WALT DISNEY Father Of Mickey Mouse Overview Walt

WALT DISNEY Father Of Mickey Mouse

Overview: Walt Disney was an American cartoonist and filmmaker who cofounded the Walt Disney Company. He lived from December 5 th, 1901 – December 15 th, 1966.

Childhood/Family: Walt Disney was born in Chicago to his parents Elias Disney and Flora Call Disney. Walt attended Park School of Marceline with his sister Ruth and brother Roy in 1909. Walt found his love of drawing when he was a young boy when he was paid by a neighbor Doc Sherwood to draw pictures of his house. When Walt was 10 years old his father purchased a newspaper route and Walt and his brother Roy began delivering newspapers for the Kansas City Star. Roy Disney

Teenage: In 1917 Walt began high school at Mc. Kinley High School and also took classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and received instruction from artist Louis Grell. Soon Walt became a cartoonist for the school newspaper. At age 16 Walt dropped out of high school and joined the Red Cross. Walt was sent to France and drove an ambulance during World War I. Chicago Academy of Fine Arts

Career Start: In 1919 Walt moved back to Kansas City to start his animation career. He joined up with Fred Harman and started making Laugh-OGrams. They created many cartoons that were based on Aesops Fables.

Hollywood: After Walt’s Laugh-O-Gram company went bankrupt Walt moved to Hollywood, California and started Disney Brother’s Studio with his brother Roy. Soon Virginia Davis the live action star of Alice in Wonderland moved out to Hollywood to work with Walt. In 1925 Walt hired Lillian Bounds and soon they started dating and got married on July 25, 1925. Virginia Davis

Alice Comedies: The first creation of Disney Brother’s Studios was Alice Comedies. Walt did the animation for the series and it also starred live action from Virginia Davis. Margaret Winkler was a New York distributor and paid Walt 1, 500 for the comedies.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: In 1926 Charles Minz ordered a full production of Walt’s new character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Over the next few years Oswald became popular and Charles Minz took over the rights of Oswald and Disney was on his own again.

Mickey Mouse: In 1928 Walt created a new character named Mortimer Mouse. After discussing it with his wife Lillian he switched the name to Mickey Mouse. The first animated short Mickey was in, was called Plane Crazy. Mickey’s first big success came in the cartoon Steamboat Willie. Plane Crazy. Mickey

Silly Symphonies: In 1929 Walt released Silly Symphonies. The first symphony featured The Skeleton Dance. In 1930 Walt signed a new distribution deal with Columbia Pictures. In 1933 Silly Symphonies had their biggest success with The Three Little Pigs.

Technicolor: In 1932 Walt joined with Herbert Kalmus and released the first three strip Technicolor videos. The first Technicolor was Flower and Trees which was a big success and won the Academy Award for best Short Cartoon. Herbert Kalmus

Academy Awards: In 1932 Walt received an honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. In 1935 Mickey Mouse had his own series and new characters such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto were created.

Family: On December 18 th, 1933 Walt and Lillian Disney gave birth to their first daughter Diane Marie Disney. A few years later they adopted Sharon Mae Disney. Later in life Diane would be the cofounder of The Walt Disney Family Museum.

Snow White: In 1935 Walt began production of the animated color film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Many people were skeptical of its possible success but Walt was able to complete the project in later 1937. The movie debuted on December 21 st, 1937 and was a huge success.

More Success: After the huge success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt and his production company created many more successful animated films. These animated movies included Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Peter Pan, and Wind in the Willows. While making these movies the Disney Company continued to make short cartoons starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.

World War II: During World War II Walt’s Disney production company began making short films to support the troops. The movies were moral boosters for the soldiers and the country. These movies included Der Fuehrer’s Face, Victory Through Air Power, and the Three Caballeros. After the war ended Walt continued working on full length movies of Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Cinderella.

Disneyland: In 1949 Walt Disney began designing and construction of a new amusement park in California. He wanted the park to be like no other park in the world and be surrounded by a train. On Sunday July 17 th, 1955 the amusement park Disneyland opened.

Full Length: After the huge success of Disneyland the production company began making many more full length live action movies. Some of the most successful of these movies were Treasure Island, Old Yeller, Swiss Family Robinson, Parent Trap, and Mary Poppins.

Disney World: In 1965 Walt announced plans to open a new amusement park in Orlando, Florida called Disney World. It would be a larger version of Disneyland that included a Magic Kingdom, and the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow known as EPCOT.

Final Productions: Before Walt’s Disney’s death on December 15 th, 1966 the company released a few more successful films. These last successful films included The Jungle Book, and Winnie the Pooh.

Legacy: After Walt’s death his brother Roy took over control of the Disney company. He continued to expand Disneyworld and make movies. Walt Disney received many awards including the inaugural recipient of a star of fame, induction into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Television Hall of Fame. National awards he received included the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.