The Life of

Through intense determination, and the will to never give up, Walt Disney was able to become one of the most inspirational and controversial

men in the world. He constantly had an optimistic attitude on the outside, but suffered on the inside. Through harsh times, he never gave up. He never stopped working to be a better cartoonist. His loves were drawing, technology, and attention. “Walt Disney seldom dabbled. Everyone who knew him remarked on his intensity; when

something intrigued him, he focused himself entirely as if it were the only thing that matters” (Gabler 50).

“He loved dress-up and make-believe, was boisterous, outgoing, self-aggrandizing, and histrionic, and craved attention.

As a child, he loved to play pranks and was always in a happy mood.

OptimisticJoyful High-energyPranksterDeterminedHard-working (becomes obsessed with work)Caring Loves attentionSelf-confident

“Whatever he wanted to do he did without ever thinking of the harm. He would always go ahead with any of his ideas whether he had the means or not.” – Elias Disney (Gabler 24)

Background of

Father: Elias Disney Hard Worker Strict Hated Farming (They lived on a farm) Earned $1 a day as a carpenter Frugal Violent temper

Mother: Flora Disney Family’s “peacemaker” Even-tempered Died November 1938 (Walt blames himself)

Siblings: Herbert Raymond Ruth Roy (only one Walt was close to; his protector)

Edmund Disney One of Walt’s favorite uncles Real-life Peter Pan Always happy Mental age of 8

“The Disneys were always ambitious and opportunistic, always searching for a better life” (Gabler 4)

“To me he represented fun in its simplest and purest form.” – Walt (Gabler 14)

“That was Dad. He’d give us

impulsive whacks. –Roy (Gabler

23)Mom and Dad

Ruth and Walt

Walt and Roy

Inspired the creation of Main Street at Disneyland Walt’s favorite childhood memory When Walt was 4, the Disneys moved to Marceline,

Missouri (population 4,500) Bought a small farm for $3,000 Coming from the “crowded, smoky” Chicago,

Marceline was heaven for Walt Fascinated by its livestock Even though the house was old and tiny, Walt loved

the countryside. Started school there at age 7 Loved the spirit of the community (everyone wanted

to help each other) Doc Sherman

Acted like Walt’s father (he was childless) “Don’t be afraid to admit your ignorance” Encourage Walt to draw

Walt’s first memorial of his art: the tar drawing he and Roy created

Elias hated farming, so they didn’t make any money. Had to move to Kansas.

“It was the most embarrassing thing that could happen to a fellow. I had to practically start in school with my little sister who was two years younger.” – Walt (Gabler 11)

“Marceline was an oasis as

well as a touchstone – Walt

Disney’s own escape.”

(Gabler 18)

House was “so small that when relatives visited, Roy and Walt had to move to what they called “the barn,” a shed out back, and it was so close to the road that the family had to draw the curtains so no one could look inside” (Gabler 19)

Elias purchased the paper route Kansas City Star

Walt had to deliver the papers This traumatized him

He woke up to nightmares about it even 40 years later Elias became harsher; beat children more

frequently until his breaking point Walt escaped family every night and went to

the Pfeiffers’ house In school, teachers said he was courteous,

but sleepy and preoccupied. Drew for the local Barbershop.

Hung his drawings in their window Reminded him of Doc Sherwood “It was a great stimulant to me to know my efforts were

appreciated” – Walt (Gabler 29)

“I was working all the time. I mean, I never had any real play

time” – Walt (Gabler 21)

“He never even learned to catch a ball the

way other boys did” – Roy (Gabler 22)

“There was nothing unhappy about them – they just weren’t used to having fun. But this wasn’t so with the Pfeiffers. Whatever they did, they had the best time doing it, and they were always together.” – Walt (Gabler 26)

“Two Bad Walters”

Ray and Roy were drafted into the army for WW1; Walt “felt the flush of patriotism when he was seeing Roy off at the train depot.” (Gabler 36)

Too young to become a soldier; forced Flora to sign he was allowed to join Red Cross Ambulance Corps.

Had little contact with the ill; ran errands and drove the car.

In free time, drew sketches for people Became homesick, and was eventually able to come

home… a changed man.

