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Walt Disney

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• AllMusic - Biography of Walt Disney
• Turner Classic Movies - Walt Disney
• Walt Disney - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• Walt Disney - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents
• Who was Walt Disney and what was his role in the American film industry?
• What were some of Walt Disney's most significant contributions to animation and filmmaking?
• How did Walt Disney's theme parks revolutionize the entertainment industry?
• What technological innovations did Walt Disney introduce to the film industry?
• How did Walt Disney's approach to storytelling differ from other filmmakers of his time?
• What was the significance of Mickey Mouse in Walt Disney's career?
• How did Walt Disney's vision for EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) differ from what it became?

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Walt Disney (born December 5, 1901, Chicago , Illinois , U.S.—died December 15, 1966, Burbank , California) was an American motion-picture and television producer and showman, famous as a pioneer of animated cartoon films and as the creator of such cartoon characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck . He also planned and built Disneyland , a huge amusement park that opened near Los Angeles in 1955, and before his death he had begun building a second such park, Walt Disney World , near Orlando , Florida. The Disney Company he founded has become one of the world’s largest entertainment conglomerates.

Walter Elias Disney was the fourth son of Elias Disney, a peripatetic carpenter, farmer, and building contractor, and his wife, Flora Call, who had been a public school teacher. When Walt was little more than an infant, the family moved to a farm near Marceline, Missouri, a typical small Midwestern town, which is said to have furnished the inspiration and model for the Main Street, U.S.A., of Disneyland. There Walt began his schooling and first showed a taste and aptitude for drawing and painting with crayons and watercolours.

His restless father soon abandoned his efforts at farming and moved the family to Kansas City , Missouri, where he bought a morning newspaper route and compelled his young sons to assist him in delivering papers. Walt later said that many of the habits and compulsions of his adult life stemmed from the disciplines and discomforts of helping his father with the paper route. In Kansas City the young Walt began to study cartooning with a correspondence school and later took classes at the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design.

In 1917 the Disneys moved back to Chicago, and Walt entered McKinley High School, where he took photographs, made drawings for the school paper, and studied cartooning on the side, for he was hopeful of eventually achieving a job as a newspaper cartoonist. His progress was interrupted by World War I , in which he participated as an ambulance driver for the American Red Cross in France and Germany.

Returning to Kansas City in 1919, he found occasional employment as a draftsman and inker in commercial art studios, where he met Ub Iwerks , a young artist whose talents contributed greatly to Walt’s early success.

Dissatisfied with their progress, Disney and Iwerks started a small studio of their own in 1922 and acquired a secondhand movie camera with which they made one and two-minute animated advertising films for distribution to local movie theatres. They also did a series of animated cartoon sketches called Laugh-O-grams and the pilot film for a series of seven-minute fairy tales that combined both live action and animation , Alice in Cartoonland . A New York film distributor cheated the young producers, and Disney was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1923. He moved to California to pursue a career as a cinematographer, but the surprise success of the first Alice film compelled Disney and his brother Roy —a lifelong business partner—to reopen shop in Hollywood.

With Roy as business manager, Disney resumed the Alice series, persuading Iwerks to join him and assist with the drawing of the cartoons. They invented a character called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit , contracted for distribution of the films at $1,500 each, and propitiously launched their small enterprise. In 1927, just before the transition to sound in motion pictures, Disney and Iwerks experimented with a new character—a cheerful, energetic, and mischievous mouse called Mickey. They had planned two shorts, called Plane Crazy and Gallopin’ Gaucho , that were to introduce Mickey Mouse when The Jazz Singer , a motion picture with the popular singer Al Jolson , brought the novelty of sound to the movies. Fully recognizing the possibilities for sound in animated-cartoon films, Disney quickly produced a third Mickey Mouse cartoon equipped with voices and music, entitled Steamboat Willie , and cast aside the other two soundless cartoon films. When it appeared in 1928, Steamboat Willie was a sensation.

The following year Disney started a new series called Silly Symphonies with a picture entitled The Skeleton Dance , in which a skeleton rises from the graveyard and does a grotesque , clattering dance set to music based on classical themes. Original and briskly syncopated, the film ensured popular acclaim for the series, but, with costs mounting because of the more complicated drawing and technical work, Disney’s operation was continually in peril.

The growing popularity of Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend, Minnie, however, attested to the public’s taste for the fantasy of little creatures with the speech, skills, and personality traits of human beings. (Disney himself provided the voice for Mickey until 1947.) This popularity led to the invention of other animal characters, such as Donald Duck and the dogs Pluto and Goofy. In 1933 Disney produced a short, The Three Little Pigs , which arrived in the midst of the Great Depression and took the country by storm. Its treatment of the fairy tale of the little pig who works hard and builds his house of brick against the huffing and puffing of a threatening wolf suited the need for fortitude in the face of economic disaster, and its song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”was a happy taunting of adversity. It was in this period of economic hard times in the early 1930s that Disney fully endeared himself and his cartoons to audiences all over the world, and his operation began making money in spite of the Depression.

Disney had by that time gathered a staff of creative young people, who were headed by Iwerks. Colour was introduced in the Academy Award-winning Silly Symphonies film Flowers and Trees (1932), while other animal characters came and went in films such as The Grasshopper and the Ants (1934) and The Tortoise and the Hare (1935). Roy franchised tie-in sales with the cartoons of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck—watches, dolls , shirts, and tops—and reaped more wealth for the company.

Walt Disney

• Born December 5 , 1901 · Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Died December 15 , 1966 · Los Angeles, California, USA (complications from lung cancer)
• Birth name Walter Elias Disney
• Height 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
• Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Flora Disney (née Call) and Elias Disney , a Canadian-born farmer and businessperson. He had Irish, German, and English ancestry. Walt moved with his parents to Kansas City at age seven, where he spent the majority of his childhood. At age 16, during World War I, he faked his age to join the American Red Cross. He soon returned home, where he won a scholarship to the Kansas City Art Institute. There, he met a fellow animator, Ub Iwerks . The two soon set up their own company. In the early 1920s, they made a series of animated shorts for the Newman theater chain, entitled "Newman's Laugh-O-Grams". Their company soon went bankrupt, however. The two then went to Hollywood in 1923. They started work on a new series, about a live-action little girl who journeys to a world of animated characters. Entitled the "Alice Comedies", they were distributed by M.J. Winkler (Margaret). Walt was backed up financially only by Winkler and his older brother Roy O. Disney , who remained his business partner for the rest of his life. Hundreds of "Alice Comedies" were produced between 1923 and 1927, before they lost popularity. Walt then started work on a series around a new animated character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. This series was successful, but in 1928, Walt discovered that M.J. Winkler and her husband, Charles Mintz , had stolen the rights to the character away from him. They had also stolen all his animators, except for Ub Iwerks . While taking the train home, Walt started doodling on a piece of paper. The result of these doodles was a mouse named Mickey. With only Walt and Ub to animate, and Walt's wife Lillian Disney (Lilly) and Roy's wife Edna Disney to ink in the animation cells, three Mickey Mouse cartoons were quickly produced. The first two didn't sell, so Walt added synchronized sound to the last one, Steamboat Willie (1928) , and it was immediately picked up. With Walt as the voice of Mickey, it premiered to great success. Many more cartoons followed. Walt was now in the big time, but he didn't stop creating new ideas. In 1929, he created the 'Silly Symphonies', a cartoon series that didn't have a continuous character. They were another success. One of them, Flowers and Trees (1932) , was the first cartoon to be produced in color and the first cartoon to win an Oscar; another, Three Little Pigs (1933) , was so popular it was often billed above the feature films it accompanied. The Silly Symphonies stopped coming out in 1939, but Mickey and friends, (including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, and plenty more), were still going strong and still very popular. In 1934, Walt started work on another new idea: a cartoon that ran the length of a feature film. Everyone in Hollywood was calling it "Disney's Folly", but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was anything but, winning critical raves, the adoration of the public, and one big and seven little special Oscars for Walt. Now Walt listed animated features among his ever-growing list of accomplishments. While continuing to produce cartoon shorts, he also started producing more of the animated features. Pinocchio (1940) , Dumbo (1941) , and Bambi (1942) were all successes; not even a flop like Fantasia (1940) and a studio animators' strike in 1941 could stop Disney now. In the mid 1940s, he began producing "packaged features", essentially a group of shorts put together to run feature length, but by 1950 he was back with animated features that stuck to one story, with Cinderella (1950) , Alice in Wonderland (1951) , and Peter Pan (1953) . In 1950, he also started producing live-action films, with Treasure Island (1950) . These began taking on greater importance throughout the 50s and 60s, but Walt continued to produce animated features, including Lady and the Tramp (1955) , Sleeping Beauty (1959) , and One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) . In 1955 he opened a theme park in southern California: Disneyland. It was a place where children and their parents could take rides, just explore, and meet the familiar animated characters, all in a clean, safe environment. It was another great success. Walt also became one of the first producers of films to venture into television, with his series The Magical World of Disney (1954) which he began in 1954 to promote his theme park. He also produced The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) and Zorro (1957) . To top it all off, Walt came out with the lavish musical fantasy Mary Poppins (1964) , which mixed live-action with animation. It is considered by many to be his magnum opus. Even after that, Walt continued to forge onward, with plans to build a new theme park and an experimental prototype city in Florida. He did not live to see the culmination of those plans, however; in 1966, he developed lung cancer brought on by his lifelong chain-smoking. He died of a heart attack following cancer surgery on December 15, 1966 at age 65. But not even his death, it seemed, could stop him. Roy carried on plans to build the Florida theme park, and it premiered in 1971 under the name Walt Disney World. His company continues to flourish, still producing animated and live-action films and overseeing the still-growing empire started by one man: Walt Disney, who will never be forgotten. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tommy Peter
• Spouse Lillian Disney (July 13, 1925 - December 15, 1966) (his death, 2 children)
• Children Diane Disney
• Parents Flora Disney Elias Disney
• Relatives Robert Disney (Aunt or Uncle) Christopher Disney Miller (Grandchild) Tamara Scheer (Grandchild) Walter Elias Disney Miller (Grandchild) Joanna Miller (Grandchild) Ronald Miller (Grandchild) Abigail Disney (Niece or Nephew) Roy P. Disney (Niece or Nephew) Tim Disney (Niece or Nephew) Marjorie Sewell (Niece or Nephew) Roy O. Disney (Sibling) Herbert Disney (Sibling) Ruth Disney (Sibling) Raymond Disney (Sibling) Roy Edward Disney (Niece or Nephew) Victoria Brown (Grandchild) Jennifer Miller-Goff (Grandchild)
• Happy endings on all pictures produced by himself (also posthumous and actual works).
• Main characters using big white gloves (Example: Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Peter Pete, Jiminy Cricket, etc.)
• His moustache
• Animated Films
• Distinctive, deep voice
• Personally disliked Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953) because of the lack of "heart" and "warmth" in their main characters. Was very sad about the unfavorable reception of Fantasia (1940) as he was proud of the film. Ironically, the first re-issue of Fantasia (1940) after his death was the first time it turned a profit.
• Reports surfaced that shortly after his death, Disney Company executive board members were shown a short film that Disney had made before his death, where he addressed the board members by name, telling each of them what was expected of them. The film ended with Disney saying, "I'll be seeing you."
• Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, an Army draft notice, addressed to Mr. Donald Duck, was delivered to the Disney studios.
• Has a record of 59 Oscar-nominations.
• Before his 35th birthday, his brother Roy encouraged employees to throw the boss a surprise party. Two of the animators thought it would be hilarious to make a short movie of Mickey and Minnie Mouse "consummating their relationship." When Disney saw the animation at the party, he feigned laughter and playfully asked who made the film. As soon as the two animators came forward, he fired them on the spot and left.
• I don't make pictures just to make money. I make money to make more pictures.
• I'd rather entertain and hope that people learn, than teach and hope that people are entertained.
• I'm not interested in pleasing the critics. I'll take my chances pleasing the audiences.
• I hope we'll never lose sight of one thing--that it was all started by a mouse.
• I happen to be an inquisitive guy and when I see things I don't like, I start thinking why do they have to be like this and how can I improve them.
• One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) - $5,166 /week
• Swiss Family Robinson (1960) - $3,000 /week

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Walt Disney

Walt Disney was an American motion picture and television producer and showman, famous as a pioneer of cartoon films, including Mickey Mouse, and as the creator of the amusement parks Disneyland and Disney World.

(1901-1966)

Who Was Walt Disney?

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney co-founded Walt Disney Productions with his brother Roy, which became one of the best-known motion-picture production companies in the world. Disney was an innovative animator and created the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. He won 22 Academy Awards during his lifetime, and was the founder of theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney’s Parents and Siblings

Disney’s father was Elias Disney, an Irish-Canadian. His mother, Flora Call Disney, was German-American. Disney was one of five children, four boys and a girl.

