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny, George Burns and many others as the audience. The film was so sensational that it brought tears in the eyes of the audience.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
With the money he made in Snow White, Walt built a studio in Burbank, with an investment of $3 million. He worked on films like Pinocchio, Fantasia and Bambi. Pinocchio enabled the artist to create an animated world of startling details and design. Fantasia came along with mind-boggling music, and Bambi brought a sense of reality on the screen, portraying animals. But all these films bombed at the box office. The Disney Studio was further burdened with a debt of $4.5 million.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
During the Second World War, Disney Studio made several films for the armed forces. But they hadn’t yet recovered from their debts. Soon after, Walt released two more films Victory through Air Power and Song of the South. The next film Cinderella was also released eventually. Walt once mocked on his animators. "You give ‘em the lines, they rehearse a couple of times, and you’ve got it on film…it’s finished. You guys take six months to draw a scene." In early 1960’s he produced a series of films like Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians. Few other films released simultaneously were, Johnny Tremain, Old Yeller, Darlly O’ Gill and the Little People, Swiss Family Robinson and Pollyanna. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
His famous film Mary Poppins was released in 1984, which won 13 Academy Awards. Meanwhile, Walt also created a new company -Touchstone Pictures with the release of his movie Splash the same year.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
All through his life he made a number of fabulous films. The Living Desert (1956), Treasure Island (1950), RobinHood (1951), The Shaggy Dog (1956), and The Absent Minded Professor (1961) were some of them. Animated Pictures-as Peter Pan (1953) and The Sword in the Stone (1963) were also successful at the box–office. Walt also produced television series like Davy Crockett, The Mickey Mouse Club, and Walt and Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The Disney empire acquired the country’s top television network– Capital Cities / ABC. The $19 billion deal was the second largest in the history of the U.S. The other Companies within the Disney fold are : 10 TV stations, 21 radio stations, seven daily newspapers and 4 cable networks. The company gained worldwide fame and[br /]
enlisted their name in the topmost industries of the world. Sales figures crossed $12 billion and over 100,000 people were employed.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
For more than seven decades, the Walt Disney Company has succeeded in making its name pre-eminent in the field of family entertainment. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to one of major corporations today, it continues its mandate of providing quality entertainment for the entire family.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
attractions for parents and children alike. Years before Disneyland was constructed, Walt was continuously thinking, creating and generating new ideas in his mind. He visited [br /]
almost all of America and also visited buildings of the most prolific inventors and creators of America. He visited Thomas Edison’s workshop, the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop and the home of Noah Webster, the dictionary magnate. Throughout these visits he was formulating ideas for his Mickey Mouse Park. This idea culminated into today’s DISNEYLAND.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He originally planned to build this park on an 8-acre land next to the Burbank Studio so that his family and employees could go and relax there. The Second World War put these plans on hold. His visits to America confirmed that 8 acres would not be enough to build his dream. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In 1953, the Stanford Research Institute conducted a survey for a 100-acre site outside Los Angeles. Walt needed space to build rivers, waterfalls and mountains. He also wanted it to have flying elephants and giant teacups, a fairy-tale castle, moon rockets and a scenic railway, all in his project DISNEYLAND.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Location was the top priority. Accessibility by freeway, location within Los Angeles metropolitan area and affordability were the necessary perquisites.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The search finally ended at the rural area of Anaheim, California. A 160-acre orange grove near the junction of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) and Harbor Boulevard was selected. Numerous attempts made to get bank finance were in vain. As Walt once said, "I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After a passionate determination, financing finally came through. Disneyland now became a reality.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Construction of Disneyland began on July 21, 1954, just 12 months before it was scheduled to open. Walt planned out meticulously. Walt made Main Street, U.S.A. the entrance to a "weenie", as he called it. He said, "What you need is a weenie, which says to people ‘come this way’. People won’t go down a long corridor unless there’s something promising at the end. You have to have something that beckons them to ‘walk this way’."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
