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.

Tim Burton's Imagination

Enter into the fantastical horror filled mind of Tim Burton. He is probably the first artist to inspire me, besides my Mother. My brother and I used to rent A Nightmare Before Christmas (produced by Burton), over and over again from the local video rental store. There was a gap in time when I had forgotten about the movie, and when I re-watched it, I couldn't believe that I hadn't been scared of the characters. They were fabulously terrifying, yet welcoming.  Over the years, I've been enthralled with his artwork. Not only his movies and short films, but also his drawings and other personal art. 

Tim Burton

Timothy Walter Burton was born in Burbank, California on August 25, 1958. He grew up being inspired by horror films of Roger Corman, many featuring the well known on-screen villain Vincent Price. He enrolled in the California Institute of Arts, majoring in animation. He graduated in 1980. He worked for Walt Disney Studios for less than a year and stuck out on his own. In 1982 he released his award winning short, Vincent, which was a tribute to his childhood idol. Burton currently resides in London with Helena Bonham Carter and their two children.

Victor and Sparky

His second popular short was entitled Frankenweenie, a twist on the classic Frankenstein. Frankenweenie  is now a full length movie, released in 2012. After he left Disney, Warner Brothers Pictures decided to have him direct Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.  Burton went on to other well known films such as Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Batman (1989). 

Beetlejuice with an upset stomach.

He's had a tremendous amount of success in many of his movies. He also tends to work with some of the same people in many of his works. Not because he is using favorites, but because their skills fit with Burton's works at the time. Danny Elfman, an American composer, has music in many of Burton's films. Helena Bonham Carter is also the chosen actress in several films. Probably the most associated actor in Burton's films is Johnny Depp. Although some people criticize him for the recurring actors and composer, I feel that it works well for his work.

Teenager: an awkward period of life.

His website  begins with his character, Stain Boy, in which you use the arrow keys to explore the site. He has a public gallery of works as well as a private gallery. To access the private gallery, one must enter an email address to receive updates.

Stain Boy

Throughout his artwork there is a deep sense of horror and fantasy. The sketchy quality of his works on paper makes them childlike. He was known to convey that people only stop being artists when they start expecting something. His instructors at the Institute told him that "if you like to draw, just draw." This is something I can relate to, since I've been drawing since I could hold a crayon. Even if your stuff doesn't turn out the way you wanted, or you hate it when it's done, the point is to do what you like to do.

Burton has also written a handful of poems, the most famous one entitled Victor, which is about a little boy named Victor Malloy whom wishes to be like Vincent Price. He has turned it into an animated short narrated by Vincent Price, himself. Be has also has several books published, one being

Time Burton married a German artist in 1989 named Lena Gieseke. They split shortly after the filming of Batman Returns. He was then left her for Lisa Marie whom he dated for a few years and placed in four of his films. During the production of Planet of the Apes, he met Helena Bonham Carter. Burton resides in London with Bonham Carter and their two children. They have been involved since 2001, and their son and daughter were born in 2003 and 2007, respectively.

Helena Bonham Carter, Nell Burton, Billy Raymond Burton, Tim Burton

To keep an updated tab on Tim Burton and his works. you can find most of it on the Tim Burton Collective.

*I do NOT own any of the above images*