Get ready for the journey into the biography of Walt Disney, the visionary behind Disneyland. Take a look on how a boys’ childhood fascination with drawing evolved into a groundbreaking career in animation.
Discover the origins of Disney’s fascination with cartoons, the visionary ideas that led to the creation of Disneyland. From his earliest sketches to the visualisation of a magical theme park, this blog offers an insight of the influential journey at the milestones, setbacks, and triumphs that shaped Walt Disney into a legendary visionary.
Walt Disney’s Childhood: Family and Passion for Drawing
Born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, Walt Disney was the second youngest child of Elias and Flora Disney.
Walt spent his childhood with his family on a farm at Marceline, Missouri. He spent his early days drawing and playing with animals. Later in 1911, Walt moved to Kansas City with his family.
At Kansas, Walt along with his older brother Roy, helped his father deliver newspapers as a part of his father’s business. Due to his father’s strict nature, Walt would rise early everyday to distribute the Kansas City Star and Times.
This instilled in him a deep sense of discipline and a strong work ethic. Despite helping his father’s business, Walt took time for his passion of art, he often used to draw cartoons in the margins of his notebooks and fellow students’ yearbooks. Walt also attended Saturday art classes at the Kansas City Art Institute.
Walt Disney’s Formative Years: Art, Ambition, and the Impact of World War I
In the fall of 1917, after completing his schooling at Benton Grammar School in Kansas City, Walt joined Chicago’s McKinley High School. At McKinley, Walt served as the school’s cartoonist, often drawing cartoons for the school newspaper and magazines. He also took evening art classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts to further develop his artistic skills. His work during this time mainly revolved around patriotic themes.
Walt Disney’s Initial Carrier: From Betrayal to Hollywood
However, Walt did not complete his formal education. In 1918, due to World War I, Walt left McKinley High School and joined the Red Cross as an ambulance driver in France. Upon returning, Walt chose not to resume his formal education and continued to pursue his career in art and animation.
In 1919, Walt Disney joined the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio, as an apprentice artist. At Pesmen-Rubin, Walt created commercial illustrations for advertising, theater programs, and catalogs. It was here that Walt met Ub Iwerks, a talented artist who later became his close collaborator. Not satisfied by the progress, both Walt and Iwerks soon quit the studio.
Determined to build their careers in the field, Walt and Iwerks founded the Iwerks-Disney Company. However, this commercial art business met with little success and was soon shut down. Eager to learn more about animation, Walt later joined the Kansas City Slide Company, where he began creating animated films.
He then established his own studio, Laugh-O-gram Films, which produced short cartoons. During this time Walt was working on an animation series named Alice’s Wonderland. But not so long after this, Walt had to face a betrayal by a business associate named Pictorial Clubs of Tennessee. This business associate promised to pay $11,100 for six cartoons but never delivered the funds.
As a result, before the completion of Alice’s Wonderland, the studio was forced to file for bankruptcy. Facing this setback, Walt left Kansas City and moved to Hollywood to pursue new opportunities.
Walt Disney’s Hollywood Carrier: The Walt Disney Studio
After moving to Hollywood in 1923, Walt along with his elder brother Roy started the Disney Brothers Studio (later Walt Disney Studios) in 4651 Kingswell Avenue, Los Angeles, California. Walt completed his Alice’s Wonderland as a pilot project in order to secure a contract with a New York distributor Margaret J. Winkler, who agreed to distribute a series of Alice Comedies.
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The signing of this deal on 16 October,1923 marked the official start of the Disney company. In 1924, Walt invited Iwerks to join him as a chief animator for the Alice Comedies series. The Alice Comedies, which blended live-action and animation, proved to be a success and the reason for the expansion of the Disney Brother’s Studio. Following this success the studio moved to larger space on Hyperion Avenue in 1926.
Creation of Mickey Mouse: The Birth of a Global Icon
Under the distribution of Charles Mintz, the Walt Disney studio under the guidance of Iwerks and Walt created a cartoon character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
In 1928, the Walt Disney Studio faced another betrayal, Charles Mintz took control over Oswald as well as animation staff of the company. Due to this, Iwerks and Walt had to start over.
Iwerks and Walt secretly planned and developed a new character—Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse appeared first in two silent shorts Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho, but unfortunately both could not find a distributor. After failing two silent shorts, both Iwerks and Walt came up with Steamboat Willie (1928), which brought synchronized sound. Steamboat Willie was a massive hit, it turned Mickey Mouse into an instant sensation. With this Disney Studios rose to new heights and Mickey Mouse became a global icon.
Animation Revolution: Walt Disney’s Groundbreaking Innovations
After Mickey Mouse turned into an international sensation, Walt became a leading visionary in animation. Following ‘Steamboat Willie’, Walt continued to make more Mickey Mouse cartoons and also launched the ‘Silly Symphonies’ series. This series introduced new animation techniques and storytelling styles.