Walt Disney’s Childhood

Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in the Hermosa section of Chicago, Illinois. He lived most of his childhood in Marceline, Missouri, where he began drawing, painting and selling pictures to neighbors and family friends.

In 1911, his family moved to Kansas City, where Disney developed a love for trains. His uncle, Mike Martin, was a train engineer who worked the route between Fort Madison, Iowa and Marceline. Later, Disney would work a summer job with the railroad, selling snacks and newspapers to travelers.

When Disney was 16, he dropped out of school to join the Army but was rejected for being underage. Instead, he joined the Red Cross and was sent to France for a year to drive an ambulance. He moved back to the U.S. in 1919.

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Walt Disney’s First Cartoons

In 1919, Disney moved to Kansas City to pursue a career as a newspaper artist. His brother Roy got him a job at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio, where he met cartoonist Ubbe Eert Iwwerks, better known as Ub Iwerks. From there, Disney worked at the Kansas City Film Ad Company, where he made commercials based on cutout animation.

Around this time, Disney began experimenting with a camera, doing hand-drawn cel animation. He decided to open his own animation business. From the ad company, he recruited Fred Harman as his first employee.

Disney and Harman made a deal with a local Kansas City theater to screen their cartoons, which they called Laugh-O-Grams . The cartoons were hugely popular, and Disney was able to acquire his own studio, upon which he bestowed the same name.

Laugh-O-Gram hired a number of employees, including Iwerks and Harman's brother Hugh. They did a series of seven-minute fairy tales that combined both live action and animation, which they called Alice in Cartoonland .

By 1923, however, the studio had become burdened with debt, and Disney was forced to declare bankruptcy.

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Disney and his brother Roy moved to Hollywood with cartoonist Ub Iwerks in 1923, and there the three began the Disney Brothers' Cartoon Studio. The company soon changed its name to Walt Disney Studios, at Roy’s suggestion.

The Walt Disney Studios’ first deal was with New York distributor Margaret Winkler, to distribute their Alice cartoons. They also invented a character called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and contracted the shorts at $1,500 each. In the late 1920s, the studios broke from their distributors and created cartoons featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends.

In December 1939, a new campus for Walt Disney Animation Studios was opened in Burbank. In 1941 a setback for the company occurred when Disney animators went on strike. Many of them resigned. It would be years before the company fully recovered.

One of Disney Studio’s most popular cartoons, Flowers and Trees (1932), was the first to be produced in color and to win an Oscar. In 1933, The Three Little Pigs and its title song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" became a theme for the country in the midst of the Great Depression .

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Other Characters

Disney’s first successful film starring Mickey Mouse was a sound-and-music-equipped animated short called Steamboat Willie . It opened at the Colony Theater in New York November 18, 1928. Sound had just made its way into film, and Disney was the voice of Mickey, a character he had developed and that was drawn by his chief animator, Ub Iwerks. The cartoon was an instant sensation.

The Disney brothers, their wives and Iwerks produced two earlier silent animated shorts starring Mickey Mouse, Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho , out of necessity. The team had discovered that Disney’s New York distributor, Margaret Winkler, and her husband, Charles Mintz, had stolen the rights to the character Oswald and all of Disney’s animators except for Iwerks. The two earliest Mickey Mouse films failed to find distribution, as sound was already revolutionizing the movie industry.

In 1929, Disney created Silly Symphonies, featuring Mickey's newly created friends, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto.

Walt Disney Movies

Disney produced more than 100 feature films. His first full-length animated film was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , which premiered in Los Angeles on December 21, 1937. It produced an unimaginable $1.499 million, in spite of the Great Depression, and won eight Oscars. This led Walt Disney Studios to complete another string of full-length animated films over the next five years.

During the mid-1940s, Disney created "packaged features," groups of shorts strung together to run at feature length. By 1950, he was once again focusing on animated features.

Disney's last major success that he produced himself was the motion picture Mary Poppins , which came out in 1964 and mixed live action and animation.

A few other of Disney's most famous movies include:

• Pinocchio (1940)
• Fantasia (1940)
• Dumbo (1941)
• Bambi (1942)
• Cinderella (1950)
• Treasure Island (1950)
• Alice in Wonderland (1951)
• Peter Pan (1953)
• Lady and the Tramp (1955)
• Sleeping Beauty (1959)
• 101 Dalmatians (1961)

Disney’s Television Series

Disney was also among the first people to use television as an entertainment medium. The Zorro and Davy Crockett series were extremely popular with children, as was The Mickey Mouse Club , a variety show featuring a cast of teenagers known as the Mouseketeers. Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color was a popular Sunday night show, which Disney used to begin promoting his new theme park.

Walt Disney Parks

Disney's $17 million Disneyland theme park opened on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, California, on what was once an orange grove. Actor (and future U.S. president) Ronald Reagan presided over the activities. After a tumultuous opening day involving several mishaps (including the distribution of thousands of counterfeit invitations), the site became known as a place where children and their families could explore, enjoy rides and meet the Disney characters.

In a very short time, the park had increased its investment tenfold, and was entertaining tourists from around the world.

The original site had attendance ups and downs over the years. Disneyland has expanded its rides over time and branched out globally with Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, and parks in Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Sister property California Adventure opened in Los Angeles in 2001.

Walt Disney World

Within a few years of Disneyland’s 1955 opening, Disney began plans for a new theme park and to develop Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) in Florida. It was still under construction when Disney died in 1966. After Disney’s death, his brother Roy carried on the plans to finish the Florida theme park, which opened in 1971 under the name Walt Disney World.

Walt Disney’s Wife, Children and Grandchildren

In 1925, Disney hired an ink-and-paint artist named Lillian Bounds. After a brief courtship, the couple married.

Disney and Lillian Bounds had two children. Diane Disney Miller, born in 1933, was the couple’s only biological daughter. They adopted Sharon Disney Lund shortly after her birth in 1936.

Diane and her husband, Ronald Miller, had seven children: Christopher, Joanna, Tamara, Walter, Jennifer, Patrick, and Ronald Miller Jr.

Sharon and her first husband, Robert Brown, adopted a daughter, Victoria Disney. Sharon’s second husband, Bill Lund, was a real estate developer who scouted the 27,000 acres in Orlando that became Disney World. Their twins, Brad and Michelle, were born in 1970.

Sharon’s side of the family became embroiled in a controversy after her death in 1993, when her trust became available to her three children. The trust included a caveat that allowed her ex-husband Bill Lund and sister Diane to withhold funds if they could show that Sharon’s children couldn’t properly manage the money. This led to accusations of conspiracy and mental incompetence, insinuations of incest, and an ugly two-week-long battle of a trial in December 2013.

READ MORE: Is Walt Disney's Body Frozen?

When and How Walt Disney Died

Disney was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1966 and died on December 15, 1966, at the age of 65. Disney was cremated, and his ashes interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Walt Elias Disney
• Birth Year: 1901
• Birth date: December 5, 1901
• Birth State: Illinois
• Birth City: Chicago
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Walt Disney was an American motion picture and television producer and showman, famous as a pioneer of cartoon films, including Mickey Mouse, and as the creator of the amusement parks Disneyland and Disney World.
• Astrological Sign: Sagittarius
• Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design
• Chicago Art Institute
• McKinley High School
• Nacionalities
• Interesting Facts
• When Disney was just a teenager, he joined the Red Cross in 1918 and was sent to France for a year to drive an ambulance to help with the war effort.
• Disney experienced many failures — including filing for bankruptcy — before he became a hugely successful animator and amusement park creator.
• When Disneyland opened in 1955, it reportedly cost $17 million to make.
• Death Year: 1966
• Death date: December 15, 1966
• Death State: California
• Death City: Burbank
• Death Country: United States

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Walt Disney Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/walt-disney
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E Television Networks
• Last Updated: January 7, 2022
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• Laughter is America's most important export.
• There's nothing funnier than the human animal.
• I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I have ever known.
• You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.
• I don't believe in talking down to children. I don't believe in talking down to any certain segment. I like to kind of just talk in a general way to the audience. Children are always reaching.
• Money doesn't excite me–my ideas excite me.
• Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America...with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to the world.
• [Y]ou'll not find a single mousetrap around the house. I've never forgotten it was a mouse that made me what I am today.
• The age we're living in is the most extraordinary the world has ever seen. There are new concepts of things, and we now have the tools to change those concepts into realities. We are moving forward.
• Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows.
• I don't care about critics. Critics take themselves too seriously. They think the only way to be noticed and to be the smart guy is to pick and find fault with things. It's the public I'm making pictures for.
• For years afterward, I hated Snow White because every time I'd make a feature after that, they'd always compare it with Snow White, and it wasn't as good as Snow White.
• I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter. With the laugh comes the tears and in developing motion pictures or television shows, you must combine all the facts of life — drama, pathos and humor.
• All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.
• Never do anything that someone else can do better.
• Everybody in the world was once a child. We grow up. Our personalities change, but in every one of us something remains of our childhood.

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Walt Disney Biography

Early Life – Walt Disney

Walt Disney was born on 5 December 1901, in Chicago. His parents were of German/English and Irish descent. As a child, the Disney family moved between Marceline in Missouri, Kansas City and back to Chicago. The young Walt Disney developed an interest in art and took lessons at the Kansas City Institute and later Chicago Art Institute. He became the cartoonist for the school magazine.

When America joined the First World War, Walt dropped out of school and tried to enlist in the army. He was rejected for being underage, but he was later able to join in the Red Cross and in late 1918 was sent to France to drive an ambulance.

In 1919, he moved back to Kansas City where he got a series of jobs, before finding employment in his area of greatest interest – the film industry. It was working for the Kansas City Film Ad company that he gained the opportunity to begin working in the relatively new field of animation. Walt used his talent as a cartoonist to start his first work.

The success of his early cartoons enabled him to set up his own studio called Laugh-O-Gram. However, the popularity of his cartoons was not matched by his ability to run a profitable business. With high labour costs, the firm went bankrupt. After his first failure, he decided to move to Hollywood, California which was home to the growing film industry in America. This ability to overcome adversity was a standard feature of Disney’s career.

“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

– The Story of Walt Disney (1957)

With his brother, Roy, Walt set up another company and sought to find a distributor for his new film – Alice Comedies – based on the adventures of Alice in Wonderland.

Mickey Mouse

In 1927, the Disney studio was involved in the successful production of ‘Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’, distributed by Universal Pictures. However, with Universal Pictures controlling the rights to ‘Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’, Walt was not able to profit from this success. He rejected an offer from Universal and went back to working on his own.

The Mickey Mouse cartoons with soundtracks became very popular and cemented the growing reputation and strength of Disney Productions. The skill of Walt Disney was to give his cartoons believable real-life characteristics. They were skillfully depicted and captured the imagination of the audience through his pioneering use of uplifting stories and moral characteristics.

In 1932, he received his first Academy Award for the Best Short Subject: Cartoons for the three coloured ‘Flowers and Trees’ He also won a special Academy Award for Mickey Mouse.

In 1933, he developed his most successful cartoon of all time ‘The Three Little Pigs’ (1933) with the famous song ‘Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf.”

In 1924, Walt Disney began his most ambitious project to date. He wished to make a full length animated feature film of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ Many expected it to be a commercial failure. But, using new techniques of filming, the production was met with glowing reviews. It took nearly three years to film – coming out in 1937 after Disney had run out of money. But, the movie’s strong critical reception, made it the most successful film of 1938, earning $8 million on its first release. The film had very high production values but also captured the essence of a fairy tale on film for the first time. Walt Disney would later write that he never produced films for the critic, but the general public. Replying to criticism that his productions were somewhat corny, he replied:

“All right. I’m corny. But I think there’s just about a-hundred-and-forty-million people in this country that are just as corny as I am.” – Walt Disney

Disney always had a great ability to know what the public loved to see.

After the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the studio produced several other successful animations, such as ‘Pinocchio’, ‘Peter Pan’, ‘Bambi’ and ‘The Wind in the Willows’. After America’s entry into the Second World War in 1941, this ‘golden age’ of animation faded and the studio struggled as it made unprofitable propaganda films.

Political and religious views

In 1941, Disney also had to deal with a major strike by his writers and animators. This strike left a strong impression on Disney. He would later become a leading member of the anti-Communist organisation ‘Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals’ (the right-wing organisation was also considered to be anti-semitic.) At one point, he (unsuccessfully) tried to brand his labour union organisers as Communist agitators.

However, in the 1950s, Disney distanced himself from the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. However, by associating with the organisation, he was often associated with the anti-labour and anti-semitic philosophy it expressed. Disney was a Republican, though was not particularly involved in politics. It is often asked whether Walt Disney was anti-semitic.

His biographer, Neal Gabler stated:

“…And though Walt himself, in my estimation, was not anti-semitic, nevertheless, he willingly allied himself with people who were anti-semitic, and that reputation stuck. He was never really able to expunge it throughout his life.”

Walt Disney believed in the benefits of a religious approach to life, though he never went to church and disliked sanctimonious teachers.

