Disney is a common household name, known all over the world but do people really know much more than the Disney and his parks. Tons of thousands of people come to visit Disneyland, California and Disneyworld, Florida, as-well as those who watch the original movies along with the new releases every year. Besides being one of the most well known names ever, Walt Disney had an interesting life before the Disney name became so famous and well known. Disney’s life was far from perfect, but he did not let that stop him from being able to make millions of peoples lives feel as if it was actually magical.
Walter Elias Disney born within the city of Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1901, to a young immigrant couple of Elias and Flora Disney. Flora a grade-school teacher and Elias was a local building contractor. The family came from very humble beginnings of hard work and perseverance. Walt moved at a young age away from his birth town, at just four years old found him and his family moving to Marceline, Missouri where the family would raise their children. Walt was the fourth of five siblings, he had three older brothers along with a younger sister, Ramen, Roy, Herbert and Ruth.
It was whilst attending grade school that Walt recognized his enjoyment for drawling and doodling during his time at school. His family was split on his passion for drawling, his father discouraged his sketches, as his mother would encourage him to keep drawling. Soon enough, by the age of seven, Walt found himself being able to sell his sketches. With the money he was able to obtain he was able to see his first film. The movie was a recreation of the crucifying of Christ on the cross and was in black and white. Walt became emotionally moved by the film and desired to learn how films were made. Since then Disney continued his love for drawling and how he could incorporate them into film. While working on his art and film Walt would work for a railroad company in Missouri in which he was selling newspapers, candies, and sodas to visitors as-well as travelers. Walt enjoyed the job so much as he was able to make people happy as well as interact with others, a reoccurring theme in the life of Walt Disney.
At some point towards the end of WW1 Disney found himself being enticed to join the military and go off to honor his country at war. Though Disney attempted to enlist within the army but was rejected as he was too young, being only sixteen. Stubborn and unable to do nothing with a war going on Walt devised a plan to forge his age and join the Red Cross, which was seventeen to enroll. Soon after joining the Red Cross, Walt found himself being sent to France to ride and work on an ambulance. During this time in France Walt kept his practice of doodling and drawling even to the point of covering his ambulance in his very own cartoon drawings. Also during his time spent in France Walt would attempt to create many new’s propaganda cartoons about the war. Walt would spend over a year overseas before coming back home to Kansas City.
Once returning back to the states, Walt wanted to pursue his passion of drawling and motion picture. Soon enough he found himself attending the Kansas City Art School of Design. Walt spent nearly a year there until deciding to transfer over to his birth town of Chicago, Illinois and attend the Chicago Art Institute. Not long after his transfer to Chicago Art Institute Disney was seeing results on his works. Eventually graduating from the art institute Disney would found his first film studio, Laugh-O-Gram Films. With this company Walt would kickstart his career in cartoons, shorts and motion pictures.
Not long after his start with Laugh-O-Gram Walt decided he wanted more. Him and his brother, Roy, went out to Los Angeles to incorporate their new company, Disney Bros. This is where he would come up with many of his characters such as; Mickey, Donald and Goofy. Disney Bros. became a success and would begin to see attention and popularity. Nearly two years since moving to Los Angeles Walt met a women who he would late fall in love with by the name of Lillian Bounds, who he had hired prior to paint for the company. The couple decided to settle down and marry, though it was not all sweet. The couple dealt with a miscarriage of their first pregnancy, later trying again and succeeding with their daughter Diane Marie Disney. The couple would again try for a child but this time with adoption. Three years after the birth of Diane the couple adopted another girl by the name of Sharon Mae Disney.
By the mid nineteen thirties Disney was working on his first full length animated motion picture. Though many people resented the idea and expected a complete bust Disney Bros. came out with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on December 21, 1937. Despite the predictions the movie was a hit, bringing in over a million dollars, and instant classic. For several years after the movie Disney was the only motion picture company to have a patent for technicolor, allowing them to be the only animator allowed to make colored films. This little loop hole skyrocketed the Disney company into fame and wealth. Soon after Walts rise to fame he bought a house for his parents to live in. Less than a year after moving into the house Flora, his mother, passed away from monoxide poisoning from the house. This is said to be the reason for his following films to be done without a mother figure within them, Bambi, The Jungle Book, and Pinocchio.