He also planned Adventureland, ‘an exotic tropical place in a far off region of the world’. To create this place, he imagined himself to be far away from civilization, in the remote jungles of Asia and Africa.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]FRONTIERLAND :[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Frontierland was made to relive the pioneer days of the American frontier. Walt said : "All of us have a cause to be proud of our country’s history, shaped by the pioneering spirit of our forefathers….Our adventures are designed to give you the feeling of having lived, even for a short while, during our country’s pioneer days."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Fantasyland’s goal was to ‘make dreams come true’. As Walt truly said, "What youngster…has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over moonlit London, or tumbling into Alice’s nonsensical Wonderland? In Fantasyland, these classic stories of everyone’s youth have become realities for youngsters-of all ages-to participate in." Fantasyland also featured a Fantasy Village and a large Sleeping Beauty Castle.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Tomorrowland was created with a view to look at the ‘marvels of the future.’ "Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come…", said Walt.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt faced many troubles working on Tomorrowland. He rightly said, "When we do Tomorrowland, it will be outdated".[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Bit by bit, Disneyland was ready for inauguration. The ‘magical little park’ was really a $17,000,000 ‘Magic Kingdom’. The staff worked round the clock. Finally the great day arrived. Disneyland was inaugurated on July 17, 1955. On the opening day, about 20 cameras took pictures of the great ceremony. But the day was a disaster. Rides broke down, water fountains didn’t work, roads were jammed with cars and no sufficient parking arrangement was available. The people were irritated and crowded the park. A 15-day heat wave raised temperatures to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The asphalt still steaming as it had been laid out the night before, trapped high-heeled shoes. The heat wave continued and almost wiped out the park. Despite these problems, the opening day was a day to remember. As many as 6,000 invitees had been mailed and almost 28,000 ticket holders stormed the gala affair. A 90-minute live telecast of the opening was made on television. Commentaries delivered by Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings and Ronald Reagan were added attractions.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Despite a terrible opening day, the park did pick up eventually. By 1965, 10 years after opening day, 50 million people had come through the gates.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt continuously made changes. Dumbo Flying Elephants, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Mike Fink KeelBoats were projects in progress before the end of the year. Walt was always aware of the requirements of the park and maintained regular contacts with the administrative staff.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Once when he was wandering in the park he observed that a few things were a little sloppy. He called the maintenance engineer and told him "I want this place painted. The engineer agreed and said "We’ll do it over the weekend." Walt said, "No, I want the job done by morning." Dozens of painters worked till morning and finished their job. Walt had once said, "Disneyland will never be complete. It will continue to grow as long as there is the final bit of imagination left in the world."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
An interesting thing to know about Disneyland is the selection of its address, 1313 Harbor Boulevard. Walt himself selected this address as all that was there in that area before Disneyland was orange groves. The explanation for the address, is either that, M is the 13th letter in the alphabet, making the address MM for Mickey Mouse, or that 13s being unlucky, was Walt’s way of thumbing his nose to those who thought that Disneyland would fail.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Another interesting thing is that Gum is not allowed and has never been sold inside Disneyland. Any gum found on the ground is scrapped off immediately. Walt felt that none of his guests should be required to pick gum off their shoes every few minutes, a common feature at other amusement parks. Alcohol is not available in any public area of the park.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
A small lamp in the window of the apartment above the fire house on Main Street, where Walt stayed overnight in Disneyland, is kept constantly lit in his memory. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
"We don’t need to go on this ride. We have already seen it", a comment Walt overheard a guest say, was the reason why The Jungle Cruise went through a major overhaul.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt made sure the grass areas weren’t fenced in until he identified the areas people used frequently as short cuts. Those areas then had sidewalks added to them.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]WALT DISNEY WORLD [/b] [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After the grand success of Disneyland, Walt purchased 43 square miles of land in the heart of Florida. After working on it for seven years he planned a whole new Disney world of entertainment to include a new amusement theme park, motel-hotel resort, vacation center and EPCOT and on October 1, 1971 he inaugurated the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The MAGIC KINGDOM Park and Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park were also added later on. He said, "Here in Florida, we have something special that we never enjoyed at Disneyland… the blessing of size. There’s enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine". Walt Disney World Resort was not a replica of Disneyland. In fact it gave newer heights to Walt’s imagination.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]EPCOT[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
A section of the Walt Disney World, an Experimental Prototype Community for Tomorrow [EPCOT] grew out of Walt Disney’s vision for a futuristic society.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Future World, a part of EPCOT, includes most of the rides and attractions based on futuristic and educational themes.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The other half of EPCOT – ‘The World Showcase’ displays the culture and history of 11 countries:[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
American Adventure[br /]
Canada [br /]
China [br /]
France[br /]