“I believe firmly in the efficacy of religion, in its powerful influence on a person’s whole life. It helps immeasurably to meet the storms and stress of life and keep you attuned to the Divine inspiration. Without inspiration, we would perish.”

Ch. 15: Walt Lives!, p. 379

He respected other religions and retained a firm faith in God.

Post-war success

During the war, there was much less demand for cartoon animation. It took until the late 1940s, for Disney to recover some of its lustre and success. Disney finished production of Cinderella and also Peter Pan (which had been shelved during the war) In the 1950s, Walt Disney Productions also began expanding its operations into popular action films. They produced several successful films, such as ‘Treasure Island’ (1950), ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ (1954) and ‘Pollyanna’ (1960)

In another innovation, the studio created one of the first specifically children’s shows – The Mickey Mouse Club. Walt Disney even returned to the studio to provide the voice. In the 1960s, the Disney Empire continued to successfully expand. In 1964, they produced their most successful ever film ‘Mary Poppins.’

In the late 1940s, Walt Disney began building up plans for a massive Theme Park. Walt Disney wished the Theme Park to be like nothing ever created on earth. In particular, he wanted it to be a magical world for children and surrounded by a train. Disney had a great love of trains since his childhood when he regularly saw trains pass near his home. It was characteristic of Walt Disney that he was willing to take risks in trying something new.

“Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised. Usually, it implies some risk, especially in new undertakings. Courage to initiate something and to keep it going, pioneering and adventurous spirit to blaze new ways, often, in our land of opportunity.”

– The Disney Way Fieldbook (2000) by Bill Capodagli

After several years in the planning and building, Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955. Disney spoke at the address.

“To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past …. and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America … with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”

The success of Disneyland encouraged Walt to consider another park in Orlando, Florida. In 1965, another theme park was planned.

Walt Disney died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966. He had been a chain smoker all his life. An internet myth suggested Walt Disney had his body cryonically frozen, but this is untrue. It seems to have been spread by his employers, looking for one last joke at the expense of their boss.

After his death, his brother Roy returned to lead The Disney Company, but the company missed the direction and genius of Walt Disney. The 1970s were a relatively fallow period for the company, before a renaissance in the 1980s, with a new generation of films, such as ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ (1988) and ‘The Lion King’ (1994)

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “Biography of Walt Disney”, Oxford, UK.  www.biographyonline.net , 8th August 2014. Last updated 1st March 2019.

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

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Walt Disney

Walt Disney   Biography

Walter Elías Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901, and died in Burbank, California, on December 15, 1966. Walter was a director, producer, animator, cartoonist and screenwriter from the United States, winner of the Oscar Award 22 times, plus 4 honorary awards of the Academy, and of the Emmy in 7 opportunities .

Walt Disney is known for his famous children’s characters such as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck , and for founding one of the most important animations, film, and entertainment companies, Walt Disney Productions.

Walt Disney is the son of Elias Disney, a farmer of Irish ascendancy who had come from Canada, and Flora Call, a school teacher. Walt was the fourth of five children. When he was five years old, the family moved to Marceline, Missouri, where Walt spent a happy childhood drawing and playing with his sister Ruth. However, in 1909, his father became ill with typhoid fever and was unable to work in the field, so he had to sell the farm and go to Kansas City to work as a delivery boy for the Kansas City Star, with the help of his children Walt and Roy. Due to this work, Walt graduated from the Benton Grammar School in 1911. Then he did several jobs while studying at the Art Institute of Chicago and at McKinley High School, where he was a school newspaper cartoonist.

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney

During the First World War, Walt Disney wanted to imitate his brother, who was in the Navy, and he appeared in the army after leaving the Institute but was not admitted because of his age. Preventing the same thing happening, he presented himself to the Red Cross lying about his age, and this organization sent him to Europe when Germany had already signed the armistice. In Germany, he drove ambulances in which he drew and took some officers from one place to another until in 1919 he returned to America, to Kansas City.

While in Kansas City and thanks to his brother Roy, he got a job where he had to create ads for magazines, cinemas, and newspapers. In this job, he met Ubbe Iwerks, with whom he founded an advertising company in 1920, which they had to leave shortly afterward because of the lack of clients. Later, they both were hired at Kansas City Films Ad, where they learned basic animation techniques.

After studying anatomy and physics, and experimenting with his work team, Walt Disney started his own studio called Laugh-O-Gram Films. In it, he dedicated himself to producing animated short stories of popular stories , but that cost them more than they earned. This is why his studio went bankrupt in 1923 and Disney traveled to Hollywood in search of opportunities.

In Hollywood after knocking on doors looking for an opportunity without success , so he decided to send the last short film he had produced in his previous studio, Alice’s Wonderland , to the distributor Margaret Winkler, who hired him to make more films. To do this, Walt set up a studio in his uncle’s garage and entrusted his brother Roy with the financial issues , founding the Disney Brother’s Studio, which would be the beginning of Walt Disney Productions.

After successfully exhibiting nine Alice films, Disney created Oswald, a character whose show, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, quickly triumphed when it was distributed by Universal Pictures. Before this, the husband of Margaret Winkler asked Disney to continue working on this new series for a lower salary, and that it did not really matter if he refused because he and Universal Studios had the rights of the character. Walt Disney refused and preferred to create a new character, Mickey Mouse . This one appeared for the first time in 1928, but in its beginnings, it did not attract much attention . It was not until the implementation of sound that became a resounding success, having the voice of Walt Disney himself.

After 1930, there were already different products of Mickey Mouse, and several personalities had admitted their sympathy for the character, among which were politicians such as Jorge V, Roosevelt, and Mussolini. By 1935, all Disney short films already had sound and color image.

“Ask yourself if what you’re doing today will get you where you want to go tomorrow.” Walt Disney

After two years of production, from 1935 to 1937, Snow White was released, managing to raise more than six times the enormous sum that the production had cost. With the income, Disney opened some studios in Burbank and hired more employees. However, in 1941 several workers called a strike to complain about the poor salary and the lack of prominence they had in the credits. Disney, which refused to recognize the demands at the beginning, had to agree at the end because of the bad image that the strike was having on his name and his company.

In the forties, the company was economically affected by the World War II, but he was able to recover thanks to the adaptation he made of the market, which now asked for different formats than the short film. By the 50s, Disney was introduced in the market of the television and the action movies. In 1955, the Disneyland amusement park was completed. Already by the 1960’s, Walt Disney’s company was considered to be the most important family training company in the world and after receiving 26 Oscar Awards for his productions, 10 feature films, 12 short films and 4 honorary awards, one of them for having created Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, due to cardiorespiratory arrest.

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Fernando Botero

Fernando Botero Biography

Fernando Botero Angulo (April 19, 1932 – September 15, 2023) was a sculptor, painter, muralist, and draftsman, hailing from Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia. He was a Colombian artist known and celebrated for infusing a substantial volume to human and animal figures in his works.

Early Years and Beginnings

Fernando Botero was born into an affluent Paisa family , composed of his parents, David Botero and Flora Angulo, along with his older brother Juan David, who was four years his senior, and his younger brother, Rodrigo, who would be born four years after Fernando, in the same year that their father passed away. In 1938, he enrolled in primary school at the Ateneo Antioqueño and later entered the Bolivariana to continue his high school education. However, he was expelled from the institution due to an article he published in the newspaper El Colombiano about Picasso , as well as his drawings that were considered obscene. As a result, he graduated from high school at the Liceo of the University of Antioquia in 1950.

In parallel to his studies, Fernando attended a bullfighting school in La Macarena at the request of one of his uncles. However, due to an issue related to bullfighting, Botero left the bullring and embarked on a journey into painting. In 1948, he held his first exhibition in Medellín. Two years later, he traveled to Bogotá where he had two more exhibitions and had the opportunity to meet some intellectuals of the time. He then stayed at Isolina García’s boarding house in Tolú, which he paid for by painting a mural. Once again in Bogotá, he won the second prize at the IX National Artists Salon with his oil painting “Facing the Sea” .

“Ephemeral art is a lesser form of expression that cannot be compared to the concept of art conceived with the desire for perpetuity. What many people fail to understand is that Picasso is a traditional artist”- Fernando Botero

Due to the prize from the IX Salon and the sale of several of his works, Fernando Botero traveled to Spain in 1952 to enroll at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. There, he lived by selling drawings and paintings in the vicinity of the Prado Museum. In 1953, he went to Paris with filmmaker Ricardo Irrigarri, and later, they both traveled to Florence. Here, he entered the Academy of San Marco, where he was heavily influenced by Renaissance painters such as Piero della Francesca, Titian, and Paolo Uccello.

Career and Personal Life

In 1955, Botero returned to Colombia to hold an exhibition featuring several of his works created during his time in Europe, but it was met with a lukewarm reception from the public.

Woman With a Mirror / Foto:Luis García (Zaqarbal) / Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Spain (CC BY-SA 3.0 ES)

In 1956, he married Gloria Zea, with whom he would later have three children: Fernando, Juan Carlos, and Lina. The couple traveled to Mexico City, where Fernando Botero was eager to see the works of Mexican muralists, but this experience left him disillusioned. Consequently, he began searching for his own artistic style, drawing influence from both the Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo and the Colombian artist Alejandro Obregón . In this quest, he started experimenting with volume, initially in still lifes, and gradually extending this approach to other elements.

In 1957, he successfully exhibited in New York, showcasing his new artistic sensibility. The following year, he returned to Bogotá, where he was appointed as a professor at the School of Fine Arts at the National University of Colombia . He presented his work “La Camera Degli Sposi” at the X Colombian Artists Salon , winning the first prize and becoming the country’s most prominent painter. This piece sparked some controversy as it was initially censored for being almost a parody of Andrea Mantegna’s “La Cámara de los Esposos”. However, it was later reinstated in the exhibition on the advice of Marta Traba. Subsequently, Fernando Botero exhibited his works in various spaces in the United States, where a businessman from Chicago purchased “La Camera Degli Sposi” .

“Fernando Botero and his works are the finest ambassadors of our country in this land of navigators and discoverers, of poets and fado singers”- Juan Manuel Santos

In 1960, Botero separated from Gloria Zea and traveled to New York. He led a modest life here as the New York art scene was primarily inclined towards abstract expressionism. Consequently, Botero was influenced by artists like Pollock, which led him to experiment with color, brushwork, and format, to the point of nearly abandoning his distinctive style characterized by the manipulation of volume. Aware of this, Botero returned to his usual style of flat colors and figurative representations.

Starting in 1962, he began a series of exhibitions in both Europe and the United States, as well as in Colombia. By 1970, the year his son Pedro was born to his second wife, Cecilia Zambrano, Fernando Botero had already become the world’s most sought-after sculptor. However, in 1974, his son Pedro tragically died in a traffic accident, leading to his second divorce and leaving significant marks on his artistic endeavors.

In 1978, the Colombian painter married Sophia Vari , a renowned Greek artist with whom he shared a significant part of his life, until sadly, she passed away in May 2023.

Since 1983, Fernando Botero has been exhibiting his works and donating them to various cities around the world. As a result, we can find his pieces in the streets of Medellín, Barcelona, Oviedo, Singapore, and Madrid, among others. In 2008, the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Mexico conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate.

Renowned Colombian artist, Fernando Botero, died on September 15, 2023 , in Monaco at the age of 91 due to pneumonia . His artistic legacy will endure forever. In his hometown, seven days of mourning were declared.

Pedrito a Caballo, Fernando Botero (1975).