AT HOME… Applied for a job at Kansas City Star (always wanted to

work there), but was rejected for being too old. Became apprentice at the Pesmen-Ruben art shop After Christmas, business went down, and they no

longer needed him.

He eventually befriended a man named Ub Iwwerk and together they got a job at Kansas City Slide Co.

Found love of film and animation there; They both combined drawing and technology

After being there a short time; convinced boss to let him make his own ads

First studio: garage After reading Animated Cartoons: How They are Made, Their

Origins and Development by Edwin G Lutz, he became inspired to experiment through cel animation.

Created one-minutes real of cartoons called “Laugh-O-Grams. Showed them to a company manager, who loved them. They

were premiered at Newman Theater on March 20, 1921. Got encouragement to do more, and spent all his time creating

more. Didn’t make a profit, but received attention Wanted more though, so bought a Universal camera and created

films with friends. He starred in them, wore costumes, and played with camera effects.

Felt confident, created Laugh-O-Gram Films, Inc. He was unique because he wrote his scenarios with intense detail

as if they were live-action scripts.

His family slowly moved away and grew apart. Worst, though, was when his brother Roy moved to Hollywood.

Throughout this period, moved constantly to different friends’ houses.

No one at Laugh-O-Grams knew anything about animation, and his equipment was improvised.

Walt was a poor manager and not very cautious of his money (opposite of father); always lacking money.

Put all his effort and time into Laugh-O-Grams, so when it went bankrupted he had nothing.

He knew he needed to leave, so he departed to Hollywood. Where he reunited with Roy

“He suddenly couldn’t keep his face straight. He

turned and left. He was clearly upset. He knew he

was going to be alone” – Ruth (Gabler 62)

“I never once heard Walt say anything that would sound like defeat. He was always optimistic. Never once did I hear anything except determination to go ahead.” – friend of Walt (Gabler 72)

“..stand there with tears in my eyes and look at the trains going out. I was all alone. I was very lonesome.” – Walt (Gabler 73)

All Walt’s life, he was dedicated to and had a love for drawing. But he was also in love with a woman by the name of Lillian Bounds.

She was a friend of one of his animators at Disney Bros. One day, he asked her if “He could see her socially if he

got a new suit” (Gabler 94). She accepted, and he indeed bought a new suit.

His marriage proposal: He told her to choose between them putting their money together towards a new car or a ring. She chose a ring.

They were married on July 13, 1925 Because he was so into his animations, he was seldom

home. So, in order to make sure Lillian did not get lonely, he invited her mother to stay with them and bought her a puppy for Christmas. The scene in Lady and the Tramp is based off of this real-life experience.

They had two daughters together, Diane and Sharon

“I’ve never seen anybody so crazy over an animal.” – Walt (Gabler 105)

Once he came to Hollywood, Walt was ready to start fresh. He and Roy created their own studio called Disney Bros.

They rented a cramped office in the back of a realty building

Their first project was a series called Alice’s wonderland. It consisted of a little girl interacting with cartoon characters.

Margaret Winkler, a film distributer, liked it and set up a contract with them.

They were frantically putting together two a month and invited Iwwerks to come help them.

Eventually, the company grew and they were able to hire employees as well.

When Alice’s Wonderland started to slow down, Walt decided to create a new character: Oswald. It was a success!

Unfortunately, his life went bad once again. Mintz and Winkler took all the rights to Walt’s characters, leaving him no where.

“I want the characters to be somebody. I don’t want them to just be a drawing.” – Walt (Gabler 103)

“He told it just like the plot of one of his stories where good will win and villain will be defeated. He lobed telling that story because it was so poetically just.” – one of Walt’s animators (Gabler 109)

“He was like a raging lion on the train coming home. All he would say, over and over, was that He’d never work for anyone again as lone as he lived; he’d be his own boss” – Lillian Disney (Gabler 111)

With this recent failure, Walt needed to create a bigger and better character. And he did. He created a mouse named Mortimer. Lillian hated the name, so he eventually changed it to Mickey Mouse.

His first moving animation with Mickey was Steamboat Willie, which became a huge success. Walt combined sound with the cartoon.

Harry Reichenback bought it for $1000, the highest price anyone had paid for a cartoon at that time.

But that wasn’t enough for Walt. He wanted more. So, he created his cartoons in technicolor.

