Walt Disney Impact
The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney GS145 David Blevins March 18, 2012 Professor Phelps
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney Trying to imagine a world without Walt Disney is a troubling magic less
1
without any type of the classic visual aspect of “Once upon a time.” Disney made the animation industry into what we know. During his career established a vision and determination for the future making life enjoyable.
Disney was a innovator of imagination where he felt he could make the dreams come true for the world. Even today we hold onto his ideas, creations, and beliefs that there is a happy ending. Walter Disney was born in Chicago in 1901. As a young child, Walter and his
sister Ruth attended Benton Grammar School where he was introduced to Walter Pfeiffer and his family who were theatre enthusiast and indulged in the art of motion pictures. Disney began to take courses at the Kansas City Art Institute and it was here that Disney would construct his major influence of his Disneyland design. In 1917 after moving back to Chicago, Disney was a freshman in high school and took night courses at the Chicago Art Institute. As Walt began living as a young adult, he began to have a love of history and started appreciating nature, community, and family. Walt Disney’s relationship to his father was challenging due to his father being stern on the subject of money and art, but Walt found his encouragement from his mother and his older brother. Walt Disney had a great out look on the simplicity of life. “Walt 's optimism came from his unique ability to see the entire picture. His views and visions came from the fond memory of yesteryear, and persistence for the future. Walt loved history. As a result of this, he didn 't give technology to us piece by piece, he connected it to his ongoing mission of making life more enjoyable, and fun. Walt was our bridge from the past to the future” (Susanin, 2011, p. 135). During the first World War, Walt tried to enlist in the military at the age of sixteen. After being rejected he joined the Red Cross and headed overseas. Walt spent a year in France
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney driving an ambulance. “His ambulance was covered from stem to stern, not with stock camouflage, but with Disney cartoons” (Mosley, 1990, p. 23). The first company the Disney ever created was named “Iwerks-‐Disney
2
Commercial Artists.” His co-‐founder Ubbe Iwerks was a brilliant cartoonist who Disney had met at the Pesmen-‐Rubin Art Studio in a temporary position. This short-‐ lived company fell through due to financial problems and Disney began working at an ad company where he became interested in animation. Disney felt that cell animation was encouraging with the type of business he wanted to run and so with a co-‐worker at the company named Fred Harman they set out and started an animation business. In contracting with local theaters in Kansas City, both Disney and Harman started to screen the cartoons that were titled Laugh-‐O-‐Grams. Disney cartoons became very popular in the area and eventually he was able to obtain his own studio also called Laugh-‐O-‐Gram. With this new company Disney was able to hire many more animators including his old friend Iwerks. This company was also short lived as being unable to manage money sending the studio into bankruptcy. It was at this time however that Disney began to have the idea of the Alice Comedies that implemented a live person into the animation. However Laugh-‐O-‐Gram studios went belly up before Disney was able to put it into production. Even after risking everything at least three or four times in his life, Disney was far from giving up even though a fear of failure lingered.
Disney sent the prints of The Alice Comedies to New York where Margaret
Winkler wrote back agreeing with a distribution deal for more live action shorts. During this success Disney married a young woman named Lillian Bounds who he hired not even a year prior. The success was short lived when Ms. Winkler married
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney Charles Mintz who assumed control of her business. Mintz ordered new animation projects to be distributed by Universal Pictures. Disney studio created Oswald the
3
Lucky Rabbit for Universal who grew into instant success. After this success Disney tried to negotiate with Mintz concerning higher payment, but through contracts Disney found that the rights to Oswald and most of his staff belonged to Mintz.
