Walt Disney The Man Who Shaped Generations The

Walt Disney The Man Who Shaped Generations

“The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing. ” Walter Elias Disney

The Early years • Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in the Hermosa section of Chicago, Illinois • Walt was one of five children, four boys and one girl • Parents, Flora and Elias, were both immigrants

The early years • The family moved to Marceline, Missouri where Walt would spend most of his childhood • Here he began drawing and painting • He would sell his pictures to neighbors and family • The town would eventually be the basis for Main Street,

The Early years • In 1911, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri • The home was close to the Sante Fe railroad track where his Uncle Mike Martin worked the line from Marceline to Fort Madison, Iowa • Walt would later work on the railroad selling newspapers and other

The early years • Walt would later attend school in Chicago, studying art at the Chicago Art Institute at night while attending high school during the day • At age 16, he dropped out of school to join the Red Cross during World War I after being rejected for the army • While in the Red Cross, Walt served in France driving ambulances

“That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. ” Walter Elias Disney and his Grandson

Early work • After the war, Walt returned to Kansas City to become a newspaper artist. He would get fired from the job due to a lack of creativity. • He would take a job at the Kansas City Film Ad Company creating commercials • He began experimenting with

Early work • Walt would meet Ubbe Iwerks while working at the Film Ad Compandy • Eventually, Walt would start his own animation studio with Ub • He would strike a deal with a local theatre to show his early cartoons • Laugh-O-Grams cartoons were born.

Early work • The cartoons became an instant hit • Allowed Walt to buy his first studio and hire new staff • Began producing the Alice in Cartoonland shorts • The studio would close in 1923 due to excessive debt

“Just do your best work – then try to trump it. ” Walt and Ubbe Iwerks

Alice and oswald • Walt would move to California to join his brother, Roy, in 1923, hoping to become a director • Walt would reach a distribution deal for his Alice comedies – opening the door to create a new Disney Brothers Studio in Hollywood • The deal was struck with Winkler Pictures, run by Margaret Winkler and Charles Mintz (Up!) • Iwerks would join the brothers in California with

Alice and Oswald • The Alice Comedies were a combination of live action and animation • The little girl, Alice, would be played by four different actresses between 1923 and 1927 • The success would allow Walt to step away as an animator and focus on

Alice and Oswald • In 1927, The duo would create their first character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit • The cartoons would be distributed by Universal Pictures • Oswald was a rabbit due to the proliferation of animated cats at the time (Felix the Cat, etc)

Alice and Oswald • Oswald was produced by Charles Mintz • In 1928, Disney wanted to renegotiate the contract for Oswald with Mintz and would travel to New York • Mintz argued that Disney should only receive a 20% interest due to the increasing costs of production • Disney quit and lost both Oswald and the talents of Ubbe Iwerks

Alice and Oswald • Oswald would continue to be a success without Disney • Oswald would continue to be drawn by many of the original animators of the Disney Brothers Studio • Walter Lantz, who would later create Woody Woodpecker, would take over control in 1929 and give Oswald a new look • Oswald’s rights would

“I only hope we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse. ”

Mickey mouse • Walt was upset after the underhanded deal offered by Mintz • On the train ride back from New York, Disney began exploring the ideas for a new cartoon character • On the train, the basic ideas for Mortimer Mouse were created based on a mouse that used to hang around the Laugh-O-Gram

Mickey mouse • Walt presented the idea to Ub who was still working on the Oswald cartoons • Ub and Walt worked on the character in secrecy until Ub was out of his contract • Mortimer’s name was changed by now to Mickey at the insistence of Walt’s wife, Lillian

Mickey mouse • Walt began a new Disney Studio with Ub and an apprentice by the name of Les Clark • Most of Walt’s original staff stayed with the Oswald cartoon • From this day forward, Walt would only work on characters that he owned the rights to

Mickey mouse • Mickey’s body was designed around circles which made him easier to animate • This design would be changed later by Fred Moore, who made the body pear shaped • Mickey only has three fingers and a thumb, a design which made drawing the character easier and cheaper

Mickey mouse • A form of Minnie Mouse appears in even the first cartoons • The test cartoon, Plane Crazy was the first Mickey cartoon but did not fair well in its test screening • The Gallopin’ Gaucho was the second Mickey short

Steamboat Willie • Steamboat Willie was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon to find a distributor • It first premiered on November 18, 1928 in New York • The film was a parody of a Buster Keaton film • The film was the first to utilize a synchronized

Mickey mouse • Walt was a fan of the new sound films and insisted that sound be used in the Mickey cartoons • Mickey’s first words would be heard in the film, The Karnival Kid in 1929 • Walt served as the voice for both Mickey and Minnie until 1946

"I am in no sense of the word a great artist, not even a great animator; I have always had men working for me whose skills were greater than my own. I am an idea man. ”

Silly Symphonies • A series of animated shorts made between 1929 and 1939 • The shorts were based of musical scores and did not have a common character theme to them • While not initially as popular as the Mickey cartoons, the Silly Symphonies grew in popularity and introduced some

