The Life and Legacy of Walt Disney - A Short Summary

Marceline

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. But he did not consider Chicago his hometown. That title went to Marceline, Missouri where he spent his early childhood. Marceline had a great impact on Walt’s life, as he used the small town as inspiration for Main Street, USA in his parks and the setting of The Lady and The Tramp. 

Disney Goes Hollywood

In 1911, the Disney’s moved to Kansas City. They moved again in 1917 back to Chicago. Walt took art classes wherever he could. 

Walt dropped out of school to serve his country in World War I. He became an ambulance driver for the Red Cross. When he returned to Kansas City in 1919, he opened his own cartoon studio, Laugh-O-Gram. Unfortunately, the business had little success. So, Walt decided to move to Hollywood to with his brother, Roy, to join the growing film industry. There, they established another studio – Walt Disney Studios. Walt hired an ink artist named Lillian and the two later married. 

Walt Disney Studios found success with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The small company sold the cartoon to Universal Studios for distribution. Walt soon discovered that Universal had complete control over Oswald – including his profits. They could make the cartoons with or without Walt. 

It All Started With A Mouse

Defeated from his loss of Oswald, Walt took a train ride back home. And on that seemingly hopeless train ride back home, Walt sketched what would be his most important and iconic character ever – Mickey Mouse. 

Mickey, along with Minnie, debuted on November 18, 1928 in the short Steamboat Willie. The cartoon became an overnight success. Since his debut, Mickey Mouse received two Academy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Walt put his heart and soul into this character. Walt even voiced the character himself in over 100 shorts and the film Fantasia. Disney once wrote of Mickey: “Born of necessity, the little fellow literally freed us of immediate worry, provided the means for expanding our organization to the present dimensions and for extending the medium of cartoon animation toward new entertainment levels”. 

Disney’s Folly

Walt loved Mickey, but soon he had a new dream for his studio: to produce Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which would be a full-length animated feature. In the early days of the movie industry, cartoons were brief and shown before the actual movie. A cartoon had never been the movie before.  And people weren’t too keen to see one, either. Critics dubbed the movie “Disney’s Folly” and predicted it to fail. 

At the premiere showing of Snow White on December 25, 1937, the audience gave the movie a standing ovation. Charlie Chapman referred to Dopey as “one of the greatest comedians of all time”. The movie received a special Academy Award and broke sales records. After proving that animated movies could be successful, Disney dived into that realm and continued to produce films such as Pinocchio, Bambi and Dumbo. 

WWII

The day after Pearl Harbor, the military took over the Walt Disney Studios and requested that they produce propaganda and training films. Walt himself designed a crest for the United States Navy and considered it his service to his country. 

With their European market too busy at war to go to the movies and half of their animators drafted into the war, the Walt Disney Company was not turning a profit during this time. Short-staffed, the studios produced packaged films, which were a couple of shorts compiled together to equal the length of one full-length film. These lesser-known titles include The Three Caballeros and The Adventures of Mr. Toad and Ichabod Crane. 

Even Miracles Take A Little Time

The Walt Disney Company was bankrupt by the end of the 40s. Disney was left with two choices: either keep pumping out package films with no real profit or take the risk in putting out another full-length feature film. Disney decided to put every last penny the company – and he himself – had into making one more full-length film. This movie would decide the fate of the company. If it failed, the studio would have to shut down. That movie was Cinderella.

After Cinderella’s massive success, Walt Disney Animation Studios started releasing more movies like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty.  With his film studio running smoothly again, Walt set his sights on another dream of his: his very own theme park. 

Disneyland

Just as the case was with Snow White, no one believed Disneyland would be a success. It was difficult to find funding for the park. 

On July 15, 1955 the park opened. And it was a disaster. Deemed as “Black Sunday” the park was met with overcrowding, rides breaking down, and faulty plumbing amongst other mishaps. And the whole thing was recorded live on national television. But Disney recouped, fixed some things and opened some new rides and the park became a massive success. 

If there was a problem with Disneyland, it was its location. The small park became surrounded by other hotels and restaurants, barring the park from land expansion. There was simply not enough space for Disney to do everything he dreamed of. So, he turned to another location: Orlando. In Orlando, Walt planned to build not only another theme park, but an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, dubbed ‘EPCOT”. But Walt would never see his vision for tomorrow realized. 

Death

Walt Disney was a heavy smoker all throughout his adult life.  He was diagnosed with cancer. Even on his deathbed, Disney was dreaming. He used the marks in the hospital ceiling to map out the Magic Kingdom. He passed away on December 15, 1966.

Although Walt died, his dreams didn’t. Roy came out of retirement to oversee the completion of the Florida Project. On opening day, Roy christened the park Walt Disney World, in honor his brother.  Roy died a few weeks later. 

Legacy

Disney is an integral part in our culture. The town of Marceline established a Disney Museum. In 2010, Walt Disney Animation Studios released their 50th film, Tangled, and they are still producing more. Not only have Disneyland and Walt Disney World grown, but new parks have been added overseas in Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Walt Disney World averages 52 million visitors a year. More than 50 years after his death, Walt Disney continues to inspire artists, business owners, and dreamers alike.