Disney found himself on a train with his wife headed back to Hollywood. “Not
wanting to bring his workers the bad news, Disney created a kindhearted mouse that he named Mortimer” (Thomas, 1994, p. 126). Near the end of the ride home, Disney’s wife Lillian suggested that Walt rename the mouse. Disney renamed him Mickey. Upon arriving Walt and his head animator Iwerks completed quickly their first Mickey Mouse feature Plane Crazy. With no one wanting to distribute the cartoon, Disney did a second feature called Gallopin’ Gaucho, which met the same fate as the first. Not having an attitude for giving up Disney began working on his third cartoon for Mickey Mouse Steamboat Willie. The difference with this third cartoon is Disney decided to add sound to the film. He took off for New York once again and invested everything into the film. When it was completed he screened it for exhibitors in the city. A manager for one of the theaters took the chance on showing the talking cartoon and it became a rousing success for one of the most recognizable characters in the world today. Walt himself provided the voice for Mickey Mouse until after World War two when he became to busy. Mickey Mouse was such a success; Disney was awarded an honorary Academy Award for Mickey’s creation. In 1935 when Mickey Mouse was switched to color, spinoffs of supporting
characters in the Mickey Mouse films such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto began
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney to emerge. Donald became a standalone character in 1937 and began climbing the
4
popularity ladder to Disney’s second most successful character of all time. Following the creation of several popular cartoon series Disney began plans for a full-‐length feature film. Walt 's drive to perfect the art of animation was endless. Technicolor was introduced to animation during the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney’s first film. Disney worked 7 months in training his staff with new techniques for animation. He wanted to increase quality at the studio and ensure that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would match Disney’s expectations. The film premiered in 1937 and received a standing ovation. It became the most successful motion picture of 1938 and earned another Academy Award. Following Snow White’s success Disney began to usher in his classics, which is now considered the Golden Age of Animation. These films included Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, as well as Alice and Wonderland and Peter Pan. During World War II Disney became something more than just an animator.
The U.S. State Department sent individuals to Disney to work on training and instruction films for the military. He used stories such as Victory Through Air Power, to boost morale on the home front here in America. In 1944 Disney re-‐issued Snow White establishing a seven-‐year re-‐release tradition for his feature, which we know today as the Disney vault. After the war Disney began work on another classic Cinderella, which would become his second most successful film since Snow White. The studio also began to experiment with live action films, which would contribute to future success by the means of Mary Poppins. This was also the starting decline of Mickey Mouse’s popularity, as Donald Duck became Disney’s star character.
With Disney able to start his dream of a clean, and organized amusement
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney
5
park, he made his first character Mickey Mouse the star. Disneyland opened in 1955 and by the second quarter Disney’s investment had increased tenfold and had entertained more that 200 million people, including presidents, kings, queens, and royalty (Gabler, 2006, p. 817). In 1965, just a year before Disney’s death, Disney purchased 43 square miles in the middle of the state of Florida for his Disney World Resort.
Walt Disney was a smoker his entire adult life and in 1966 doctors found a
tumor in his left lung that was cancerous. After only several chemotherapy sessions, Disney collapsed at his home and died of acute circulatory collapse caused by the cancer. Robert Sherman, a songwriter for such films as Mary Poppins recalled the last time he ever saw Disney “ He was up at the third floor telling the animators what he liked and what should be changed, and then, when they were through, he turned to us and with a big smile said “Keep up the good work, boys” He walked into his office and that was the last time we ever saw him” (Barrett, K., & Greene, R., 2001, p. 176). Walt Disney’s greatest contribution to the world was the mindset that
dreams can come true. He got people to believe in magic and how they can change their own story in life if they have the will to do so. His stories of enchantment and happy endings have lived on past his death and will continue to do so. Spreading the message or hope and love will ever be preserved in the minds of society, thanks to the work of Walt Disney.
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney
6
Bibliography: Barrett, K., & Greene, R. (2001). Inside the dream: the personal story of Walt Disney. New York, NY: Disney Editions. Disney, W., & Smith, D. (2001). The quotable Walt Disney. New York: Disney Editions. Gabler, N. (2006). Walt Disney: the triumph of the American imagination. New York: Knopf. Mosley, L. (1990). Disney 's world: a biography. Chelsea, MI: Scarborough House. Susanin, T. S. (2011). Walt before Mickey: Disney 's early years, 1919-‐1928. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Thomas, B. (1994). Walt Disney: an American original. New York, N.Y.:Hyperion.