The first cartoon in technicolor was The Three Little Pigs. In addition, a man named Kay Kamen helped sell over $35 million of

sales in Disney Merchandise. In 1934, Donald Duck was created. His selfish and hot-tempered

personality created a lot of comedy in the series. During WWII, he also created propaganda cartoons. During all this success, he had a breakdown. After this, he had an

occasional temperamant and wasn’t always happy.

“The only thing that got through to me was that

horrible name, Mortimer…I’m afraid I made

quite a scene about it. Too sissy.” –Lillian

(Gabler 112)

“I never saw such a reaction in an audience in

my life. The scheme worked perfectly. The

sound itself gave the illusion of something

emanating directly from the screen.” – Iwwerks

(Gabler 118)“Being a duck, he likes water. Sailors and water go together.” – Walt (Gabler 201)

“Sometimes it was hard

for an audience to tell

whether Ickes was

imitating the Duck or the

Duck was imitating

Ickes.” – Walt (gabler

202)

Fun fact: The names considered for Snow White’s Dwarfs were: Deafy, Dirty, Awful, Blabby, Burpy, Gabby, Puffy, Stuffy, Nifty, Tubbyk, Biggo Ego, Flabby, Jaunty, Baldy, Lazy, Dizzy, Cranky, and Chesty

Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955 after 365 construction days. It wasn’t ready to open, but they did anyway.

Women’s heel sank into Main Street because the asphalt wasn’t dry Ride’s broke down People faked invitations There was a plumber’s strike, so Walt had to choose between putting in bathrooms or drinking

fountains. Walt had his gardeners cover the bare patches of dirt with weeds they found in the parking lot.

They just gave them long, fancy-sounding names He created another studio for himself above the firehouse on Main

Street. He wanted to put live animals in the Jungle Cruise, but zoologists

wouldn’t allow him to. Walt did not put any of the characters in their own rides (for example –

Mr. Toad did not appear in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride). People did not understand this concept, so he went and gave them a breif appearance.

When the Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev tried to visit Disneyland, Walt Disney was excited to show him the high-tech submarine ride, but the U.S State Department wouldn’t allow Krushchev to enter.

Fun fact: There’s a basketball court in the Matterhorn!

“People can buy Pepsi-Cola, but they can’t pee in the street.” – Walt

Criticisms and Rumors of

On July 28, 2003, Time Magazine wrote an article of inspirational people with dyslexia.

People around the world were amazed at their “new role model” who was able to overcome it.

Recent studies have shown that he indeed did not have dyslexia.

Time guessed at this inference because he enjoyed writing his words backwards at times, and since their was no sources denying it, they assumed he had dyslexia.

THOSE WHO THINK HE WAS POINT OUT:

In the 1940’s he joined a group called The Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. This was an anti-communist and anti-Semitic group.

There are three burning Menorahs in the ride Pirates of the Carribbean.

He created a cartoon in which Donald Duck joins the Nazi Party and there are swastikas all over the short film.

BUT THOSE WHO DEFEND HIM THINK:

He hired many Jews, including Kay Kamen, who helped make him millions by selling Mickey Mouse merchandise.

Those might just be a coincidence.

This cartoon ends in Donald Duck waking up to this nightmare. It is a propaganda movie on how the Nazis are terrorizing the nation.

Many sources have expressed the fact that Walt Disney was against the Jewish race

VS.

YES, BECAUSE: He always had great ideas He had great storytelling skills; people were

constantly amazed at what he could come up with

He could think like the characters, thus creating their perfect reactions to the problems of the plot

Had great enthusiasm, brought up spirits, and was a great cheerleader. He encouraged his animators to think boldly.

Acted out his ideas, which entertained everyone

Believed immensely in his studio and cartoons He was inspirational, determined, hard-

working He didn’t just supervise, he coordinated and

put together everything the studio did

NO, BECAUSE HE WAS: Overbearing Mercurial (ever since breakdown) Ungrateful * Impossible to please * The undisputed power of the studio

After his company became successful, he never animated or wrote the stories.

Operate entirely by instinct, which changed constantly

* Not according to everyone

“It would usually be like listening to a new fairytale, and we would break up the session happy and amazed that the solution to your story problems should be so simple and different.” – Walt’s animator (Gabler 208)

Although Walt Disney is cherished by many around the world and has inspired numerous amounts of people, there is still a mass of people who are against this man.