Top 10 Famous works by Fernando Botero

Some of the most recognized works by Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero:

• “Pedrito on Horseback” / “Pedrito a Caballo” (1974): This is an oil painting on canvas measuring 194.5 cm x 150.5 cm. For Botero, this work is his masterpiece and a refuge during a personal tragedy. The child depicted is Pedro, his son from his second marriage, who tragically passed away in an accident when he was young.
• “Mona Lisa at 12 Years Old” / “Mona lisa a los 12 años” (1978): This piece stands out as a unique version of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting, the Mona Lisa . Painted in oil on canvas and measuring 183 cm x 166 cm, Botero incorporates his characteristic style of voluptuous and rounded figures into this work, which has become one of his most distinctive pieces.
• “Woman’s Torso” / “Torso de Mujer” (1986): It is a majestic bronze sculpture that rises to an impressive height of approximately 2.48 meters. It is often affectionately referred to as “La Gorda” (“The Fat One”). This artwork finds its home in Parque de Berrío, located in the captivating city of Medellín.
• “Woman with Mirror” / “Mujer con Espejo” (1987): An imposing bronze sculpture weighing 1000 kg. It is located in Plaza de Colón, in the heart of Madrid, Spain. The artwork captivates the gaze with the portrayal of a woman peacefully lying face down on the ground, holding a mirror in her hands. Her expression reflects deep introspection and enigmatic melancholy.
• “The Orchestra” / “La Orquesta” (1991): In this oil on canvas artwork, measuring 200 cm x 172 cm, Botero presents a band of musicians with a singer, all immersed in a spirit of celebration. The artist aims to convey a sense of harmony and joy through his portrayal.
• “Woman Smoking” / “Mujer Fumando” (1994): It is a creation executed in watercolor, spanning dimensions of 122 cm x 99 cm. In this work, Maestro Botero skillfully captures the essence of a woman elegantly holding a cigarette between her fingers. His meticulous focus on voluptuous forms, posture, and the serene expression of the figure masterfully combine to emphasize the sensuality and profound intimacy of the moment captured in the artwork.
• “Man on Horseback” / “Hombre a Caballo” (1996): This bronze sculpture is one of the most iconic works in the artist’s career. It depicts a rider in a majestic and proud posture. Over the years, this imposing work has been exhibited in multiple cities around the world, solidifying its place as a prominent piece in the sculptor’s body of work.
• “The Horse” / “El Caballo” (1997): This iconic sculpture showcases a horse of majestic presence and a distinctive rounded form, sculpted in bronze and measuring approximately 3 meters in height. This masterpiece reflects Botero’s profound passion for horses while also serving as a powerful representation of the mythical Trojan Horse.
• “The Death of Pablo Escobar” / “La muerte de Pablo Escobar” (1999): This artwork, created using the oil on canvas technique, has dimensions of 58 cm x 38 cm. While not considered a masterpiece, this artistic piece represents one of the most significant moments in Colombia’s history. Fernando Botero captures, in his distinctive style, the moment of the death of the drug lord Pablo Escobar , addressing issues related to violence and criminality that have marked the country’s history. An interesting detail is that, although Pablo Escobar admired Fernando Botero’s art, it cannot be said that the admiration was mutual. The painter created two works depicting the death of the drug trafficker.
• “Boterosutra Series” / “Serie Boterosutra” (2011): This work by Botero is part of an erotic art collection called Boterosutra , marking a milestone in the history of Colombian art as the first artistic representation of sexual intimacy between lovers. This series comprises around 70 small-sized pieces created using various techniques, including colored drawings, watercolors, brushstrokes, and also black and white, all of which constitute one of the most contemporary works by the painter.

Gustave Courbet

Biography of Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet, Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) was a painter. Courbet was born in the French town of Ornans. His parents and family were landowners in Ornans. Courbet was influenced by his parents to study law, but his true passion was drawing. Therefore, while studying law, he began drawing under the tutelage of a student named Flajoulot. When he turned 20, he withdrew from his law studies and moved to Paris to complete his artistic training with the teachings of Steuben, Bonvin, and Père Baud, a student of Gros. There he became interested in the works of Chardin, the Le Nain brothers, and the Spanish painters Ribera, Zurbarán, Murillo, and Velázquez.

Based in Paris since 1839, he delved into the Realist painting trend of the 19th century. He studied at the Swiss Academy and extensively analyzed the works of some artists from the Flemish, Venetian, and Dutch schools of the 16th and 17th centuries. He achieved artistic maturity when he discovered the works of Rembrandt on a trip he took to the Netherlands in 1847. From then on, works such as L’après diner a Ornans (1849), El entierro en Ornans (1849) or Los paisanos de Flagey volviendo del campo (1850) emerged, where the characters are represented with all their vulgarity or a compromising sensuality.

Courbet’s works caused a stir and controversy because the public was faced with a new realistic vision of everyday events. Additionally, his style as a revolutionary and provocative man, follower of the anarchist philosophy of Proudhon, and participant in the 1871 Paris Commune, led to his imprisonment for six months, until he sought refuge in Switzerland in 1873. All of this scandalized the public, who often criticized him but also admired him. His self-portraits were based on Romanticism. In 1846, he wrote a manifesto against Romantic and neoclassical tendencies with Bouchon. Courbet’s realism was a protest against the sterile academic painting and exotic motifs of Romanticism. He focused on the revolutionary environments of the 19th century.

He traveled to Holland to study the works of Hals and Rembrandt and participated indirectly in the military uprising. During this period, two of his most important realist works were created: The Burial at Ornans and The Stone Breakers, this work was lost due to World War II. Courbet’s paintings elicited all types of comments due to their realistic portrayal of the lives of ordinary people. After the coup d’etat of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in 1852, the painter returned to his hometown.

While there, Courbet opened his own exhibition titled “Realism.” It was born as a protest against the rejection of his works at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1855. The central work was the enormous painting: “The Painter’s Studio” (1855). It was presented as a “realistic allegory.” Later, other figure and portrait paintings emerged: “Ladies by the Seine” (1857), the self-portrait “The Cellist” (1849) and “The Beautiful Irishwoman” (1866). The artist also created works related to the sea, landscapes of forests and mountains with their fauna, flowers and still lifes.

Courbet became a representative of the emerging realism of the time. Courbet was described as a conceited man, who claimed to be the most handsome and seductive of humans, due to his Assyrian profile, he boasted of his ability to illuminate new forms of truth and beauty to end the outdated trends of Paris. For this reason, we can understand why he was such a controversial painter and was often hated. Nevertheless, the magnificent works that this painter conceived during his life could not be denied.

Let’s return to The Burial at Ornans (1849), it is his work of greatest dimensions and complexity, he wanted to bring a huge fragment of rural reality from his land to the refined environment of Paris. This composition can be seen as disordered and with little hierarchy. Courbet manages to make the viewer sit at the same level as the villagers of Ornans and symbolically attend the funeral of a humble peasant. In addition, the diversity of individual expressions tries to make a critical description and a study of the social categories of a population. This work is admired for its formal and coloristic stylization, and its horizontal composition.

Another great work of this French painter is Bonjour, monsieur Courbet (1854). The painting shows in great detail the local environment, as well as the light and characters, reflecting a real event with great objectivity. This painting has become a kind of standard-bearer of realistic art for many artists in recent decades. Courbet broke the mold with the work Señoritas a orillas del Sena (1857), because the Parisian public was used to paintings on mythological or historical themes; on the contrary, in Courbet’s canvas, the two women represented in showy clothes are two prostitutes resting by the river.

Also impressive was the way it was painted, in opposition to the tastes and rules of the time; the thick brushstrokes, the color tones and the disregard for the canons of beauty. In that work both the composition and the color, want to reflect reality, each of the elements reflect the same importance, transmitting a certain sense of imperceptible objectivity. Courbet showed total uninhibitedness in front of the female sex. A reflection of this is the work The Origin of the World (1866), was made by order of Bey, this was the most transgressive painting of the 19th century.

Other paintings by this French painter include: Self-Portrait with Black Dog (1842), The Desperate Man (1845), The Meeting (1854), The Painter’s Studio (1855), Woman with Parrot (1866), The Trout (1871) among others. These are just a few of the many works that this artist left for posterity and for future generations interested in realistic art. Courbet’s radical stance, reflected in the realm of politics, specifically with the Paris Commune, led to him being accused of participating in the demolition of the Vendôme Column. He had to go into exile in 1875 in Switzerland, where he died two years later in solitude and poverty.

Anime history

Japanese anime or animation emerged at the beginning of the 20th century influenced by animation and the world of cinema developed in the United States, later it was modified and claimed Japanese culture. The anime-style as we know it began to develop in the late 1950s, when the production company Toei Studios and the different series based on short sleeves or cartoons, such as Tetsuwan Atomu, also known as Astro Boy. From the 1980s and 1990s, the anime became popular, appearing large cult series such as Dragon Ball, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sailor Moon, Detective Conan, Rurouni Kenshin, and Cowboy Bebop, among others. In the new millennium, the Japanese animated industry has been booming, providing new content every season based on successful manga, light novels, video games, and music.

The earliest surviving Japanese animated short made for cinemas, produced in 1917

The first Japanese animations were small short films developed at the end of the 1910s, largely inspired by American animation, in these, folk and comic themes were addressed. The first short film was Namakura Gatana by Junichi Kouchi, it was two minutes long, the story told the story of a man with his katana (Japanese sword or saber) . In the following decade, the duration of the short films was extended to ten or fifteen minutes, in which typical oriental tales were represented. Among the pioneer artists of this era are Oten Shimokawa, Junichi Kouchi, Seitaro Kitayama and Sanae Yamamoto; by this time the short film Obasuteyama (The Mountain Where Old Women Are Abandoned) by Yamamoto was published.

During the 30s and 40s, the Japanese animated industry went through a series of changes, the stories were neglected and western stories were taken into account. A short time later the anime Norakuro (1934) of Mituyo Seo, one of the first animations based on a manga. Since then this became a frequent practice. By the end of the 1930s, World War II broke out, a warlike confrontation in which Japan was involved as a member of the Axis powers, at which time the animations became war propaganda. At the end of the war, the country was occupied by the allied powers led by the United States, which seriously affected the country that was going through a deep economic crisis.

Industry development and international boom

In the course of the crisis, the manga and anime industry became popular in the country, thus establishing the basis for the development of the own animated style that occurred around the middle of the 20th century. It was around this time that Toei Studios, an animation film producer, emerged as one of the key figures in the history of anime. This company was a pioneer in the animation of Japan, provided various productions that allowed the advancement of animation in the country. The company’s first animation was Koneko no rakugaki, a short thirteen-minute film published in 1957. The following decade the company grew by focusing on the development of feature films. Other companies such as Mushi Pro, a producer that made the animation of Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy) by Osamu Tezuka, mangaka and animator, one of the most relevant artists of the Japanese animated industry of the 20th century.

Between the 1960s and 1970s, the anime of robots (mecha) became popular appearing iconic series such as Tetsujin 28-gō and Mazinger Z or Gundam, for this same period the popular Doraemon series (1973), based on the homonymous anime, began to air Fujiko Fujio, a series that tells the story of a cosmic robot cat that has attached to its body a bag from which it subtracts various artifacts which are used in the adventures of Doraemon and his human friend Nobita. In the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese animation boomed internationally, which led to many series beginning to dub into English and Spanish, in these years cult series such as Dragon Ball, based on the manga of Akira Toriyama. Saint Seiya also known as The Knights of the Zodiac, Captain Tsubasa, exported as Super champions; Rurouni Kenshin, known in the west as Samurai X, Neon Genesis Evangelion of Hideaki Anno; Pokémon, Ranma ½, and Sakura Card Captor, among others.

In 2000, the already booming anime is largely massified by the acceptance and the huge fan base that it had acquired at the time, these followers known as otakus, boosted the Japanese animated industry. Since then there have been numerous animated productions that have been distributed worldwide, among the most prominent series of the new millennium are One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, Yu-Gi-Oh, Rozen Maiden, Kuroshitsuji, and Death Note, all are ace based on sleeves that when becoming successful, allowed the development of the animated series.

At present, any manga that has a large number of followers is very likely to have adapted in an animated series, such as Hunter x Hunter, Pandora Hearts, Ao no Exorcist, Mirai Nikki, Bakuman and Shingeki no Kyojin, among many others, light novels have been adapted that have become popular as Durarara!!, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Sword Art Online, and My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, among others. In recent years, the Yaoi and Yuri genres have been popularized in which romantic relationships between people of the same sex are addressed, among these series it is possible to rescue Junjō Romantica, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, No. 6, Aoi Hana, Sasameki Koto and Yagate Kimi ni Naru

At present, the Japanese animated industry produces numerous series, ova, and films per year, becoming one of the strongest industries in the world of animation. Among the most prominent people in this industry is Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Studio Ghibli, a studio where films such as My Neighbor Totoro, The Incredible Vagabond Castle, The Journey of Chihiro, and Ponyo, among others, likewise, stand out in the present, artist Makoto Shinkai, creator of 5 centimeters per second, Hoshi Wo Ou Kodomo, Kotonoha no Niwa and Kimi no Na Wa.

John Ruskin

John Ruskin Biography

John Ruskin (February 8, 1819 – January 20, 1900) writer, painter, art critic, and reformer. He was born in London, England. His parents were Margaret Cox and John James Ruskin, a rich merchant who instilled in him a passion for art, literature, and adventure. He studied at the University of Oxford. In 1837, he entered the University of Oxford. Then, he founded a drawing school for students: the Company of St George, for social improvement, useful arts, and the defense of an ornamentalism linked to the reform of society.

He received socialist influences, especially from the group of “Sheffield socialists,” as did William Morris. He advanced a postulate regarding the relationship between art and morals, these dissertations appear in the first volume of Modern Painters (1843), a work that provided an important place among art critics. Later, he published The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849) and The Stones of Venice (1851-1853), where the moral, economic and political importance of architecture were analyzed. In 1851 he became interested in pre-Raphaelist painters such as Dante Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, and John Everett Millais.

His ideas denounce the aesthetic numbness and the pernicious social effects of the Industrial Revolution. His work at Oxford ended in the rejection of the vivisection practices carried out in the laboratories of that institution. After marrying Effie Gray, he published Conferences on architecture and painting (1854), Conferences on the political economy of art (1858) and Fors Clavigera (1871-1884).

