“Laughter is timeless; imagination has no age; and dreams are forever.” Walt Disney was born in Hermosa, Illinois on December 5, 1901.(1) In his lifetime, he originated and directed 12 classic movies, won 22 Academy Awards, established two well known amusement parks; Disneyland and Disney World, and inspired millions of people.
Even at a young age, Disney had a strong creativity pallet, and put it to use in drawings, photography, and cartoons. He would spend most of his time doodling instead of doing his schoolwork, so at age 19, he enlisted in the army to put him to work, but was underage so he was kicked out. (1) Disney soon found a job at a cartoon company which was where his whole career took off.(1) There he created his own tv show, “Laugh-o-Grams”, which was a big hit, but unfortunately, the small company was shut down because of financial debt.(2) Disney did not let this get in his way, so he and his brother, Roy, formed his own Disney Studios, and they created short animated cartoons, movies, and the still famous character, Mickey Mouse. “I hope we never lose sight of one thing; it was all started by a mouse” -Disney. (6)
Disney’s first movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was released in 1938, and was the biggest hit of the year. (4) After this movie was produced, Disney became one of the most renowned names around since Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was the first ever full-length animated movie. (4) This was a huge accomplishment for Disney, and he was motivated to create more films, which included Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Treasure Island, Sleeping Beauty, and 101 Dalmations. The total of Academy Awards Disney’s movies won holds the all time record, as he was nominated 59 times and won 22 of them. (5)
One of Disney’s best ideas was to create a theme park that has rides inspired by his movies and cartoons. The $17 million amusement park (Disneyland) was constructed in Anaheim, California in the year 1955. (2) Rides, special events, and more were featured at Disneyland, and were all based on his own characters. However, the theme park opening day didn’t turn out as he wanted, because food and water ran out, the restrooms didn’t work, and some of the most attracting rides broke down.(1) Disney and his staff quickly bounced back, and pretty soon, Disneyland was given the name “The Happiest Place on Earth.” "You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality," -Disney. (7) Since Disneyland was such a big hit, Walt wanted to expand his park and began the construction for another location. DisneyWorld is located in Bay Lake, Florida and is a lot like Disneyland, but contains more complex rides and is much larger. (2) Today, there are six Disney parks which are in Tokyo, Hawaii, China, Paris, and California and Florida.
Everything comes to an end, and Disney passed away from lung cancer December 16, 1955. To this day his products, movies, and theme parks are very popular, and will live on for centuries. (1) “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. It's kind of fun to do the impossible. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing”-Disney. (7) A few setbacks in his early career didn’t give him second thoughts about pursuing his ambition; and you should do the same.
Work Cited Page
"Walt Disney Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television,
2 Dec. 2014. Web. 05 Dec. 2015.
<http://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533>.
TFP. "Walt Disney Biography." Walt Disney Accomplishments. TFP,
33 July 2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2015. <http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/walter-elias-disney-3151.php>.
"How Disney Changed History." Welcome to Walt Disney.
Students, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2015. <http://waltdisneyhistoryfair.weebly.com/how-disney-changed-history.html>.
Imdb. "Walt Disney's Movies." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web.
24 February 2014. 05 Dec. 2015.
"Walt Disney’s Awards." IMDb. IMDb.com,
16 Oct. 2015. Web. 05 Dec. 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment