Walt Disney and His Empire

[Figure 1]

His Childhood:

Born in 1901 Walt Disney would only draw as a hobby, and as he remembers he first got encouragement on his interest from his aunt and a neighbor (Nix, 2019). Disney did not exactly grow up in the most comfortable way, his father had difficulty with his job and so they had to move to Kansas City where his father bought a newspaper route (Nix, 2019). Disney would help his father deliver newspapers for 6 years before his father changed jobs again, at 16 Disney dropped out of high school due to lack of participation, the only thing that he would dedicate his time to was drawing (Nix, 2019).

[Figure 2]

During this time World War I was in action as well and Walt joined the Red Cross Ambulance Corps where he had certain small tasks such as driving the officials around but for this he had to forge his birth certificate to be eligible for the Corpse’s age requirement of 17 (Nix, 2019).

[Figure 3]

The Start of His Career:

For a short time after the War Disney helped with advertisements for magazines and some movie theaters until finally he found his interest in animation (Nix, 2019). By the time he was 21 he started a film studio and called it “Laugh-O-Gram” but that failed a year later and so he moved to Hollywood to work with his older brother Roy on their shared film studio “Disney Brothers” (Siruss, 2019).

[Figure 4]

(Walt and Roy)

They created several short animated films until Walt came up with a series based on a character he created and called “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit”, but within a year that project completely failed resulting in Walt losing rights to his own creations (Siruss, 2019). However, that unfortunate event led to his creation of the globally beloved character “Mickey Mouse” (Siruss, 2019). At the age of 27 Walt created a short film starring Mickey that he titled “Steamboat Willie”, in fact Walt himself decided to voice for Mickey until he no longer found the time for it in 1947 (Siruss, 2019).

[Figure 5]

Highlights of His Career:

His work has brought joy to a whole nation and that hasn’t gone unnoticed, Disney holds record for most Oscar recognition, with 59 nominations and 22 wins (Nix, 2019). He was the first animator to ever mix animation with live action films (in Mary Poppins) and the first to create a proper length animation on its own (Nix, 2019).

[Figure 6]

Personal Reflection:

As a new comer to university I often question my decision to have taken the animation major, but when I read about the struggles that people like Disney went through and the outstanding outcome they have gotten, I only get more sure of my career path. And whenever I feel like I am lost within my major, these incredible events inspire me to continue on.

References:

[Figure 1]. Fanning, J. (2013, December 20). How Walt Disney Made Sure Every Child Could Afford a Mickey Mouse Doll. [image] Retrieved (20, March 2019) from https://d23.com/walt-files-mickey-mouse-doll/

[Figure 4]. Gentle Visionary: Roy O. Disney. (2016, January 10). [image] Retrieved (20, March 2019) from https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/gentle-visionary-roy-o-disney

[Figure 2]. How was walt's childhood. (n.d.). [image] Retrieved (20, March 2019) from https://www.smore.com/9gevj-mr-walt

[Figure 5]. Mickey-Mouse-with-Walt-Disney. (2018, December 5). [image] Retrieved (20, March 2019) from http://www.akhayar.com/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-walt-disney/mickey-mouse-with-walt-disney/

Nix, E. (2015, February 24). 7 Things You May Not Know About Walt Disney. [online] HISTORY. Retrieved (20, March 2019) from https://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-might-not-know-about-walt-disney

Siruss, K. (2015, June 2). 3 Ways Roy O. Disney Saved Walt Disney World From Certain Disaster. [online] Theme Park Tourist. Retrieved (20, March 2019) from https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20150528/30303/how-roy-o-disney-brought-disney-world-tolife

[Figure 6]. Sollosi, M. (2018, February 28). Who has the most Oscars?. [image] Retrieved (20, March 2019) from https://ew.com/oscars/2018/02/28/who-has-the-most-oscars/

[Figure 3]. World War One Walt. (2011, May 30). [image] Retrieved (20, March 2019) from https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/world-war-one-walt