Disney’s popularity was growing on the regular and beginning to become a house-hold name. By 1940 the Disney studios in California had employed over a thousand people for writers, drawlers, and animators. Yet, by the middle of World War II the majority of the companies crew had begun to do government work like propaganda and shot films for the military. This connection with the government and Disney brought about large amounts of controversy and from it a loos in fandom for Disney costing them loads of money. Though Disney would eventually bounce back and be right back on top as they were pre-war. After the war had come to a close Disney kept their reign on top, producing movies such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Cinderella. Also soon after the war began the construction of the California Disney theme park, Disneyland.
Disneyland California was the first of any of the Disney franchise parks to open up. The doors to the magical kingdom opened up on the 17th of July nineteen fifty-five in Anaheim, California. Walt had a special idea for his park, he wanted a place where age is but a number and every person that walks in can feel youthful and enlightened. Disney gave a sincere dedication speech at the opening of the park,”To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land, here age relives fond memories of the past… and here youth may savor the challenge and promote of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America… with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world (Disney).” This idea to open a park is brought on from his prior life experience’s of his desire to bring others joy and happiness. Sense the originally opening of Disneyland there has been several other Disney themed parks opened; Orlando, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, and several more.
After an immaculate forty-three year career of laughs, enlightenment, and joy, Walt Disney died at the age of sixty-five. Walt had acquired lung cancer, due to the smoking habit he picked up overseas, after battling it for quite some time. Walt died just days after his sixty-fifth birthday. Disney had kept a special lamp in his apartment window that if light symbolized he was home and if not lit, he was out. After the death of Walt the candle has been lit in his apartment window every day since his passing to symbolize he will always be at home within the park. Walt’s remains were cremated two days after his passing, and his ashes kept at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Though Walt Disney is no longer around his works will live on for along time to come. The amusement and joy brought on by Walt’s work have spread joy and youth all across the world. After the death of the cartoon icon the Disney company continued to produce material being films and shorts. Roy Disney, Walt’s brother took over the reigns in running the Disney company. The company went on to win many many awards in several different fields, from animation, storytelling, art-work, motion picture and several others. Even without the man behind the production the Disney magic was able to stick around.
Disney World in Orlando, Florida opened its doors to the public in 1971. The Florida park was a huge hit right away. Soon after the doors opened in Orlando the Epcot Disney organized park would open up in Orlando and had even more Americans coming out to see the park than ever. Epcot took its theme by the creativity of the modern American Industry. The name Disney had spread even more than before after the passing, soon enough the first park outside of the United States, the Paris, France, Disneyland park had opened up on April twelfth nineteen ninety-two. Since the opening of the first Disneyland in California there has been ten new park openings all across the world, totaling to eleven parks worldwide.
The company still to this day is producing and writing films, shots, and skits for television shows today. The Disney brand has now turned into a multi-billion dollar corporation. There are now countless cartoons, shorts, and skits in just about every country all tied back to Walt Disney and his production. Disney is now apart of five action resorts, eleven theme parks, two water parks, thirty-nine hotels, eights motion picture studios, six record labels, and eleven cable TV networks, along with the design of their up incoming Netflix-like streaming service. It is easy to say Disney has it all covered.
Walt Disney is an icon, legend, and leader of the twentieth century to many Americans. The Disney name has touched the hearts of people all across the world with happiness and creativity. The amount of people he reached all across the world with his abilities through animation shows the power youth. The worldwide recognition is solely based off of the ideas in which his name represents: imagination, creation, optimism, self-made success, joy, youthfulness, and many more. The ideas and traits in which Walter Disney represented are amongst the traits in which all human beings are fond of which allowed for this personable connection between his work and the consumer. The Disney name is one that will live on for hundreds of years to come, as long as there is still a desire for joy.