Ruskin suffered some psychiatric episodes and little by little he lost the sense of reality. Finally, he died in Lancashire on January 20, 1900. He aroused the admiration of generations of Victorian artists, especially as an introducer of the neo-Gothic taste in England, the greatest champion of pre-Raphaelism. Currently, part of his works is preserved between drawings of nature and different Gothic cathedrals at the University of Oxford.

• Modern painters
• The seven lamps of architecture
• The stones of Venice
• Conferences on architecture and painting
• The political economy of art
• Sesame and lilies
• The morale of dust
• The crown of wild olive
• Fors Clavigera
• The Amiens Bible

John Harvey McCracken

John Harvey McCracken Biography

John Harvey McCracken (December 9, 1934 – April 8, 2011) minimalist artist. He was born in Berkeley, California, United States. He excelled in sculpture and was a reference to the Minimalist Movement. He dedicated four years of his youth to serve in the United States Navy. Subsequently, he entered the California School of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.

Obtaining a BFA in 1962 and completing most of the work for an MFA. Academic life allowed him to meet characters like Gordon Onslow Ford and Tony DeLap. He was hired at several recognized universities where he taught different art subjects, worked at the University of California, School of Visual Arts, University of Nevada, University of California, Santa Barbara, among others.

His first sculptural work was done with the minimalists John Slorp and Peter Schnore, and the painters Tom Nuzum, Vincent Perez, and Terry StJohn. Dennis also known Oppenheim, enrolled in the MFA program at Stanford. He began to experiment with increasingly three-dimensional canvases, McCracken began producing art objects made with industrial techniques and materials such as plywood, spray lacquer, pigmented resin, resulting in striking minimalist works with highly reflective and soft surfaces. He applied similar techniques in the construction of surfboards.

Later, McCracken was part of the Light and Space movement composed by artists such as James Turrell, Peter Alexander, Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, and others. The biggest influences of the art circle were Barnett Newman and the minimalists like Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and Carl Andre. Thanks to this space, his sculptural work began to walk between the material world and design. He was the first to conceive the idea of ​​the plank. The artist combined aspects of painting and sculpture in his work and many experimented with impersonal and elegant surfaces. In addition to the planks, the artist also created independent wall pieces and sculptures with different shapes and sizes, worked in highly polished stainless steel and bronze.

In McCracken’s work, it is usual to see solid colors in bold with its highly polished finish, it is a way that takes work to another dimension. His palette included pink gum, lemon yellow, deep sapphire and ebony, which he applied as a monochrome. He also made objects of stained wood, highly polished bronze and reflective stainless steel. For several years he relied on Hindu and Buddhist mandalas to make a series of paintings, they were exhibited at Castello di Rivoli in 2011.

His wife was the artist Gail Barringer, she revived to a certain extent her husband’s artistic career, and earned her the recognition of a younger generation of artists, merchants, and curators. Unfortunately, he died on April 8, 2011. Years before, his work had been honored in Documenta 12 in Kassel.

EXHIBITIONS

• “Primary structures” in the Jewish Museum (1966)
• “American sculpture of the sixties” at the Los Angeles County Museum (1967).
• “Inverleith House” at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2009)

His top ten auction prices exceed $ 200,000, including his high auction mark for a Black Plank, in polyester resin, fiberglass and plywood, which sold for $ 358,637 at Phillips de Pury & Company London in June 2007. More recently, Flash (2002), a red-board piece of firefighters, sold for $ 290,500 at Christie’s New York in 2010.

Nine Planks V, Blue column, Plank, Don’t tell me when to stop, Mykonos, Pyramid, Blue Post and Dintel I, Love in Italian, Right, Blue Post and Dintel, Yellow pyramid, The Absolutely Naked Fragrance, Violet Block in two parties, you won’t know which one until you’ve been to All of Them, Red Plank, Ala (Aile), among others.

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Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois. At an early age Walt had a gift for drawing and painting. While attending high school he took art classes to develop these skills. Disney left school to serve as an ambulance driver during World War I.

In 1923 Disney moved to Hollywood, California. There he began creating the characters that would make him famous. In 1928 he released the short cartoon film Steamboat Willie . It starred a cheerful mouse named Mickey. The next year Disney formed Walt Disney Productions to create more animated films.

Other popular cartoon characters followed. In the 1930s audiences were introduced to Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy. Disney’s first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , was released in 1937.

In the 1940s Disney’s company began making movies with live actors. Mary Poppins , from 1964, was the most successful of these. Disney also continued making animated features, including such classics as Pinocchio (1940), Cinderella (1950), and Peter Pan (1953).

In 1955 Disney’s company opened Disneyland, a large theme park in Anaheim, California. Walt Disney World, a second and larger amusement park, opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1971. Disney died on December 15, 1966.

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Walt Disney

• Occupation: Entrepreneur
• Born: December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois
• Died: December 15, 1966 in Burbank, California
• Best known for: Disney animated movies and theme parks
• Nickname: Uncle Walt

• Tom Hanks played the role of Walt Disney in the 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks .
• The original name for Mickey Mouse was Mortimer, but his wife didn't like the name and suggested Mickey.
• He won 22 Academy Awards and received 59 nominations.
• His last written words were "Kurt Russell." No one, not even Kurt Russell, knows why he wrote this.
• He was married to Lillian Bounds in 1925. They had a daughter, Diane, in 1933 and later adopted another daughter, Sharon.
• The robot from Wall-E was named after Walter Elias Disney.
• The sorcerer from Fantasia is named "Yen Sid", or "Disney" spelled backwards.
• Listen to a recorded reading of this page:

Biography of Walt Disney, Animator and Film Producer

Love of drawing, laugh-o-gram films, mickey mouse, sound and color, feature-length cartoons, union strikes, world war ii, more movies, plans for disneyland, disneyland opens, plans for walt disney world, florida.

Walt Disney (born Walter Elias Disney; December 5, 1901–December 15, 1966) was a cartoonist and entrepreneur who developed a multibillion-dollar family entertainment empire. Disney was the renowned creator of Mickey Mouse, the first sound cartoon, the first Technicolor cartoon, and the first feature-length cartoon. In addition to winning 22 Academy Awards in his lifetime, Disney also created the first major theme park: Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Fast Facts: Walt Disney

• Known For: Disney was a pioneering animator and film producer who won 22 Academy Awards and built one of the largest media empires in the world.
• Born: December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois
• Parents: Elias and Flora Disney
• Died: December 15, 1966 in Burbank, California
• Awards and Honors: 22 Academy Awards, Cecil B. DeMille Award, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal
• Spouse: Lillian Bounds (m. 1925-1966)
• Children: Diane, Sharon

Walt Disney was born the fourth son of Elias Disney and Flora Disney (née Call) in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. By 1903, Elias, a handyman and carpenter, had grown weary of crime in Chicago; thus, he moved his family to a 45-acre farm he purchased in Marceline, Missouri. Elias was a stern man who administered “corrective” beatings to his five children; Flora soothed the children with nightly readings of fairy tales.

After the two eldest sons grew up and left home, Walt Disney and his older brother Roy worked on the farm with their father. In his free time, Disney made up games and sketched the farm animals. In 1909, Elias sold the farm and purchased an established newspaper route in Kansas City, where he moved his remaining family.

It was in Kansas City that Disney developed a love for an amusement park called Electric Park, which featured 100,000 electric lights illuminating a roller coaster, a dime museum, penny arcade, swimming pool, and a colorful fountain light show.

Rising at 3:30 a.m. seven days a week, 8-year-old Walt Disney and brother Roy delivered the newspapers, taking quick naps in alleyways before heading to Benton Grammar School. In school, Disney excelled in reading; his favorite authors were Mark Twain and Charles Dickens.

In art class, Disney surprised his teacher with original sketches of flowers with human hands and faces. After stepping on a nail on his newspaper route, Disney had to spend two weeks in bed recuperating. He spent his time reading and drawing newspaper-style cartoons.

Elias sold the newspaper route in 1917 and bought a partnership in the O-Zell Jelly factory in Chicago, moving Flora and Walt with him (Roy had enlisted in the U.S. Navy). Sixteen-year-old Walt Disney attended McKinley High School, where he became the school newspaper’s junior art editor. To pay for evening art classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, he washed jars in his father’s jelly factory.

Wanting to join Roy, who was fighting in World War I, Disney tried to join the Army but at age 16 he was too young. Undeterred, he joined the Red Cross’ Ambulance Corps, which took him to France and Germany.

After spending 10 months in Europe, Disney returned to the U.S. In October 1919, he got a job as a commercial artist at the Pressman-Rubin Studio in Kansas City. Disney met and became friends with fellow artist Ub Iwerks at the studio.

When Disney and Iwerks were laid off in January 1920, they formed Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists. Due to a lack of clients, however, the duo only survived for about a month. After getting jobs at the Kansas City Film Ad Company as cartoonists, Disney and Iwerks began making commercials for movie theaters.

Disney borrowed a camera from the studio and began experimenting with stop-action animation in his garage. He shot footage of his animal drawings using different techniques until the pictures actually “moved” in fast and slow motion. His cartoons (which he called Laugh-O-Grams) eventually became superior to the ones he was working on at the studio; he even figured out a way to merge live action with animation. Disney suggested to his boss that they make cartoons, but his boss flatly turned down the idea, content with making commercials.

In 1922, Disney quit the Kansas City Film Ad Company and opened a studio in Kansas City called Laugh-O-Gram Films. He hired a few employees, including Iwerks, and sold a series of fairy tale cartoons to Pictorial Films in Tennessee.

Disney and his staff began work on six cartoons, each one a seven-minute fairy tale that combined live action and animation. Unfortunately, Pictorial Films went bankrupt in July 1923; as a result, so did Laugh-O-Gram Films.

Next, Disney decided he would try his luck at working in a Hollywood studio as a director and joined his brother Roy in Los Angeles, where Roy was recovering from tuberculosis.

Having no luck getting a job at any of the studios, Disney sent a letter to Margaret J. Winkler, a New York cartoon distributor, to see if she had any interest in distributing his Laugh-O-Grams. After Winkler viewed the cartoons, she and Disney signed a contract.

On October 16, 1923, Disney and Roy rented a room at the back of a real estate office in Hollywood. Roy took on the role of accountant and cameraman of the live action; a little girl was hired to act in the cartoons; two women were hired to ink and paint the celluloid, and Disney wrote the stories and drew and filmed the animation.

By February 1924, Disney had hired his first animator, Rollin Hamilton, and moved into a small storefront with a window bearing the sign “Disney Bros. Studio.” Disney’s "Alice in Cartoonland" reached theaters in June 1924.

In early 1925, Disney moved his growing staff to a one-story, stucco building and renamed his business “Walt Disney Studio.” Disney hired Lillian Bounds, an ink artist, and began dating her. On July 13, 1925, the couple married in her hometown of Spalding, Idaho. Disney was 24; Lillian was 26.

Meanwhile, Margaret Winkler also married, and her new husband, Charles Mintz, took over her cartoon distribution business. In 1927, Mintz asked Disney to rival the popular “Felix the Cat” series. Mintz suggested the name “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit” and Disney created the character and made the series.

In 1928, when costs became increasingly high, Disney and Lillian took a train trip to New York to renegotiate the contract for the popular Oswald series. Mintz countered with even less money than he was currently paying, informing Disney that he owned the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and that he had lured most of Disney’s animators to come work for him.

Shocked, shaken, and saddened, Disney boarded the train for the long ride back. In a depressed state, he sketched a character and named him Mortimer Mouse. Lillian suggested the name Mickey Mouse instead.

Back in Los Angeles, Disney copyrighted Mickey Mouse and, along with Iwerks, created new cartoons with Mickey Mouse as the star. Without a distributor, though, Disney could not sell the silent Mickey Mouse cartoons.

In 1928, sound became the latest in film technology. Disney pursued several New York film companies to record his cartoons with this new novelty. He struck a deal with Pat Powers of Cinephone. Disney provided the voice of Mickey Mouse and Powers added sound effects and music.

Powers became the distributor of the cartoons and on November 18, 1928, "Steamboat Willie" opened at the Colon Theater in New York. It was Disney’s (and the world’s) first cartoon with sound. "Steamboat Willie" received rave reviews and audiences everywhere adored Mickey Mouse.

In 1929, Disney began making “Silly Symphonies,” a series of cartoons that included dancing skeletons, the Three Little Pigs, and characters other than Mickey Mouse, including Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.

In 1931, a new film-coloring technique known as Technicolor became the latest in film technology. Until then, everything had been filmed in black and white. To hold off the competition, Disney paid to hold the rights to Technicolor for two years. He filmed a Silly Symphony titled "Flowers and Trees" in Technicolor, showing colorful nature with human faces, and the film won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon of 1932.

On December 18, 1933, Lillian gave birth to Diane Marie Disney, and on December 21, 1936, Lillian and Walt Disney adopted Sharon Mae Disney.

Disney decided to add dramatic storytelling to his cartoons, but making a feature-length cartoon had everyone (including Roy and Lillian) saying it would never work; they believed audiences just wouldn’t sit that long through a dramatic cartoon.

