Walt Disney
Walt Disney (1901-1966)
Walt Disney and his brother Roy (1893-1971) founded Walt Disney Productions, one of the best known motion picture production companies in the world. Walt was the creative innovative animator and Roy, the businessman who made the company financially stable. Walt discovered drawing and photography at an early age, creating the world famous cartoon character Mickey Mouse. His early cartoon shorts featured many animal characters, but it was Mickey Mouse that became a commercial success in a sound and music short titled “Steamboat Willie”, with Walt’s voice as Mickey. With this success, Walt Disney Productions followed with many full length films including “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the first full length animated film which won eight Oscars. From that time on, Disney made a series of feature films including “Pinocchio,” “Fantasia,” “Dumbo,” “Bambi,” “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Peter Pan”. These films all featured characters that eventually appeared in Walt’s theme park, Disneyland. Disney Productions was one of the first to use television as an entertainment medium producing “Zorro,” “Davy Crockett,” and “The Mickey Mouse Club.” Walt Disney’s last major success was “Mary Poppins”, a combination of live and animated action.
At the time of his death, Disney was building another theme park in Orlando, Florida. Roy Disney named it “Walt Disney World” in honor of his brother. Disney Productions made more than 100 features and has won 22 Oscars. Walt Disney is regarded as a “cultural icon” whose legacy is successful businessman (thanks to his brother), showman, film producer, innovative animator and theme park designer.