Silly Symphonies • Disney became fascinated by a new three-strip, full-color film process called Technicolor • Disney would sign an exclusive contract to use the new technology through 1935 • The studio was over half done with a work entitled, Flowers and Trees which it would scrap and redo using the color process

Silly Symphonies • The Technicolor symphonies would pass Mickey Mouse in popularity • Disney would extend the contract with Technicolor but exclusivity rights would eventually be lost, making way for The Wizard of Oz • In 1933, The Three Little Pigs was released, becoming a box office success

Silly Symphonies • Disney would use the Silly Symphonies to explore new ideas and introduce new characters • Donald Duck would make his debut in 1934, appearing in The Wise Little Hen • Pluto would make his first starring role in a Silly Symphony • Initial movie ideas would also be explored

Silly Symphonies • The success of the Silly Symphonies would allow Disney to expand his studios • The popularity would breed competition from other studios, spanning the Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes cartoon series • Despite the popularity of the shorts, Disney would stop making them to tackle a new challenge, a full length animated film

“The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique. ” Disney’s “Nine Old Men”

Moving Forward • Ub Iwerks left the company in 1929 after growing tension over Ub’s freedom at the Disney’s Studios • Ub was recruited away by Pat Powers, a businessman who featured sound technology to the movie industry • Ub would start a his own studio which

Nine old men • Disney had begun hiring a new staff of animators prior to Iwerks leaving the company • Most of the Mickey Mouse shorts and Silly Symphonies were being completed by the new staff • A core group of the animators would remain with Disney

Getting to know the Nine old men • You will be charged with doing some research to find out a little more about the Nine Old Men through their work • You will be creating a Facebook page for one of their creations • You are to find a character from Mickey Mouse through the film Jungle Book,

"Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow. ”

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • The movie would become Disney’s most ambitious project • The idea for the film came to Walt when he was 15 • The Hollywood movie industry mockingly referred to Snow White as "Disney's Folly" while it was in

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • It took almost two years to come up with the final renderings of the Seven Dwarfs • Rejected names for the dwarf’s included: Jaunty, Blabby, Dirty, Gabby, Biggy-Wiggy, Gaspy, Gloomy, Awful, Deefy, Hoppy-Jumpy, Hotsy, Nifty, and Shifty. • Six of the dwarfs have eyebrows modeled after Walt Disney’s. Happy was the exception, his eyebrows were white

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • Legendary voice actor Mel Blanc, best known as the voice of Bugs Bunny, was originally cast to be the voice of Dopey, but he was made mute instead • The voices of Sleepy and Grumpy is that of Pinto Colvig, the voice of Goofy

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • The film included 15 voice actors, 32 animators, 102 assistant animators, 167 “in-betweeners”, 20 layout artists, 25 artists doing watercolor backgrounds, 65 effects animators, and 158 female inkers and painters. • The film took over three years to complete with over 250, 000 drawings (2 million sketches were drawn)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • Songwriters Frank Churchill and Larry Morey composed 25 songs for the movie, though only seven were used. • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would be the first film to ever release a motionpicture soundtrack

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • The Prince was intended to be a prominent character, but the difficulty found in animating him forced Walt to reduce his part significantly. • 19 -year-old Adriana Caselotti voiced Snow White. Walt wanted to keep Snow White’s voice special, so he held Adriana to a very strict contract and she

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • The film was originally budgeted at $250, 000, It cost over $1. 5 million to make – Walt was forced to mortgage his house • The film was first released on December 21, 1937 in Los Angeles, California at the Carthay Circle. Theatre • Many thought the film

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • Snow White was the highest grossing film ever for exactly one year • It is still in the top 10 money-making films of all time • The profits from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs allowed Walt to build Disney

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs • A short film sequel, titled Snow White Returns was planned. It never left the preproduction stage. • The film would influence numerous other films • The film was nominated for Best Picture for 1938 • The film received a special academy award for technical achievement.

"Tomorrow will be better as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life. ”

Disney and the War Effort • While Disney was doing well domestically, films were failing due to no international market • Dumbo was released October 23, 1941 just short of the American entrance into World War II • Bambi was in production at the start

Disney and the War Effort • During the war, Disney Studios would begin producing films for the war effort. • All Disney characters would become part of the propaganda campaign • Disney would produce over 68 hours worth of educational film for the effort • 90% of Disney’s staff would be involved in

Disney and the War Effort • Disney would create a variety of films for different branches of the military • Many of the films were intended for servicemen to educate them while entertaining • Disney also became a popular source of insignias for different service organizations • Over 1200 were produced • Donald Duck was the most popular character

Disney and the War Effort • Disney also produced films for the Treasury Department to sell war bonds • Films were made for Canada also • One film, The Spirit of ’ 43, was credited by 37% of Americans as to the reason why they paid their income taxes the next year • Disney also produced a book for children to get

Disney and the War Effort • Victory Through Air Power was released in 1943 • It was a full length feature film that focused on Major Alexander de Seversky’s theory of long range strategic bombing • The film helped