Germany[br /]
Italy[br /]
Japan[br /]
Mexico[br /]
Morocco[br /]
Norway[br /]
United Kingdom[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Children and adults are both drawn alike, into an educational adventure.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
A visit to this park helps one to get a glimpse of the future.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The Test Track at EPCOT, presented by General Motors, takes one through the testing process of new cars. It does a marvelous job of educating while giving thrills. The sight of cars whipping around an outdoor track at over 50 mph is enough to send one’s adrenaline rushing.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Though EPCOT does not have any of the elements of a thrill park, except the Test Track, it is definitely worth a visit.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
A few years before he died, Walt took major interest in the establishment of California Institute of the Arts, a college-level professional school of all the creative and performing arts.Of CalArts, Walt once said, "It’s the principal thing I hope to leave when I move onto greener pastures. If I can help provide a place to develop the talent of the future, I think I will have accomplished something."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
CalArts was founded in 1961 with the amalgamation of two schools, the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and the Chouinard Art Institute. The campus is located in the city of Valencia, 32 miles north-east of downtown L.A. Disney conceived this school as a place where all the performing and creative arts would be taught under one roof in a ‘community of the arts’ as a completely new approach to professional arts training.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]HIS CINEMATIC CREATIONS :[/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Though Walt had gathered a series of Academy Awards, he was not completely satisfied. He wanted to create the world’s first feature-length animated film 'Snow White.' Almost everyone thought that he was crazy. But Walt was a better businessman than many people realized. He knew that movie houses were now, no longer showing as many cartoons as they did earlier. Also his counterparts were giving his Mickey Mouse a tough fight with their cartoon–Popeye. He said once, "I knew if we wanted to get anywhere we’d have to go beyond the short subject."[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Walt now fully concentrated on this challenge; he added 300 additional artists and taught them advanced skills of working. All his employees were working very hard on ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. Many a times, scenes were added and cut. When the film
was almost on its final stage, Walt felt that the character looked too pale, so he ordered inkers and painters to blush her cheeks in some thousands of drawings. The film was released on Dec. 21, 1937 in Los Angeles with Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny, George Burns and many others as the audience. The film was so sensational that it brought tears in the eyes of the audience.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
With the money he made in Snow White, Walt built a studio in Burbank, with an investment of $3 million. He worked on films like Pinocchio, Fantasia and Bambi. Pinocchio enabled the artist to create an animated world of startling details and design. Fantasia came along with mind-boggling music, and Bambi brought a sense of reality on the screen, portraying animals. But all these films bombed at the box office. The Disney Studio was further burdened with a debt of $4.5 million.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
During the Second World War, Disney Studio made several films for the armed forces. But they hadn’t yet recovered from their debts. Soon after, Walt released two more films Victory through Air Power and Song of the South. The next film Cinderella was also released eventually. Walt once mocked on his animators. "You give ‘em the lines, they rehearse a couple of times, and you’ve got it on film…it’s finished. You guys take six months to draw a scene." In early 1960’s he produced a series of films like Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians. Few other films released simultaneously were, Johnny Tremain, Old Yeller, Darlly O’ Gill and the Little People, Swiss Family Robinson and Pollyanna. [br /]
[br /]
[br /]
His famous film Mary Poppins was released in 1984, which won 13 Academy Awards. Meanwhile, Walt also created a new company -Touchstone Pictures with the release of his movie Splash the same year.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
All through his life he made a number of fabulous films. The Living Desert (1956), Treasure Island (1950), RobinHood (1951), The Shaggy Dog (1956), and The Absent Minded Professor (1961) were some of them. Animated Pictures-as Peter Pan (1953) and The Sword in the Stone (1963) were also successful at the box–office. Walt also produced television series like Davy Crockett, The Mickey Mouse Club, and Walt and Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. [br /]
[br /]
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The Disney empire acquired the country’s top television network– Capital Cities / ABC. The $19 billion deal was the second largest in the history of the U.S. The other Companies within the Disney fold are : 10 TV stations, 21 radio stations, seven daily newspapers and 4 cable networks. The company gained worldwide fame and[br /]
enlisted their name in the topmost industries of the world. Sales figures crossed $12 billion and over 100,000 people were employed.[br /]
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For more than seven decades, the Walt Disney Company has succeeded in making its name pre-eminent in the field of family entertainment. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to one of major corporations today, it continues its mandate of providing quality entertainment for the entire family.[br /]
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• "It’s kind of fun to do the impossible…" [br /]
