The Man Behind the Castle: A Day with Disney

Disney is a name that has already gone down in history and won't soon be forgotten. Disney is no longer just a name and a family, it's now the name revered by every family, especially in America. To think, it all started with a mouse...

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5 of 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. His parents, Elias and Flora, had five children, four boys and one girl. The Disney's moved to Missouri when Walt was young, and that is where he spent most of his childhood.  He started drawing when he was young, and even sold a few sketched to neighbors. In 1911 he and his family moved to Kansas City where his train-engineer uncle sparked Disney's interest in trains.

Disney took drawing and photography classes in Chicago and attended some night classes from the Chicago Art Institute. He was also was a contributor of cartoons for the school newspaper. When he was 19, he attempted to enlist in the military, but was rejected for being underage. Instead, he signed up for the Red Cross and drove and ambulance for a year in France. This ambulance was supposedly covered in his cartoons.

The Disney brothers with friend and co-worker Iwerks in front of Disney Brothers' Studio

When he returned to Kansas City, his older brother Roy helped him get a job at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio. His employment there began his experimentation with animation and led him to the Kansas City Film Ad Company. Walt started his own company, called Laugh-O-Grams, which created animated shorts to be played before films. This company soon went bankrupt, so he packed up and moved to Hollywood with his old Roy O. Disney.

While he was still employed in Kansas City, he created Alice in Cartoonland, which featured a girl in an animated world. They were also called The Alice Comedies. Disney and his brother started the Disney Brothers' Studios in Hollywood and their first major client contracted the Alice shorts for over $1,000 each. While beginning (1927), they also created Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit.

Oswald: The Lucky Rabbit

One of many setbacks in his career happened about this time when his New York buyer tried to hire him, but would not be fair. Disney was told Universal Studios owned all his cartoons, so Disney set out with a few loyal followers and began something extraordinary: Mickey Mouse.

In 1928, Steamboat Willie was released and became a huge hit. Earlier, in 1925, the name of the studio was changed from Disney Brothers' to Walt Disney Studios. The first feature length animated film was Snow White in 1937.

In 1932, the Disney Art School was established to teach others the Disney style.
In 1939, Disney built the Burbank Studio, and in 1941 there was a workers strike against Disney's "unfair wages and lack of job security."

Much to the joy of Walt, Disneyland was built in 1955 with financial backing from ABC. In 1971, he began purchasing land in Florida that would become Walt Disney World.

Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards won. He is also known as one of the greatest visionaries of the century. He has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He constantly returned to Marceline, MO, which was the place of most of his inspiration. Sadly, on December of 1966, Walt Disney died of lung cancer.

This is one man that every person in America owes so much to. Not only was he successful doing what he loved, but he gave so much to everyone around him.


long bio: http://www.justdisney.com/walt_disney/biography/long_bio.html
wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney
biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533
interesting facts: http://voices.yahoo.com/10-interesting-facts-walt-disney-270619.html 
Missouri Historical bio: http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/d/disney/index.html