Despite the naysayers, Disney, ever the experimenter, went to work on the feature-length fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Production of the cartoon cost $1.4 million (a massive sum in 1937) and was soon dubbed “Disney’s Folly.”

When it premiered in theaters on December 21, 1937, though, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was a box office sensation. Despite the Great Depression, it earned $416 million.

A notable achievement in cinema, the movie won Disney an Honorary Academy Award. The citation read, "For 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,' recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field."

After the success of "Snow White," Disney constructed his state-of-the-art Burbank Studio, deemed a worker’s paradise for a staff of about 1,000 workers. The studio, with animation buildings, sound stages, and recording rooms, produced "Pinocchio" (1940), "Fantasia" (1940), "Dumbo" (1941), and "Bambi" (1942).

Unfortunately, these feature-length cartoons lost money worldwide due to the start of World War II. Along with the cost of the new studio, Disney found himself in debt. He offered 600,000 shares of common stock, sold at five dollars apiece. The stock offerings sold out quickly and erased the debt.

Between 1940 and 1941, movie studios began unionizing; it wasn’t long before Disney’s workers wanted to unionize as well. While his workers demanded better pay and working conditions, Disney believed that his company had been infiltrated by communists.

After numerous and heated meetings, strikes, and lengthy negotiations, Disney finally became unionized. However, the whole process left Disney feeling disillusioned and discouraged.

With the union question finally settled, Disney was able to turn his attention back to his cartoons; this time for the U.S. government. The United States had joined World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and it was sending millions of young men overseas to fight.

The U.S. government wanted Disney to produce training films using his popular characters ; Disney obliged, creating more than 400,000 feet of film (about 68 hours).

After the war, Disney returned to his own agenda and made "Song of the South" (1946), a movie that was 30 percent animation and 70 percent live action. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" was named the best movie song of 1946 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, while James Baskett, who played the character of Uncle Remus in the movie, won an Oscar.

In 1947, Disney decided to make a documentary about Alaskan seals titled "Seal Island" (1948). It won an Academy Award for best two-reel documentary. Disney then assigned his top talent to make "Cinderella" (1950), "Alice in Wonderland" (1951), and "Peter Pan" (1953).

After building a train to ride his two daughters around his new home in Holmby Hills, California, Disney began formulating a dream in 1948 to build Mickey Mouse Amusement Park across the street from his studio. He visited fairs, carnivals, and parks around the world to study the choreography of people and attractions.

Disney borrowed on his life insurance policy and created WED Enterprises to organize his amusement park idea, which he was now referring to as Disneyland. Disney and Herb Ryman drew out the plans for the park in one weekend. The plan included an entrance gate to "Main Street" that would lead to Cinderella’s Castle and off to different lands of interest, including Frontier Land, Fantasy Land, Tomorrow Land, and Adventure Land.

The park would be clean and innovative, a place where parents and children could have fun together on rides and attractions; they would be entertained by Disney characters in the “happiest place on earth.”

Roy visited New York to seek a contract with a television network. Roy and Leonard Goldman reached an agreement where ABC would give Disney a $500,000 investment in Disneyland in exchange for a weekly Disney television series.

ABC became a 35 percent owner of Disneyland and guaranteed loans up to $4.5 million. In July 1953, Disney commissioned the Stanford Research Institute to find a location for his (and the world’s) first major theme park. Anaheim, California, was selected since it could easily be reached by freeway from Los Angeles.

Previous movie profits were not enough to cover the cost of building Disneyland, which took about a year to build at a cost of $17 million. Roy made numerous visits to the Bank of America's headquarters to secure more funding.

On July 13, 1955, Disney sent out 6,000 exclusive guest invitations, including to Hollywood movie stars, to enjoy the opening of Disneyland. ABC sent cameramen to film the opening. However, many tickets were counterfeited and 28,000 people showed up.

Rides broke down, food stands ran out of food, a heat wave caused freshly poured asphalt to capture shoes, and a gas leak caused temporary closings in a few themed areas.

Despite the newspapers referring to this cartoon-ish day as "Black Sunday," guests from all over the world loved it and the park became a major success. Ninety days later, the one-millionth guest passed through the park's turnstile.

In 1964, Disney’s "Mary Poppins" premiered; the film was nominated for 13 Academy Awards. With this success, Disney sent Roy and a few other Disney executives to Florida in 1965 to purchase land for another theme park.

In October 1966, Disney gave a press conference to describe his plans for building an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) in Florida. The new park would be five times the size of Disneyland, and it would include shopping, entertainment venues, and hotels.

The new Disney World development would not be completed, however, until five years after Disney’s death. The new Magic Kingdom (which included Main Street USA; Cinderella's Castle leading to Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland) opened on October 1, 1971, along with Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Resort, and Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. EPCOT, Walt Disney’s second theme park vision, which featured a future world of innovation and a showcase of other countries, opened in 1982.

In 1966, doctors informed Disney that he had lung cancer. After having a lung removed and several chemotherapy sessions, Disney collapsed in his home and was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital on December 15, 1966. He died at 9:35 a.m. from an acute circulatory collapse and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Disney left behind one of the largest media empires in the world. Since his death, the Walt Disney Company has only grown; today, it employs more than 200,000 people and generates billions in revenue each year. For his artistic achievements, Disney amassed 22 Oscars and numerous other honors. In 1960, he was given two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one for his film and one for his television work).

• David, Erica, and Bill Robinson. "Disney." Random House, 2015.
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Walt Disney, a Short Biography

Reading comprehension about walt disney.

Develop your reading skills. Read the following biography of Walt Disney and do the comprehension task.

Walt Disney: A Pioneer of Entertainment

Disney’s journey to success began with the creation of the beloved character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, produced by the Disney studio for Universal Studios. However, a disagreement over budget led Disney to part ways with Universal Studios, prompting him and his brother Roy O. Disney to embark on a new venture. Together, they co-founded Walt Disney Productions, now known as The Walt Disney Company, laying the foundation for an entertainment empire that would redefine the landscape of popular culture. Today, The Walt Disney Company boasts annual revenues of approximately U.S. $35 billion, a testament to Disney’s enduring influence and innovation.

Tragically, Disney’s remarkable journey was cut short by his battle with lung cancer, leading to his untimely passing on December 15, 1966, in Burbank, California. However, his vision lived on, with the inauguration of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida by his brother Roy Disney in 1971, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the Disney legacy.

Comprehension:

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Walt Disney Facts for Kids

• Name : Walt Disney
• Profession : Animator, Writer, Voice Actor and Film Producer
• Born : December 5th, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, United States
• Died : December 15th, 1966 in Burbank, California, United States
• Resting Place : Forest Lawn Memorial Park
• Legacy : Famous for the creation of the Walt Disney Company

22 Walt Disney Facts for Kids

• Walt Disney was an American animator, film producer, voice actor and writer.
• Walt Disney is most famous for creating the Walt Disney Company and several popular cartoon characters.
• Walt Disney was born on December 5th, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
• Walt Disney’s full birthname was Walter Elias Disney.
• Walt Disney was the son of Elias Disney and Flora Disney.
• Walt Disney was one of five children by Elias and Flora Disney.
• Walt Disney had three brothers (Herbert, Raymond and Roy) and one sister (Ruth).
• Walt Disney married American ink artist Lillian Disney on July 13th, 1925.
• Walt and Lillian Disney had two children, Diane M. Disney (biological) and Sharon Mae Disney (adopted).
• Walt Disney died at the age of 65 due to complications from lung cancer (circulatory collapse) on December 15th, 1966 in Burbank, California, United States.
• In 1919, Disney becomes an apprentice artist at the Pesmen-Rubin Commercial Art Studio in Kansas City.
• In 1920, Disney meets Ub Iwerks and together they form the Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists company. However, the company is dissolved in a month after it fails. That same year both Disney and Iwerks discover animation when they get jobs with the Kansas City Slide Company.
• In 1925, Disney hires Lillian Bounds as an ink artist and the two get married the same year.
• In 1928, Disney along with Ub Iwerks create the famous cartoon character Mickey Mouse. This newly created character by Walt and Ub appears first in the animated short films Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie. Mickey Mouse becomes very popular within a year of its first films being released.
• In 1931, more than one million people are members of the Mickey Mouse Club.
• In 1933, Lillian Disney gives birth to Diane M. Disney. Diane is the only biological child of Walt and Lillian.
• In 1936, Disney and his wife adopt Sharon Mae Disney.
• In 1937, Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This is the first feature film released by Walt Disney.
• Between 1937 and 1963, Disney and Walt Disney productions release 18 different films. Many of these films become huge hits, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
• In 1955, Disneyland is opens in Anaheim, California, United States. This is an amusement park was designed and built under the direct supervision of Disney.
• In 1965, Disney started working on another amusement park known at the time as “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” (EPCOT). This would eventually morph into Disney World in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
• In 1966, Disney dies from lung cancer caused by heavy smoking. His body is cremated, and his remains are laid to rest at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, United States.

Pictures of Walt Disney

Additional Resources on Walt Disney

• About Walt Disney – Find more information on Walt Disney on the Duckster website.
• Biography of Walt Disney – Read the biography of Walt Disney on the Biography website.
• Timeline of Walt Disney – View a timeline of the life of Walt Disney on the Walt Disney Family Museum website.
• Walt Disney – Wikipedia – Discover more facts and information about Walt Disney on the Wikipedia website.

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Walt Disney Biography: The Man Who Believed in Dreams

Walt Disney

In this success story, we will share Walt Disney’s biography and his path to success. It wasn’t easy, but Walt believed in his dreams and did his best to make the world happy. Enjoy reading an incredible life story about one of the most significant persons in history.

Walt Disney is a famous American artist, director, producer, and creator of a series of full-length animated films that won him worldwide fame. He is a Doctor of Fine Arts, winning 7 Emmy Awards, 22 Academy Awards (Oscars), and a Cecil B. DeMille Award. Additionally, he was awarded the highest civilian award of the U.S. government – The Presidential Medal of Freedom. Walt Disney co-founded an entertainment conglomerate, The Walt Disney Company, and created the world’s first large amusement park, Disneyland. He and his team made famous fictional characters like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Goofy.

Table of Contents

It is believed that anyone in the United States of America can become a millionaire or president. For those who wish to attain these goals, starting a career as an advertising agent, shoe shiner, or courier is better. These creative professions do not require specialized training but won’t let you miss a successful event, after which fate will help you conquer well-being.

Walt Disney must have been familiar with the mythological stamp. By the way, his success can be compared to the model of a self-made American. In other words, the path to success Walt Disney began being a newsboy.

Walter Elias “Walt” Disney was born on December 05, 1901, in Chicago, to a large family of an Irish immigrant, Elias Charles Disney, and Flora Call Disney, who was of German and English descent. His father, Elias Charles Disney, was engaged in a small construction business, but his family was stricken with finances. In 1878, Elias Charles Disney moved from Huron County, Ontario, Canada, to the United States during the gold rush. He sought gold in California before settling down to farm with his parents near Ellis, Kansas, until 1884. Elias Charles Disney and Flora Call married in Acron, Florida, on January 01, 1888. In 1890, they moved to Chicago, Illinois, the hometown of Elias’ brother Robert, who financially supported Elias for most of Walter’s childhood. In 1906, Elias and Flora Disney set off to Marceline, Missouri, where his elder brother Roy had recently bought farmland.

Elias struggled at work, and when he came home, he took out his anger on his children and wife. Walter Disney had a younger sister, Ruth Disney, and elder brothers, Herbert Disney, Ray Disney, and Roy O. Disney; the latter would co-found The Walt Disney Company with Walt Disney. His elder brothers, Herbert and Ray, ran away from home in 1906 because they had been fed up with the endless work and little money to spend.

In the fall of 1909, Walt and his sister, Ruth, enrolled at the new Park School of Marceline. The Disney family stayed in Marceline for four years. On November 28, 1910, they had to sell their farm. In 1911, the family decided to move to Kansas City following the example of many neighbors who were migrating across America without the end. In Kansas City, Walt and Ruth enrolled at the Benton Grammar School. He met Walter Pfeiffer, who introduced Walt vaudeville and motion pictures there. But to learn the art of drawing, Walt Disney had only about a year, and the first thing he did was attend Saturday courses at Kansas City Art Institute.

On July 01, 1911, his father acquired a newspaper delivery route for The Kansas City Star. Walt and Roy were asked to distribute newspapers and advertisements for the father’s firm. They delivered the morning newspaper, Kansas City Times, to about 700 readers. Additionally, they had to distribute the evening and Sunday Star to over 600 readers. In any weather, early morning or late at night, Walt Disney ran from Twenty-seventh Street to Thirty-first Street and from Prospect Avenue to Indiana Avenue in his worn-out shoes, hurrying to deliver the newspapers on time. Elias always took away all the money his son earned. But Walt did not complain, and once he found a new subscriber, he concealed the money he had received from his father. Additionally, the boy bought newspapers directly in editorial and thus got the little income he spent on his favorite sweets forbidden at home. Thus, Walter began his career as an entrepreneur.