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney Trying to imagine a world without Walt Disney is a troubling magic less
1
without any type of the classic visual aspect of “Once upon a time.” Disney made the animation industry into what we know. During his career established a vision and determination for the future making life enjoyable.
Disney was a innovator of imagination where he felt he could make the dreams come true for the world. Even today we hold onto his ideas, creations, and beliefs that there is a happy ending. Walter Disney was born in Chicago in 1901. As a young child, Walter and his
sister Ruth attended Benton Grammar School where he was introduced to Walter Pfeiffer and his family who were theatre enthusiast and indulged in the art of motion pictures. Disney began to take courses at the Kansas City Art Institute and it was here that Disney would construct his major influence of his Disneyland design. In 1917 after moving back to Chicago, Disney was a freshman in high school and took night courses at the Chicago Art Institute. As Walt began living as a young adult, he began to have a love of history and started appreciating nature, community, and family. Walt Disney’s relationship to his father was challenging due to his father being stern on the subject of money and art, but Walt found his encouragement from his mother and his older brother. Walt Disney had a great out look on the simplicity of life. “Walt 's optimism came from his unique ability to see the entire picture. His views and visions came from the fond memory of yesteryear, and persistence for the future. Walt loved history. As a result of this, he didn 't give technology to us piece by piece, he connected it to his ongoing mission of making life more enjoyable, and fun. Walt was our bridge from the past to the future” (Susanin, 2011, p. 135). During the first World War, Walt tried to enlist in the military at the age of sixteen. After being rejected he joined the Red Cross and headed overseas. Walt spent a year in France
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney driving an ambulance. “His ambulance was covered from stem to stern, not with stock camouflage, but with Disney cartoons” (Mosley, 1990, p. 23). The first company the Disney ever created was named “Iwerks-‐Disney
2
Commercial Artists.” His co-‐founder Ubbe Iwerks was a brilliant cartoonist who Disney had met at the Pesmen-‐Rubin Art Studio in a temporary position. This short-‐ lived company fell through due to financial problems and Disney began working at an ad company where he became interested in animation. Disney felt that cell animation was encouraging with the type of business he wanted to run and so with a co-‐worker at the company named Fred Harman they set out and started an animation business. In contracting with local theaters in Kansas City, both Disney and Harman started to screen the cartoons that were titled Laugh-‐O-‐Grams. Disney cartoons became very popular in the area and eventually he was able to obtain his own studio also called Laugh-‐O-‐Gram. With this new company Disney was able to hire many more animators including his old friend Iwerks. This company was also short lived as being unable to manage money sending the studio into bankruptcy. It was at this time however that Disney began to have the idea of the Alice Comedies that implemented a live person into the animation. However Laugh-‐O-‐Gram studios went belly up before Disney was able to put it into production. Even after risking everything at least three or four times in his life, Disney was far from giving up even though a fear of failure lingered.
Disney sent the prints of The Alice Comedies to New York where Margaret
Winkler wrote back agreeing with a distribution deal for more live action shorts. During this success Disney married a young woman named Lillian Bounds who he hired not even a year prior. The success was short lived when Ms. Winkler married
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney Charles Mintz who assumed control of her business. Mintz ordered new animation projects to be distributed by Universal Pictures. Disney studio created Oswald the
3
Lucky Rabbit for Universal who grew into instant success. After this success Disney tried to negotiate with Mintz concerning higher payment, but through contracts Disney found that the rights to Oswald and most of his staff belonged to Mintz.