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• "Cartoon and animation offers a medium of story-telling and visual entertainment, which can bring both pleasure and information to people of all ages around the world." [br /]
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• "All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures; it is the very nature of fantasy and fable."[br /]
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• "Until a character becomes a personality, it cannot be believed. Without personality, the character may do funny or interesting things, but unless people are able to identify themselves with the character, its actions will seem unreal. And without personality, a story cannot ring true to the audience." [br /]
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• "Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive. This facility makes it the most versatile and explicit means of communication yet devised for quick mass appreciation."[br /]
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• "Animation is different from other parts. Its language is the language of caricature. Our most difficult job was to develop the cartoons’ unnatural but seemingly natural anatomy for humans and animals."[br /]
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• "Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as muscles grow flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it." [br /]
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• "The way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is no answer to delinquency. Preaching won’t keep kids out of trouble. But keeping their minds occupied will."[br /]
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• "Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest national resource – the minds of our children."[br /]
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• "When you’re curious you find lots of interesting things to do. And one thing it takes to accomplish something is courage."[br /]
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• "On heritage and ideals, our code and standards the things we live by and teach our children are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings."[br /]
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• "You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality."
"The way to get started is to quit to talking and begin doing."[br /]
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• "You reach a point, where you don’t work for money." [br /]
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• "Animation offers a medium of story telling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world."[br /]
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• "Cartoon and animation offers a medium of story-telling and visual entertainment, which can bring both pleasure and information to people of all ages around the world." [br /]
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• "All cartoon characters and fables must be exaggeration, caricatures; it is the very nature of fantasy and fable."[br /]
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• "Until a character becomes a personality, it cannot be believed. Without personality, the character may do funny or interesting things, but unless people are able to identify themselves with the character, its actions will seem unreal. And without personality, a story cannot ring true to the audience." [br /]
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• "Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive. This facility makes it the most versatile and explicit means of communication yet devised for quick mass appreciation."[br /]
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• "Animation is different from other parts. Its language is the language of caricature. Our most difficult job was to develop the cartoons’ unnatural but seemingly natural anatomy for humans and animals."[br /]
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• "Every child is born blessed with a vivid imagination. But just as muscles grow flabby with disuse, so the bright imagination of a child pales in later years if he ceases to exercise it." [br /]
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• "The way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is no answer to delinquency. Preaching won’t keep kids out of trouble. But keeping their minds occupied will."[br /]
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• "Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest national resource – the minds of our children."[br /]
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• "When you’re curious you find lots of interesting things to do. And one thing it takes to accomplish something is courage."[br /]
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• "On heritage and ideals, our code and standards the things we live by and teach our children are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings."[br /]
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[br /]
• "You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality."
"The way to get started is to quit to talking and begin doing."[br /]
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• "You reach a point, where you don’t work for money." [br /]
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• "Animation offers a medium of story telling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world."[br /]
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In a life spanning 66 years, Walt had achieved numerous awards. He and his staff together received more than 950 honors and citations. These include 48 Academy Awards and 7 Emmys. Walt was awarded an honorary degree from Harvard, Yale and University of Southern California. The UCLA honorary was also granted to him. His other major achievements are : Presidential Medal of Freedom, Officer d’ Academic Decorations, Thailand’s Order of the Crown, Mexico’s Order of the Aztec Eagle, France’s Legion of Honor, Brazil’s Order of the Southern Cross and the Showman of the World from the National Association of Theatre Owners. [br /]
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