The educators against him believe his stories: Leave no imagination for the children; everything is too obvious and does not force them to think Are too simplified to read, yet the content should be for a generation that is capable of reading Are setting a bad example (ex: in Pinocchio, there is a street called Tobacco Lane and Jiminy Cricket smokes a

corncob pipe.) Make children believe animals and toys can talk and come alive when you are not looking Ruin the beauty of how a folk tale should be Give children false accusations of life (the prince always gets the girl; your nanny can have magical powers so you

don’t have to clean your room; etc) Others against him say:

He is just out to get money. He raised prices on stuffed animals just because they are famous characters. His cartoons keep the children from going outside. Some people even think he was a pervert. There are individuals who believe he has put sexual innuendos in his

cartoons This pretty much sums it up:

"$360 for a family, $20 to park, $100 to eat, crowded lines, perpetuating the fantasy that animals can talk and actually have feelings". Really Walt...the happiest place on earth??? Whose dreams are really made here?” – An unhappy chemistry teacher, Mr. Langdale

As a child, Walt Disney was constantly optimistic and spreading enthusiasm throughout his neighborhood. He suffered through beatings from his father, bankruptcy, and mental breakdowns while keeping a true determination and a positive attitude when surrounded by other people. Although he was temperamental at times to his loyal employees, they were inspired by him and saw his creativity daily. Through constant hard work and always believing in himself, Walt Disney was able to make a lasting impression on the world.

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney

1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1940 Pinocchio 1940 Fantasia 1941 The Reluctant Dragon 1941 Dumbo 1942 Bambi 1943 Saludos Amigos 1943 Victory through Air Power 1945 The Three Caballeros 1946 Make Mine Music 1946 Song of the South 1947 Fun and Fancy Free 1948 Melody Time 1949 So Dear to My Heart 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 1950 Cinderella 1950 Treasure Island 1951 Alice in Wonderland 1952 The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men 1953 Peter Pan 1953 The Sword and the Rose 1953 The Living Desert 1954 Rob Roy – The Highland Rogue 1954 The Vanishing Prairie 1954 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1955 Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier 1955 Lady and the Tramp 1955 The African Lion 1955 The Littlest Outlaw 1956 The Great Locomotive Chase 1956 Davy Crockett and the River Pirates 1956 Secrets of Life

1956 Westward Ho the Wagons! 1957 Johnny Tremain 1957 Perri 1957 Old Yeller 1958 The Light in the Forest 1958 White Wilderness 1958 Tonka 1959 Sleeping Beauty 1959 The Shaggy Dog 1959 Darby O’Gill and the Little People 1959 Third Man on the Mountain 1960 Toby Tyler, or Tens Weeks with a Circus 1960 Kidnapped 1960 Pollyanna 1960 The Sign of Zorro 1960 Ten Who Dared 1960 Jungle Cat 1960 Swiss Family Robinson 1961 101 Dalmatians 1961 The Absent-Minded Professor 1961 The Parent Trap 1961 Nikki, Wild Dog of the North 1961 Greyfriars Bobby 1961 Babes in Toyland 1962 Moon Pilot 1962 Bon Voyage 1962 Big Red 1962 Almost Angels 1962 The Legend of Lobo 1962 In Search of the Castaways 1963 Son of Flubber 1963 Miracle of the White Stallions

1963 Savage Sam 1963 Summer Magic 1963 The Incredible Journey 1963 The Sword in the Stone 1963 The Three Lives of Thomasina 1964 The Misadventures of Merlin Jones 1964 A Tiger Walks 1964 The Moon-Spinners 1964 Mary Poppins 1964 Emil and Detectives 1965 Those Calloways 1965 The Monkey’s Uncle 1965 That Darn Cat 1966 The Ugly Dachshund 1966 Lt. Robin Crusoe U.S.N 1966 The Fighting Prince of Donegal 1966 Follow Me, Boys! 1967 Monkeys, Go Home * 1967 The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin * 1967 The Happiest Millionaire * 1967 The Gnome-Mobile * 1967 The Jungle Book * 1967 Charlie, The Lonesome Cougar *

* Released after his death

Do you have

QUESTIONS?I have

ANSWERS!

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