Teenage Years

In 1917, Elias became a shareholder of the O-Zell jelly factory in Chicago. Therefore, he moved his family back to the city. In the fall of the same year, Walter Disney started to attend McKinley High School as a freshman. Also, he attended night courses at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts under the guidance of Louis Frederick Grell (1887–1960), an American figure composition and portrait artist. Later, he started drawing patriotic topics on World War I for the school newspaper.

In the fall of 1918, Walter attempted to be enlisted in the army forces to participate in World War I, following the example of his brother Roy, whom he admired much. Having been refused because of being underage, he volunteered for the Red Cross and was sent to France, where he worked for a year as an ambulance driver. This car became a local landmark, as it was decorated with an amusing cartoonish character of the future animator.

Walt Disney drew a cartoonish character on the ambulance car that he used to drove while working as an ambulance driver.

After returning home, Walt Disney started working as an assistant and night watchman for his father’s O-Zell factory company. The latter particularly suited him because it allowed him to study drawing, which he had drawn from an early age. He notably succeeded in drawing animal sketches. He earned a nickel icon for one of his drawings at seven.

The dream to become a professional artist prevailed, and in 1919, Walt relocated to Kansas City to start his career as an artist. However, despite having the talent of a graphic designer, he lacked the bitterness and anger necessary to create satirical newspaper cartoons. Therefore, an attempt to settle in the art department of a Kansas City provincial newspaper was unsuccessful.

Finally, fate smiled at Walt Disney. His brother, Roy, helped him to find a temporary job as an auxiliary worker through a bank colleague he had been working with at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio. Walt Disney temporarily created advertisements for newspapers, magazines, and movie theaters for a modest monthly salary of $50. Unfortunately, the job was temporary, and by the end of the Christmas rush, the young artist was unemployed again. Despite working at the studio briefly, he gained experience in how the advertising business functioned inside and decided to try his hand at it. At the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio, Walt Disney got acquainted with Ubbe Eert “Ub” Iwerks, a cartoonist with whom he started running their own commercial business.

Beginning of Animation Career

In January 1920, Walt Disney and Ubbe Iwerks established a short-lived company called Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists. Disney’s first client was Restaurant News’s publisher, which issued leaflets. He persuaded the company that adding an illustrated advertising application could improve the marginally profitable newspaper. Being conquered by the spell of Disney, the publisher let him and his friend, Ubbe Iwerks, use an available room (actually a bathroom) as a studio. Walt purchased the necessary equipment on his extra savings of $250. Then, he launched a broad expansion of printing and publishing houses.

Thanks to the perseverance of Walt, their company was successfully developed. Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists seemed to have good prospects at the beginning. The partners moved into a new office, and both had enough money to visit the local cinema, where they were particularly surprised by cartoons. One day, Walt was reading a local newspaper and saw a job advertisement for an animator at the Kansas City Film Ad Company. Walt Disney temporarily left their business to earn some money at that company. After seeing the illustrations of Disney, the company director offered him $40 per week. The work and payment were quite attractive. Walt could not resist and agreed. In February 1920, he left the established business, leaving the reins to Ubbe Iwerks. At the Kansas City Film Ad Company, Walter Disney designed advertisements based on cutout animation. He became interested in animation techniques and decided to be an animator.

To enrich his knowledge, Disney read Edwin G. Lutz’s book Animated Cartoons: How They Are Made, Their Origin and Development. He learned that celluloid animation is a much more reliable technique than cutout animation. Disney quickly became a star among the animators. The original work in his spare time became the basis for creating his company, Laugh-O-Gram Studios.

Laugh-O-Gram Studio

On May 18, 1922, Walt Disney established Laugh-O-Gram Studio and hired his Kansas City Film Ad Company teammate, Fred Harman (February 09, 1902 – January 02, 1982). Also, he invited his close friends Ubbe Iwerks, Fred Harman’s brother, Hugh Harman, and Rudolf Ising to join his company.

With the capital of $15,000 earned from selling shares to several townspeople, Walt created two short animated films based on fairy tales spread throughout the country. But even though both films were trendy, Disney did not receive any payment from his sales agents. Having achieved recognition, he nevertheless went bankrupt. Walt managed to protect only a camera and a copy of his most original work, Alice in Wonderland, from sale. Became loaded with debt, pursued by creditors, Walt fell into extreme poverty: he had no money for clothes or food.

Therefore, when a dentist, Dr. Thomas B. McCrum, asked Walt Disney to make a promotional video about dental health and invited Walt to his house to discuss the deal, Walt Disney had to decline his offer shyly as he had no shoes to walk out. He explained that he had left them with the cobbler at the repair shop, who would not let him have them back until Walt paid him for the work a dollar and a half. Soon, Dr. Thomas B. McCrum visited Laugh-O-Gram Studio, bringing $1.5 for the shoes and $500 to produce a promotional video about dental health. The money he had earned from shooting the video for the dentist was not enough to pay off his debts. However, biographers believe this unexpected work gave Walt Disney the second wind. Disney released a ten-minute, 32-second advertising film about “Tommy Tucker’s Tooth,” Dr. McCrum was delighted. A few years later, Dr. McCrum made another order, and Walt Disney produced another advertising video for his company called “Clara Cleans Her Teeth,” combining animation and live-action again.

Hollywood and Alice Comedies

Accumulating a little money from the video project and advertising photography for local newspapers, Disney decided to leave Kansas City and move to Hollywood, California, to set up a cartoon studio. Before setting off to Hollywood, Walt finished working on the live-action/animation Alice’s Wonderland and took the final reel with himself. In July 1923, he arrived in Hollywood, which had already become the center of the world cinema. Roy (Walt’s brother) was already in California. On the first days, Walt walked around pavilions and film sets from morning till night, carefully studying the process of making movies. He made his real career here despite having $40 in his pocket and only one shirt in his suitcase.

After several attempts, Walt Disney was convinced of the futility of exploring the studios, hoping to find a job. “If there is no work, – he said to himself – I have to do something on my own!” Walt and Roy rent a small garage from their Uncle Robert Disney. Walt invited Virginia Davis, an American child actor who was already a live-action star in Alice’s Wonderland. They hired two employees who ink and painted the celluloid. Walt rented a shabby shooting camera and installed it in the garage. Roy operated the camera, and Disney was responsible for animation. On October 16, 1923, Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney founded “Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.”

Walt and Roy were filming Alice Comedies and were looking for a distributor. They found one, signed a contract with Margaret J. Winker, a New York cartoon distributor, and agreed to deliver 12 Alice Comedies series. On December 26, 1923, they produced the first comedy series, Alice’s Day at Sea, and received $1,500 for it.

Walt enthusiastically started working on the live-action/animation Alice in Wonderland . In February 1924, they relocated to a new office in a former real estate agency at 4651 Kingswell Avenue. Walt hired the first animator, Rollin Hamilton, and invited his old friend, Ubbe Iwerks, and his family to relocate to California to join “The Disney Bros. Cartoon Studio.” His key focus became the film scenarios, so he delegated the primary responsibilities of animation to Ubbe Iwerks. That was the end of Walt’s career as an animator.

In December 1924, Walt Disney hired Hugh Harman and Rudolf “Rudy” Carl Ising (who later would establish Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios). Walt personally hired an inker, Lillian Bounds. On July 13, 1925, Walt Disney and Lillian Bounds got married.

Soon, Virginia Davis no longer played Alice. Therefore, they invited Dawn O’Day and Margie Gay to play the role. However, the series Alice Comedies lost popularity and ended in 1927. The series’ primary focus was more on the animated characters (Julius the Cat) than on the live-action Alice, which is why Alice Comedies lost popularity among the audience.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

The story of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was not smooth for Walt Disney. In 1926, the Walt Disney Studio received an order from a producer, Charles Mintz, to develop an animated character and all animated cartoon series for Universal Pictures. Ubbe Iwerks created and drew the Oswald Rabbit. In total, they produced twenty-six animated Oswald Rabbit’s features. The project was very successful: it became popular and in high demand.

In 2006, the Walt Disney Company purchased the rights to the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from NBC Universal.

However, in February 1928, when Walt Disney flew to New York to discuss a higher fee to produce the Oswald Rabbit cartoon series, Charles Mintz offered Disney to cut expenses by 20 percent and proposed to reduce the fee. Walt Disney could not agree to such conditions and declined Mintz’s requirement.

Walt Disney’s hands were tied because the Oswald Rabbit trademark belonged to Universal Pictures, and such animators as Friz Freleng, Carman Maxwell, Hugh Harman, and Rudy Ising were performing under the terms of the contracts signed with Universal Pictures.

Declining to agree on reductions, most of their animators were hired away except Iwerks, who later would help Disney to create a new character, Mickey Mouse, that would triumph for Walt Disney and his studio.

Mickey Mouse

After losing the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney was understandably disappointed. In the spring of 1928, Walt Disney asked Ub Iwerks to develop a new character. Ubbe tried many sketches of animals, including dogs, cats, a female cow, a male horse, and a male frog; however, Walt Disney did not like the ideas. Mickey Mouse inspired the team from a tame mouse that had been drawn by Hugh Harman at Laugh-O-Gram Studio in 1925. Therefore, Ub started working on improving the original sketches of Mickey Mouse.

Interestingly, the character’s original name was “Mortimer Mouse” before his wife, Lillian Disney, convinced him to change it to Mickey Mouse. Thus, Ub Iwerks animated Mickey Mouse, and Walt Disney gave it a soul being Mickey’s voice until 1947.

On May 15, 1928, the Disney team first featured Mickey Mouse in a test screening of a short cartoon, Plane Crazy . However, the audience was not impressed by the new character. Walt gave another try and featured Mickey in another short cartoon, The Gallopin’ Gaucho . Unable to find a distributor, the cartoon was not released either.

However, Walt Disney did not give up, and on November 18, 1928, Mickey appeared in Steamboat Willie, a short animated film with sound co-directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. This time, Walt managed to find a distributor. Pat Powers (1870 –1948), an entrepreneur in the movie and animation industry, became Steamboat Willie’s distributor and sold the Disney Cinephone sound system that allowed the release of Steamboat Willie with soundtracks that led Walt Disney to success. Furthermore, The Plane Crazy   The Galloping Gaucho was re-released with soundtracks, and all subsequent Mickey Mouse animated cartoons were released with soundtracks.

Silly Symphonies

Following in the footsteps of the Mickey Mouse series, a series of 75 animated short films called Silly Symphony was released by the Walt Disney team from 1929 to 1939.

In 1930, Columbia Pictures agreed to distribute the Silly Symphony series. By 1932, Mickey Mouse had become a favorite cartoon character. Silly Symphony also performed well, but it just needed that extra added touch. The same year, Disney noticed an increase in competition. One of their main competitors was Max Fleischer (July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972), a Polish Jewish American animator who created an animated character, Betty Boop. It was considered the most famous sex symbol of animation. On April 13, 1931, Columbia Pictures suspended the distribution of Walt Disney’s films and was replaced by United Artists.

By the end of 1932, an American scientist and engineer, Herbert Thomas Kalmus (November 9, 1881 – July 11, 1963), completed his first three-strip Technicolor camera. He met with Walt Disney and proposed to re-release the black and white Flowers and Trees through the Technicolor camera. In 1932, The colored Flowers and Trees brought Walt Disney remarkable success and the first Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. After releasing Flowers and Trees illustrated in color, all of the next Silly Symphony series were also illustrated in color.

On May 27, 1933, following the success of Silly Symphony, Disney released another animated short film, The Three Little Pigs , directed by Burt Gillett. The animated film was a hit in theaters for many months. The Walt Disney Productions invested $22,000 in it and grossed $250,000. It was the second animated short film that received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1934.

Three Little Pigs animated film gained popularity thanks to the strength and wisdom of its story. It led Walt Disney to open a Story Department that was responsible for story development and scenario.

In 1935, when Disney’s production rapidly grew, he announced a competitive recruitment contest for artists. The company received 6,000 applications and eliminated most candidates while previewing their submitted drawings. As a result of hard work, Walt Disney managed to select 30 potential employees, and only 10 of them could handle their duties at the studio. Since there were few animators with professional skills, Walt Disney had to educate them himself.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The turning point that played a significant role in the animation industry and business was the creation of the world’s first full-length animated cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, made in Technicolor. When Roy Disney estimated the expected cost of the film, he shuddered with horror – it was a half-million dollar forecast. This was almost double the cost of the entire studio’s annual production. Walt and Roy could not afford to shoot a full-length film with live actors, extras, expeditions, and built scenery. To obtain the funding, they turned to loan officers for help. To persuade them to believe in the success of Snow White , Walt Disney had to show them a rough draft of the motion picture. Loan officers believed in Disney, and after three years of work on the film, it was finally released under the distribution agreement with RKO Radio Pictures. The total budget spent amounted to $1,488,423. On December 21, 1937, the animated musical fantasy film premiered at the Carthay Circle Theater, and the audience highly admired it. Snow White  brought them a profit of $8 million (in today’s money – $132 million).   The resulting wealth was not accidental or unexpected. Walt Disney had been working very hard to reach this goal. He would have reached it one way or another. Maybe this would have required many years more. However, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs immediately made Walt Disney a millionaire.

