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.

My Spoon is Too Big!

This guy; he is awesome.

Have you ever seen the Pop-Tart commercials on television about people tricking those delicious pop-tarts into toasters? I have and it was NOT Don Hertzfeldt. Kellogg's used a very similar style and humor, but Hertzfeldt has stated that he would never do commercial work.  I did not know this until I began writing this blog, so I felt I had to inform you of this. Several other companies have also borrowed his style for their products. He has stated that he will not be involved in the commercial world. He makes his films because that is what he enjoys doing, not because he can make money from it. 

Born on August 1st in 1976, in California, he taught himself animation when he was only 15. All he used was a small video camera and his pen and paper. Before then, he spent his time attending animation festivals and drawing comic books.  While he attended film school at the University of California in Santa Barbara, he found he was drawn to animation rather than low budget live action films. 

Hertzfeldt has never held a job other than his animation, even when he was in school. His 16mm student films found festival exposure from the beginning. These included Lily and Jim and Billy's Balloon. His short films include an array of slapstick humor, trajicomedy and black humor. His videos feature hand drawn stick figures with tradition media for the effects. He uses very little technological aid. He uses 16mm or 35mm film cameras and techniques such as multiple exposures, in camera mattes, and experimental photography. 

Intro & Billy's Balloon

Hertzfeldt often single-handedly creates his entire films. This means he alone he writes, directs, produces, animates, edits, voices, and makes the sound for the entire film. At times, this process takes years. I single film may require tens of thousands of drawings. He will often include classical music in his movies. Music of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and Strauss have appeared in films. He has also composed some of his own music. 

His film, Everything Will be OK, has been acclaimed as his greatest feature to date. It has gotten the best critical reviews and the Boston Globe called it a "masterpiece." The film is based off of one of his early characters, Bill, and follows his mundane life until it begins to grow dark as we learn Bill may be suffering from a deadly disease. This is the first film in a trilogy telling Bill's story. The other two are I Am So Proud of You and It's Such a Beautiful Day. The trilogy is a moving event, something very cardiac; in your chest. It may be odd that a stick figure can cause these emotions, but when a man really knows how to tell a story, it doesn't matter what the figures look like. 

Everything Will be OK

Hertzfeldt has won many, many awards for his animations, even being the youngest to win them in the history of the award. He resides in Santa Barbara and has produces all his videos from there. Although many bootleg versions of his films have been put on the internet, he is not going to hassle his fans. He feels that a true film should be seen in a dark room with the viewers undivided attention.

"I like paper and pens and paint...I need to angle real lights on my artwork and work with my hands and build props. Computers just take all that fun out of it."

                                                                                                                         -Don Hertzfeldt

**I do NOT own any of these images or videos**