Walt continued to experiment and innovate new technologies in cartoon series such as the introduction of colors and synchronisation of sound to cartoons. During this course, Walt created ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, the first full length animated film. Introduced in 1937, the film proved to be a massive hit and brought a financial foundation and worldwide acknowledgement for The Walt Disney Company.
Walt Disney’s Experiments: Creating Cartoon Series
After the success of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Walt continued to produce many animated features, short cartoon films and other works. Some of them are listed:
Animated Features
- Pinocchio (1940)
- Fantasia (1940)
- Dumbo (1941)
- Bambi (1942)
- Saludos Amigos (1943)
- The Three Caballeros (1945)
- Make Mine Music (1946)
- Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
- Melody Time (1948)
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
- Cinderella (1950)
- Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- Peter Pan (1953)
- Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Short cartoon film series
- Mickey Mouse
- Donald Duck
- Goofy
- Pluto
Other Notable Productions:
- Victory Through Air Power (1943)
- Song of the South (1946)
- So Dear to My Heart (1948)
Walt’s Disneyland Dream: Turning Imagination into Reality
After rising to global prominence as an animator, Walt Disney did not stop. Walt stepped into a new journey. A journey that started with a vision, a vision to build a theme park where families could experience the magic of Disney stories in real life.
In 1955, Walt brought Disneyland to life. Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California. Disneyland was the first theme park of its kind. It was a refreshing experience of storytelling, innovation, and immersive experiences.
Walt Disney’s Empire: Expansion into Television and Disney World
To attract visitors around the globe and help finance Disneyland, Walt launched the Disneyland TV series in 1954. This series provided promotion for Disneyland and also introduced Disney’s characters and stories to the world. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Walt continued to pursue his innovation. Walt created the ‘True-Life Adventure’ nature documentary.
The Vision of EPCOT and Disney World
Never was a much bigger ambition for Walt rather than just another theme park. In 1965, Walt announced his plans for Disney World in Florida. At the heart of this new resort would be EPCOT—the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow—a futuristic city which demonstrated advanced technologies and creative ideas in urban living. Walt’s vision behind EPCOT was to create a place where innovation would improve people’s lives and inspire the future.
Walt Disney: Criticism and Controversies
Despite being largely hailed as a creative genius and a forerunner of contemporary entertainment, Walt Disney’s legacy is not without controversy. He was criticized over the years for his purported anti-union views, especially during the 1941 animators’ strike at his studio, when he was viewed by many as autocratic and indifferent to the rights of his employees.
Furthermore, a number of Disney’s early productions have come under fire for their racial and cultural insensitivity, reflecting the social mores of their eras but coming under fire in more recent times. His personal convictions and political connections have also been the subject of discussions and rumors, including charges of antisemitism, which numerous historians and colleagues have refuted.
Addressing these aspects provides a more balanced and nuanced understanding of Walt Disney as both a visionary and a complex historical figure.
Walt Disney’s Enduring Legacy: The Magic Lives On
Unfortunately, Walt Disney passed away on December 15, 1966. He was diagnosed with lung cancer. He left the world before he could see his vision for Disney World and EPCOT turn into reality. However, following his legacy, Walt’s brother, Roy O. Disney oversaw the completion and opening of Walt Disney World in 1971.
Walt Disney’s relentless creativity, optimism, and entrepreneurial spirit transformed entertainment forever, and his legacy continues to inspire generations around the world.
From Disneyland to Satlok: A Journey Beyond Illusion
Walt Disney’s life story is often seen as a symbol of how imagination, vision, and perseverance can build an entire world of wonder. Yet, even with all the fame and success, one may ask, does material achievement alone bring true satisfaction and eternal peace? According to Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj, the wonders of this world, though impressive, are temporary and bound by time and illusion.
Just as Disney created Disneyland to offer people an escape from reality, Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj reveals via sacred texts that the true, eternal abode of calm is Satlok – a heavenly realm beyond our material world, just as Disney built Disneyland to provide people with an escape from reality.
The Earth, where we reside, is the place of betrayal. We are being betrayed by the God of this earth and 21 brahmands, Kaal (Jyoti Niranjan). Kaal is fooling us by keeping us busy with worldly desires. We are so engrossed in these worldly desires that we have forgotten our main purpose of human life. The main purpose of human life is to attain salvation.
Salvation can only be attained by doing the true worship mentioned in our holy scriptures. Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj Ji is providing the true way of worship according to our holy scriptures. For more information, visit the Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj YouTube Channel or read the sacred book Gyan Ganga.
Walt Disney’s top 5 inspirational quotes
- “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
- “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
- “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
- “When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.”
- “First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally, dare.”