Disney found himself on a train with his wife headed back to Hollywood. “Not
wanting to bring his workers the bad news, Disney created a kindhearted mouse that he named Mortimer” (Thomas, 1994, p. 126). Near the end of the ride home, Disney’s wife Lillian suggested that Walt rename the mouse. Disney renamed him Mickey. Upon arriving Walt and his head animator Iwerks completed quickly their first Mickey Mouse feature Plane Crazy. With no one wanting to distribute the cartoon, Disney did a second feature called Gallopin’ Gaucho, which met the same fate as the first. Not having an attitude for giving up Disney began working on his third cartoon for Mickey Mouse Steamboat Willie. The difference with this third cartoon is Disney decided to add sound to the film. He took off for New York once again and invested everything into the film. When it was completed he screened it for exhibitors in the city. A manager for one of the theaters took the chance on showing the talking cartoon and it became a rousing success for one of the most recognizable characters in the world today. Walt himself provided the voice for Mickey Mouse until after World War two when he became to busy. Mickey Mouse was such a success; Disney was awarded an honorary Academy Award for Mickey’s creation. In 1935 when Mickey Mouse was switched to color, spinoffs of supporting
characters in the Mickey Mouse films such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto began
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney to emerge. Donald became a standalone character in 1937 and began climbing the
4
popularity ladder to Disney’s second most successful character of all time. Following the creation of several popular cartoon series Disney began plans for a full-‐length feature film. Walt 's drive to perfect the art of animation was endless. Technicolor was introduced to animation during the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney’s first film. Disney worked 7 months in training his staff with new techniques for animation. He wanted to increase quality at the studio and ensure that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would match Disney’s expectations. The film premiered in 1937 and received a standing ovation. It became the most successful motion picture of 1938 and earned another Academy Award. Following Snow White’s success Disney began to usher in his classics, which is now considered the Golden Age of Animation. These films included Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, as well as Alice and Wonderland and Peter Pan. During World War II Disney became something more than just an animator.
The U.S. State Department sent individuals to Disney to work on training and instruction films for the military. He used stories such as Victory Through Air Power, to boost morale on the home front here in America. In 1944 Disney re-‐issued Snow White establishing a seven-‐year re-‐release tradition for his feature, which we know today as the Disney vault. After the war Disney began work on another classic Cinderella, which would become his second most successful film since Snow White. The studio also began to experiment with live action films, which would contribute to future success by the means of Mary Poppins. This was also the starting decline of Mickey Mouse’s popularity, as Donald Duck became Disney’s star character.
With Disney able to start his dream of a clean, and organized amusement
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney
5
park, he made his first character Mickey Mouse the star. Disneyland opened in 1955 and by the second quarter Disney’s investment had increased tenfold and had entertained more that 200 million people, including presidents, kings, queens, and royalty (Gabler, 2006, p. 817). In 1965, just a year before Disney’s death, Disney purchased 43 square miles in the middle of the state of Florida for his Disney World Resort.
Walt Disney was a smoker his entire adult life and in 1966 doctors found a
tumor in his left lung that was cancerous. After only several chemotherapy sessions, Disney collapsed at his home and died of acute circulatory collapse caused by the cancer. Robert Sherman, a songwriter for such films as Mary Poppins recalled the last time he ever saw Disney “ He was up at the third floor telling the animators what he liked and what should be changed, and then, when they were through, he turned to us and with a big smile said “Keep up the good work, boys” He walked into his office and that was the last time we ever saw him” (Barrett, K., & Greene, R., 2001, p. 176). Walt Disney’s greatest contribution to the world was the mindset that
dreams can come true. He got people to believe in magic and how they can change their own story in life if they have the will to do so. His stories of enchantment and happy endings have lived on past his death and will continue to do so. Spreading the message or hope and love will ever be preserved in the minds of society, thanks to the work of Walt Disney.
Running Header: The Impact and Influence of Walt Disney
6
Bibliography: Barrett, K., & Greene, R. (2001). Inside the dream: the personal story of Walt Disney. New York, NY: Disney Editions. Disney, W., & Smith, D. (2001). The quotable Walt Disney. New York: Disney Editions. Gabler, N. (2006). Walt Disney: the triumph of the American imagination. New York: Knopf. Mosley, L. (1990). Disney 's world: a biography. Chelsea, MI: Scarborough House. Susanin, T. S. (2011). Walt before Mickey: Disney 's early years, 1919-‐1928. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Thomas, B. (1994). Walt Disney: an American original. New York, N.Y.:Hyperion.