Walt Disney earned a great fortune from film production, but all financial matters were secondary for him, whatever benefits they could bring. He spent Most of his savings on protecting his artistic interests. He had no lust for money and could have much more if he wanted. Disney considered money as a working tool. It would be wrong to say that Disney struggled for some lofty artistic ideals . However, it was clear that he did not want to depend on anyone else. Disney’s art can be regarded differently, but he often put it above the desire to “make money.”

World War II and the Postwar Period

In 1940, the Walt Disney Studios released the full-length feature Pinocchio , an American animated musical fantasy film, and continued to work on Fantasia (1940), Bambi (1942), and Peter Pen (1953). The shorts teammates worked on Donald Duck, Goofy , Mickey Mouse, and Pluto, an animated short series.

When the United States entered World War II, most of the Disney studio’s facilities cooperated with the US Army and Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. The Disney team was responsible for creating training and instruction motion pictures such as Victory Through Air Power, Aircraft Carrier Landing Signals, and the animated propaganda short film Der Fuehrer’s Face , featuring Donald Duck in a nightmare working at a factory in Nazi Germany in horrible conditions. The latter won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film on March 04, 1943.

In the postwar period, the Walt Disney Studio started working on Cinderella (1950) , the most popular full-length animated film since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Theme Park: Disneyland

Along with the complex real world, an imaginary world of fairy tales lived in Walt Disney’s mind. Tired of the long-term film production industry, he found himself at the mercy of a new idea in building a theme park, which he called Disneyland.

The idea of Disneyland came into Walt Disney’s mind when he was attending Griffith Park in Los Angeles with his daughters Diane and Sharon. He visited other play parks, including Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, Children’s Fairyland in the United States, and Efteling in the Netherlands, to get inspiration.

However, the story of its creation from concept to realization was not straightforward. Investors sympathetically sighed, talked about hard times, and advised Walt to go somewhere to relax when Disney was trying to make them interested in his new venture. His brother, Roy, did not support him either. He believed that the project would not bring revenue.

In a desperate attempt to get funding for the project, Disney turned to the television industry for help. Although the show business industry was considered almost a pariah then, Disney agreed to cooperate with the joint venture, ABC. In exchange for the investment of $5 million, Disney decided to broadcast the Mickey Mouse short-film series on television.

Walt Disney purchased 160 acres (65 ha) of land in Anaheim, California. The construction of Disneyland started on July 16, 1954, with a total investment spend of $17 million (in today’s money – $150 million). The opening day was held on Sunday, July 17, 1955. Since then, everything has gone differently for ABC, the Walt Disney Company, and the American public.

Disneyland quickly became an American landmark. As of 2014, 16.77 million people visited Disneyland in Anaheim. Therefore, another concept of the artist that seemed just a fantasy turned into a big business venture. The Walt Disney Company has four Disneyland parks in California, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Paris and one Walt Disney World in Ontario, Florida. Also, the entertainment conglomerate has 320 Disney stores in its assets located throughout the world, hockey and baseball teams, several newspapers and magazines, and diversified television networks.

Lillian’s first pregnancy ended in miscarriage. She became pregnant again and, on December 18, 1933, gave birth to daughter Diane Marie Disney. Later, the parents adopted Sharon Mae Disney (December 31, 1936 – February 16, 1993) due to Lillian’s birth complications.

At the age of 20, Diane married Ron Miller. They had seven children: Christopher, Joanna, Tamara, Jennifer, Walter, Ronald, and Patrick. The Miller family founded a winery in California called Silverado Vineyards. Later, Diane Disney Miller became the co-founder of The Walt Disney Family Museum. She died on November 19, 2013.

Sharon Mae Disney was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 31, 1936. On May 10, 1959, she married Robert Brown. Their marriage lasted until Robert died in 1967. They had one child. In 1969, Sharon Disney and William Lund got married. They had two children, but in 1975, they got divorced.

Walt Disney had a solid creative will and was an influential leader and organizer. He paid great attention to recruitment and organization processes. The working process of the Disney Studio was as perfect and accurate as his drawings and cartoons. He always required the animators and artists to work according to high professional standards. However, hiring a sufficient number of experts was tough.

All his life, Walt Disney considered himself a good manager. However, many workers were disgruntled by the system of management. They believed they had made a significant contribution to filmmaking and demanded the recognition of copyrights, while Walt thought the original authorship belonged to the Walt Disney Company. The animators’ strike broke out at the studio. The U.S. Department of State helped to defuse the situation by organizing a business trip for Disney in South America. The conflict gradually subsided, but the question was not resolved until the end.

The path traversed by Disney is the road for forty years, during which he became a prominent industrialist in cinema and television. One might achieve here: endowed with talent, perseverance, imagination, and determination. Walt Disney made the general public love the animation. We identify the emergence of his cartoon characters on the screen with the joy of life. And for that, he deserves the greatest glory.

Walt Disney died at 9:30 a.m. on December 15, 1966, when he was 65. The cause of death was acute circulatory collapse. However, the work he had started continues to live and grow steadily till now. The revenue of the Walt Disney Company in the fiscal year 2015 reached $52.46 billion with its media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products, and interactive.

We hope you have enjoyed reading the biography of Walt Disney, his success story, and the history of the Walt Disney Company, and we hope it’s inspired you to discoveries.

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Disney World's Magic Kingdom Is Getting Disney Villains, Pixar Cars Areas

D23 announcements for Disneyland and Disney World spanned Coco, Avengers, Encanto and Indiana Jones rides to all-new lands for Cars, Villains, Avatar and Monsters Inc.

• I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.

Villains Land is coming to Magic Kingdom.

"Disneyland will never be completed,"  Walt Disney once said . "It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world."

And with Disneyland about to celebrate its 70th year in 2025, there's a lot of new growth on the way -- both at the original Disney park and at its 53-year-old counterpart in Florida.

So what's coming next to Disneyland and Walt Disney World? A ton of new rides and experiences, according to the Horizons Disney Experiences Showcase, part of Disney's D23 expo  last weekend, and info that Disney has released since. From new rides to new lands to huge park expansions, here's everything new announced  for Disney Parks and the Disney Cruise Line. 

Villains Land at Magic Kingdom

Villains Land , which will celebrate all the classic baddies from Disney films, is coming to the Magic Kingdom  at Disney World in Florida, and it will be "dark and thorny."

Villains Land was teased during D23 two years ago and is now confirmed. It'll be positioned on the other side of Big Thunder Mountain -- aka, the edge of the current Magic Kingdom map -- Disney Experiences Chair Josh D'Amaro said, and will stretch around to where the Haunted Mansion is.

Two major attractions will be built in Villains Land, as well as dining and shopping "on an incredibly twisted grand scale." The land is already being constructed, but no word yet on when it'll open.

A chilling trailer for the chaotic land on Instagram hints at elements in the land representing Maleficent, Dr. Facilier, Ursula, Gaston, Yzma, Queen of Hearts, Hades, the Evil Queen, Lady Tremaine, Captain Hook, Jafar, Kaa, Madam Mim, Cruella, Scar, King Magnifico and Mother Gothel.

Rivers of America is being transformed for Pixar's Cars

The new Cars rally race ride.

The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island at the Magic Kingdom are being repurposed to insert a new area themed around Pixar's Cars movies . This expansion of Frontierland, which currently encompasses the  Tiana's Bayou Adventure and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attractions, will see it get a Route 66 companion.

"To make way for this completely new frontier, the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island will be transformed into vast and rugged terrains for a rally race with some of the world's most iconic racers," Disney said in a blog post Monday. 

The rally race ride will take you through mountains, geysers and trails, Disney said, adding that there will be a second Cars-themed attraction, too. Cars Land, which was added to Disney's California Adventure back in 2012, remains popular in the west, so it was only a matter of time before it was added to the east. Work is set to begin next year.

Two more Avengers rides at Disneyland

The Avengers Infinity Defense ride.

Disney's California Adventure, already home to the Spider-Man Web Slingers and Guardians of the Galaxy attractions in the Avengers Campus area of the park, will be getting another two Marvel attractions . 

Avengers Campus will double in size to make room for Avengers Infinity Defense -- a King Thanos ride where you'll travel the multiverse between Asgard, Wakanda and New York City to fight him -- and Stark Flight Lab, where you'll sit in a two-person pod and go on a flight with Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

Construction begins in 2025 on the Avengers Campus additions. 

Monsters Inc. Land at Hollywood Studios

Disney's first suspended roller coaster will take you on a ride through the Monsters Inc. factory.

Disney World is getting another new addition at its Hollywood Studios theme park: a Monsters Inc.-themed area , 

Revealed alongside Mike Wazowski himself, Billy Crystal, the land will let you stroll through Monstropolis from the Pixar movies. A new ride will also take you through the Monsters Inc. laugh factory aboard one of the doors to the human world -- aka a suspended roller coaster. 

"The first time I saw Monsters, Inc., all I wanted to do was ride on one of those doors like Mike and Sulley," D'Amaro said Saturday. "You'll go into the factory and experience the first suspended coaster ever in a Disney park. Remember in the movie how those claws grab the doors and hoist them up into the air to take them away? We're doing that, too. And you're going along for the ride."

Work on the Monsters Inc. land will begin in 2025.

Coco Ride at California Adventure

Concept art for the new Coco ride.

Disney's California Adventure isn't just getting more Avengers -- it's also getting more Pixar. 

A Coco attraction will be built in a yet-to-be-announced area of the park, but it sounds like it'll be a dark ride like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, filled with audio animatronics. 

"The attraction will be filled with the characters -- and music! -- you know and love from the beloved movie, as you join Miguel on a trip to the land of the dead," Disney says.

Work begins on the Coco ride in 2026, so it's still a far-off dream.

Avatar comes to California

An aerial shot of the Avatar-themed area coming to Disneyland Resort.

The world of Pandora is expanding from Disney World's Animal Kingdom in Orlando to California Adventure in Anaheim. The area in California will take its design inspiration from the second Avatar film, The Way of Water , as well as the upcoming Avatar sequels.

It'll likely be part of the enormous Disneyland expansion coming to the theme parks that will push the boundaries past Downtown Disney and the nearby parking lots. While Disney was short on details and dates, the Avatar experience will be "dynamic, intense and emotional," with a dark boat ride much like Pirates of the Caribbean "taking guests all the way to the wide-open seas of Pandora."

Tropical Americas at Animal Kingdom

The Tropical Americas area will replace DinoLand USA and feature an Encanto ride, an Indiana Jones ride and a carousel.

Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World is replacing its DinoLand USA area with Tropical Americas . While this had been previously announced, Disney confirmed a few more details this weekend: Pueblo Esperanza will feel like you're walking through a real village and will have a huge quick-service dining location, a fountain and a carousel.

Tropical Americas will also have a new Indiana Jones ride through a Maya temple and an Encanto-themed attraction where you'll explore Antonio's rainforest room inside the Casita.

Construction begins this fall, and it'll open in 2027.

Four more Disney Cruise Line ships

Yes, four. In addition to the Disney Wish , which launched two years ago, the Disney Treasure , which sets sail in December this year and the Disney Destiny, which is set to embark next year, Disney is adding four more cruise ships to its ocean vacation lineup.

The ship names and destinations have yet to be revealed, but they'll be setting sail between 2027 and 2031.

Everything else announced for Disney World and Disneyland

Mando and Grogu are joining in the Millennium Falcon fun.

Disneyland's Tiana's Bayou Adventure will be opening on Nov. 15, with Critter Country being rethemed to "Bayou Country." It still includes the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes, as well as Pooh Corner and "the newly reimagined Hungry Bear Barbecue Jamboree." Two merchandise stores called Ray's Berets and Louis' Critter Club will also open.

Disneyland and Hollywood Studios will be getting Mandalorian and Grogu missions added to the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run ride in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

Epcot will be opening a "Reimagined Test Track" (still sponsored by Chevrolet) in 2025, which will celebrate "the past, present, and future of automation."

Animal Kingdom will be replacing its old It's Tough to be a Bug show inside the Tree of Life with a Zootopia-themed show. Zootopia: Better Zoogether will feature Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde taking you through several different areas from the city, and will open next winter.

Magic Kingdom and Epcot are getting two new lounges: A Pirates Lounge and a Spaceship Earth lounge, respectively. They'll open in 2025.

Magic Kingdom will also be getting a new nighttime parade in 2025.

Disneyland is getting the first ever audio-animatronic of Walt Disney himself, as part of a new "Walt Disney - A Magical Life" show inside the Main Street Opera House in 2025.

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