Walt Disney Biography (film producer, media magnate and co-founder of the Walt Disney Company.)

Walt Disney Biography:

Walt Disney     (1901   – 1966)      was a        film producer, media magnate and co-founder of  the  Walt Disney    Company. He  was an iconic    figure        in    the      Twentieth  Century media                 and                entertainment   industry, helping    to    produce many  films. With his staff,            he        created         famous              cartoon characters, such   as       Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; his name was also used for the     successful    Disney        Theme         Parks. During  his  lifetime, he    received   a record 59                       Nominations          for    the      Academy Awards, winning 22 Awards.

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 Disneys career.

“All the adversity Ive  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.

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.

Mickey_MouseIt was at this point that he created the  character  –         Mickey  Mouse (originally    called    Mortimer       Mouse). Ub Iwerks   drew       Mickey  Mouse,       and     Walt gave a voice to the character.

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 movies 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. Im corny. But  I  think  theres just about  a-hundred-and-forty-million people in   this  country that are just as  corny as I am.”

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 Americas    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    persons 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.”

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     childrens 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.

Disneyland

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)