Walt Disney

Walt Disney - The Power of Imagination

Walt Disney in Disneyland, founded on July 17, 1955.ohmydisney.comWe’ve all heard of “The Happiest Place on Earth” or at least seen an animated movie with the iconic castle logo in front of it, yet most people don’t know why or how these movies came to be. This person always claimed: “It all started with a mouse”, and while that is true to some extent, it really started with the passion and desire of one young man to fulfill his dream of becoming an animator. This man, of course, is Walt Disney, and he’s a hero. In Marceline, Mississippi, in 1906, a hopeful, youthful boy patrolled the neighborhood, attempting to persuade his neighbors to buy his drawings. He had a massive dream of becoming an animator and he was going to get there one day. His family of seven, including three brothers and one sister, encouraged him to follow his dreams despite the fact that they lacked the necessary funds and were constantly moving. As Walt grew older, he started to look for work because he had dropped out of high school. He tried to join the army but ended up joining the Red Cross and was sent to France. Upon his return to the states, he began working for various advertising companies in the area which eventually led him to start his own company with a friend. They soon filed for bankruptcy, driving Disney to move to Hollywood where he started a new company with his closest brother and friend, Roy. They ended up creating a phenomenal brand and legacy which spans over 156 movies and 11 parks worldwide. A typical hero often possesses the traits of being selfless and courageous, but more-so he or she should have persistence and an ability to live out their dreams. Walt Disney is not a hero because of his fame and wealth worldwide, but because he led by example and never gave up on achieving his hopes and dreams.

Walt Disney's multi-plane camera, a tool which allowed him to add depth to his films. Walt Disney Family MuseumLeading by example can be challenging at times, but Disney wasn't afraid to set an example of his humanitarian beliefs. He changed the lives of many by doing so. Disney often pioneered the boundaries of film through his imagination. He added things like color, depth, and sound to his animations and made them mainstream. When Disney saw that sound could be added to animation; ¨Disney created a third, sound-and-music-equipped short called Steamboat Willie… With Walt as the voice of Mickey, the cartoon was an instant sensation” (Biography.com). This quote depicts that Walt saw the value of sound in film and decided to try it himself. He displayed this rarely seen concept to the public and that they thoroughly enjoyed it. By the addition of sound to animation and with it being a success with the public, he added a new concept to animation as entertainment. Seeing Disneyś success with using sound in Steamboat Willie, other companies decided to leech off of that success and add color to their movies as well to mimic Disney’s technological lead in the industry. Disney did multiple things to push his films to the best they could be and inadvertently set a new bar for how animation and film could coexist in each of his films. Disney's impact didn't just stop at the animation industry, it extended to people as well. Over time and by his vigorous work; ¨Walt Disney developed into a visionary pioneer of the entertainment industry. First in animated cartoons, then in feature-length films and television, and eventually in amusement and theme parks, Disney's creative output became the standard for family entertainment in modern America¨ (Baughman). This quote talks about Disney's effect on humanity. It shows his success in cinema, television, and in amusement parks, even going so far as to say that it became the "new standard for entertainment" (Baughman). This shows the multiple means of entertainment by which he can affect people and spread his ideas. He had a massive audience that watched each of his films and shows. Consequently, he used the platform to create good. Through each movie and show, he taught lessons embedded in the animation that instructed kids and adults alike to treat others with kindness and exemplified the power of doing good. He took advantage of his influence on people and led by example through showcasing his moral beliefs and values for others to learn from and follow. Throughout his life, Walt Disney not only continuously set the bar higher for the entertainment industry through his innovations, but he also influenced the way people thought about and treated others around the world.

Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, Walt's first sound film released in 1928.Idea to ValueOn Walt’s way to the top of the industry, he faced many challenges in his life and overcame them all by never giving up on his hopes and dreams. Walt’s childhood consisted of constantly moving due to his parents’ work and he struggled with getting a proper education. When he got older, Walt attended: “...McKinley High School in Chicago, where he took drawing and photography classes and was a contributing cartoonist for the school paper. At night, he took courses at the Chicago Art Institute…” (Biography.com). Walt was busy every single day. During the day, he worked on the school newspaper and at night, he attended an art school to refine his skills. This demonstrated he was a hard worker as he balanced school, homework, and his art education daily. Walt was truly passionate about achieving his hopes and dreams, using his free time to work on improving and developing his art skills. He knew he needed a basic general education and an art education to reach his dream, and he was going to achieve it no matter how hard or how long he had to work. Later in life, when Disney was working with Universal, he signed a contract with them for his character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was exponentially growing more popular. Universal saw the opportunity in this. They decided to initiate a hostile takeover of his brand: “His studio was under assault, he had no intellectual property, Oswald had been stolen, his artists were gone, and he had no plan to fix any of this. With a new character—he was certain the world would love Mortimer—and a hard-learned lesson in show business realities, Walt set about rebuilding the studio” (Brown). This displays how Walt created a popular character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit but unbeknownst to him, the distributor took the rights to his character and stole all of his animators. They swept the floor from under him, took everything Walt had and left him with nothing. This shows Walt’s spirit and desire to never give up on his dream. He had lost all of his beloved characters and animators. He had just lost everything he rightfully earned and worked toward his entire life and yet still didn’t give up. He got back up again and through imagination and hard work, he designed a new character, Mortimer, who goes under a different name today. Mortimer became Mickey Mouse, who little did he know would become one of the most recognized and important characters universally. One of Walt’s most admirable traits is his ability to never give up. He started from a family with little money and lack of proper education and through hard work, he evolved into one of the titans of the movie industry. When he was knocked down and had to start from a clean slate - on multiple occasions -  he always bounced back. He saw each challenge as an opportunity and used his new low as motivation to come back better than he already was.

Walt Disney standing next to drawings for the the Mickey Mouse animation series.PBSWalt can be seen as many things, a pioneer, a dreamer, and a hard-worker but most of all, he is considered a hero. Above everything else and all of his accomplishments, Walt is a hero because of the traits he showcased and left behind on this planet. He always made a point to lead by example and to never give up on his hopes and dreams. He started from nothing and had many obstacles to overcome. His lack of education and money gave him a disadvantage that put him against the odds but he persisted and became one of the most recognizable people in history. Walt dedicated his life to improving the world and succeeded by his innovations in film and entertainment and by passing along valuable moral lessons through the generations. He’s especially inspiring because he demonstrates the power of imagination. He had a dream and with that, many obstacles to overcome some of which knocked him down, but he always got back up and became stronger. Walt never stopped pushing the limits of what he could do with his art and his company. At the same time, he was constantly improving himself as a person. He had an incredible indomitable spirit, great work-ethic, and did everything to the best of his ability. These are admirable traits from which we can all learn. Walt once famously said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them”, and he was right. Anything can come true if you’re willing to put in the work and effort to achieve them, just like Walt did. Whether it was through his movies, theme parks, or moral values, Walt Disney truly impacted the world and made it a better and happier place in which to live in.

Works Cited:

Brown, David W. “The Time Walt Disney Almost Lost His Job at Walt Disney Studios.” Mental Floss, 25 Apr. 2016, mentalfloss.com/article/78980/time-walt-disney-almost-lost-his-job-walt-disney-studios.

Lauder, Tracy. "Walt Disney." Encyclopedia of Communication and Information, edited by Jorge Reina Schement, Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K3402900081/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=8e36493f. Accessed 26 Mar. 2018.

"Walt Disney." American Decades, edited by Judith S. Baughman, et al., Gale, 1998. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1602000394/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=ca7b5c12. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018.

“Walt Disney.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 7 Aug. 2017, www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533. Accessed 26 Mar. 2018.

"Walt Disney." Business Leader Profiles for Students, edited by Sheila Dow and Jaime E. Noce, vol. 1, Gale, 1999. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1604000058/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=99a39ffb. Accessed 26 Mar. 2018.

"Walt Disney." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631001828/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=55ae3ca8. Accessed 26 Mar. 2018