Walt Disney

Net Worth

$1,000,000,000

Born in (City)

Chicago

Born in (Country)

United States of America

Date of Birth

05th December, 1901

Date of Death

15th December, 1966

Mother

Flora Disney

Father

Elias Disney‍

Children

Diane Disney Miller
Sharon Mae Disney

About

Walt Disney is one legend who made our childhood joyful and memorable with the amazing cartoon characters he created. He is an icon and his work in the the animation industry is tremendous. In this article let’s see about the journey of Walt Disney, who set a benchmark in the motion picture, television and animation industry. He took art classes as a boy and got a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to California in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio with his brother Roy. With Ub Iwerks, Walt developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, Disney became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons and technical developments in cameras.

Early Life

Walter Elias Disney, famously known as Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1905 in Chicago, US. His parents were Elias Disney and Flora Disney. He was the fourth among the five children of his parents. When he was four years old, his family relocated to Missouri. They moved to a farm which was purchased by Disney’ s Uncle. That farm is believed to be the model and inspiration for the Main Street, U.S.A in Disneyland. During that period he developed interest in drawing. Over a period of time, he also learned to draw using crayons and watercolors. Soon his father lost interest in farming and shifted his family to Kansas City. His father obtained rights to distribute two newspapers and forced their sons to deliver newspapers along with him. While assisting his father he studied cartooning in a correspondence school and later joined Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design. In 1917, Disney’s family moved back again to Chicago. Walt enrolled in McKinley High School. He made photographs, became cartoonist of the school newspaper. Disney also took night classes at Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He had huge hopes of getting a job as cartoonist in a newspaper, but it was interrupted by World War I. He tried joining the army then, but was rejected as he was underaged. He later joined the Red Cross and served as an ambulance driver for a few months in France and Germany. While his services in the Red Cross, he drew cartoons on the side of his ambulance, and some of them were published in the army newspaper ’Stars and Stripes’.

Road to Success

In 1919 he returned to Kansas city and worked as an apprentice in Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio. He drew commercial illustrations for advertising, theater programs and catalogs. He got acquainted with the iconic artist Ub Iwerks, with whom Disney collaborated later and created the evergreen comic character Mickey Mouse. Disney and Iwerks, both were laid off in 1920 and they tried many things and ultimately decided to start their own studio in 1922. They bought second hand movie cameras and made animated advertisements for screening in local movie channels. He launched the Alice series and ultimately got bankrupted. He moved to California in 1923. Disney and his brother Roy started the Disney Brothers Studio, which later became The Walt Disney Company. In 1928, Disney and Iwerks created Mickey Mouse. Until 1947, Walt Disney was the voiceover artist for Mickey Mouse. "Three little Pigs" was produced in 1933. Started producing Snow White and Seven Dwarfs from 1934 for four years. It was released in 1938 and it was a huge success. Cinderella was filmed in 1950. In 1952 he received zoning permission to build a theme park in Burbank, California. Disneyland was opened in 1955. Mickey Mouse Club, Disney’s first daily cartoon series was started in 1955.

Challenges

After years of eating beans and driving up his debts, Disney finally brought Mickey Mouse to life on film starting in the late 1920s and earned his way back to the top of his industry. But it wasn't easy. Bankers rejected the concept of his famous mouse over 300 times before one said yes. Even with the success of Mickey Mouse, Disney still faced challenges in keeping his business afloat. Not only was he overworked, but tensions with his employer — who eventually stole his longtime and best animator from him — led to Disney having a nervous breakdown. Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, California. Like most of Disney's enterprises, it got off to a rocky start. Forged tickets were bringing more visitors than anticipated, adding to a line that trailed seven miles long. With temps soaring up to 100 degrees, the new asphalt was melting women's high heels, drinking fountains were defunct (thanks to a plumber's strike) and some of the rides malfunctioned. Critics blasted the opening of Disneyland, calling it "Black Sunday." But as always, Disney's tenacity and perseverance turned his latest endeavor around. Disneyland became a colossal success, clearing out his financial debts, and to this day, operates as an integral part of his business empire.

Failures

Walt Disney is remembered for his many successes—for Mickey Mouse, for Donald Duck, for Disneyland. But he also saw his share of hard failures including a bankruptcy, a mental breakdown, a devastating strike, and the loss of control over his creation Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He discussed these failures frankly. He once said, “You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” Disney's character Oswald was plenty lucky, becoming a huge star in one-reel animation, but Disney himself would find his luck had run out. Traveling to New York to renegotiate his contract, he discovered that his producer had taken his team of animators from under him and that he no longer had any legal rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Achievements

He has won 22 Academy Awards.|In 1950 Disney was inducted to Hollywood Walk of Fame, with not just one, but two stars for motion picture and television work respectively|Awarded Chevalier in the French Légion d’honneur in 1935|In 1952 he was awarded the highest artistic decoration of the French, the Officer d’Academie|Presidential Medal of Freedom from the US government in 1964|He was awarded Honorary Doctorate from honorary degrees from the Universities of Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern California and the University of California

Quotes

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
It’s kind of fun to do the impossible
First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare.
Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, dreams are forever.
You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.