Walt Disney

Walt Disney

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars,” said Les Brown. This truly reflected Walt Disney’s life: A determined, compassionate man following his dreams, shooting for the moon. With perseverance, integrity and honesty, Walt made it to “the moon.” Walt Disney is my hero.

Born Walter Elias Disney to a poor family on December 5th 1901, this incredible man made millions of dreams come true. Walt was born and raised on a Missouri farm. Walt’s father was very strict. Hard work on the farm left little or no time to play. In spite of the work and demands of his austere father, Walt enjoyed his years on the farm. His pet piglet, Skinny, always kept him company. At a young age, Walt showed interest in art. He drew everything from farm animals to his brothers and sister. Though Walt was a good student and graduated from high school and college, art was all he had on his mind. As you can see, Walt had an alluring childhood. It helped him become the artistic legend we all know today.

Walt accomplished many terrific things later in his life. While working for the paper, doing the Sunday comics, he saw a brilliant vision. It was a jolly mouse that was always in trouble! Familiar? It’s Mortimer Mouse! He told his wife, Lillian, the bold idea and she thought Mortimer was a little too formal of a name and suggested Mickey. This was the beginning of an unforgettable Disney character. The adorable little mouse made it big and soon America was known for Mickey Mouse. Walt also invented cartoons called Laugh-o-Grams. These short cartoons appeared in the beginnings of movies so that people who came to the theater early would not get bored. Everything Walt has done is amazing, but that’s not all. Snow White was his next project. Walt wanted to be the first to use Technicolor and make a full-length cartoon. People did not believe it would work. They called Snow White “Disney’s folly”. After five long years of creating and perfecting the famous princess, she was ready to be shown in theaters. It was an enormous success! The people who had called it “Disney’s folly” instantly regretted it. Disney was on a roll. This was the start of a cartoon revolution.

Though Walt was becoming very successful, there were some challenges and problems he had to overcome. The first one was when Walt’s boss bought his cartoons and then fired Walt, yet kept some disloyal workers. Walt was very devastated but eventually he got over it. Another problem was when hundreds of Walt’s employees went on strike for a union to protect their jobs. Walt went away from this “nightmare” and flew to Brazil for business reasons. When Walt came back, the strike was settled and the new Disney movie Saludos Amigos was a hit. During World War 2, the US army took over Disney studios. They chose it because it could be closed up tight, and no light would show through. Not even in a blackout. Walt and his workers had to wear special badges to get in. Throughout the experience, Walt managed to keep his cool, and he even got some ideas for new Mickey cartoons. Walt has had many challenges and problems but he managed to get over them and keep on following his dream. Amusing and making children, and adults also, happy with his magical creations.

Walt had many traits that made him a hero. One was his determination. When something didn’t go well and when Walt got tricked, he never gave up and kept trying. Imagine if Walt was not determined. How different would your life be without the famous Disney movies and theme parks that you’ve probably seen and been to? Freaky! Also, Walt was optimistic. When things went wrong, Walt always found a way to make them better. Walt always looked on the bright side or saw the glass half full. Another great trait Walt had was compassion. Walt was kind to others and had the best intentions for his family, loved ones, and employees and anyone else! Walt made sure that every millimeter of Disneyworld and Disneyland was completely 100% family safe and family fun! As you can see, Walt had many wonderful qualities that made him a hero.

An important lesson somebody could learn from Walt is that you should keep trying and treat people the way you want to be treated. If you follow Walt’s two rules you should be successful and pleasant. Walt Disney is my hero.