The World of Walt Disney: A Journey Through the Life of a Visionary
Walt Disney was a pioneering American animator and entrepreneur who created some of the world’s most beloved characters and theme parks, forever changing the entertainment industry.
Raise your hands if you grew up watching Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Pluto cartoons!
If you didn’t see these productions, you probably watched Cinderella, Bambi, or Pinocchio. The man behind these animated films goes by the name of Walt Disney.
He founded Walt Disney Productions and the Walt Disney World and Disneyland theme parks.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
Looking at the Life of Walt Disney.
Let’s dig into his life story to discover how he went into film and founded one of the best motion picture companies in the world.
“Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.” – Walt Disney
Birth and Early Childhood
Walt Disney, known officially as Walter Elias Disney, came to this world on December 5th, 1901, in the Hermosa side of Chicago, Illinois.
He was the fourth son in a family of five children. His father, Elias Disney, was of Irish-Canadian descent, while his mother, Flora Call Disney, was a German American.
“Ideas come from curiosity.”- Walt Disney
Disney grew up in Marceline, Missouri, and developed an early interest in art. His imagination often ran so wild that he began painting and drawing, then selling the pictures to family, friends, and neighbors.
His father relocated the family to Kansas City in 1911, where he fostered a second passion for trains.
Disney worked a summer job for a railroad company in Kansas City, thanks to his uncle, who worked as a train engineer. His role was to sell newspapers and food snacks to travelers.
Education
Disney was already an avid painter when he started school at the Park School in Marceline. After the family relocated, he transferred to Benton Grammar School in Kansas City, Missouri.
Disney’s first exposure to motion pictures and vaudeville occurred at the Park School when he became friends with Walter Pfeiffer, a fellow student whose parents worked in the theatre and film industry.
Disney became so engrossed with art and motion pictures that he preferred spending time in Pfeifer’s house rather than his own home.
“The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for.” – Walt Disney
Disney took art and cartooning classes at the Kansas City Art Institute while still studying at the Park School. He moved to McKinley High School, where he took drawing and photography classes.
At night, Disney studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts while still working as a cartoonist for the school paper. He dropped out of school in 1918 to join the US Army, but they denied him as he was underage.
Upon being rejected by the US Army, Disney forged his age on his birth certificate and enrolled to join the Red Cross.
He was posted in France for a year to drive an ambulance. Ever the artist, Disney drew cartoons on the body of his ambulance to make it more alluring. He returned to the United States in 1919 and got a job, never attending college or university.
Early Career
After the war, Disney settled in Kansas City and began working as an advertising cartoonist. His role was to create and market original animated cartoons.
He worked in this role until 1923 while training in animation and live-motion films on the side.
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney
Disney later left for Hollywood with $40 in cash, a complete animated motion picture film, and hopes to become an animation film director.
He teamed up with his brother, Roy Disney, who was already in Hollywood. The two pooled resources to open a production company in their uncle’s garage.
They named this company Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, later renamed The Walt Disney Company.
Founding Walt Disney Productions
Disney’s first successful film was Alice’s Wonderland which aired in New York through a contract with Universal Pictures. The short Alice comedy film aired until 1927.
Charles Mintz, Universal Pictures’ film producer, requested new animation content.
Walt and Roy worked on their second animated series, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and aired it for close to a year before losing the ownership rights to Universal Pictures.
Disney and Roy replaced the Oswald series with Mickey Mouse in 1928 and created three short films.
The first two didn’t sell, but the third short became a success after Walt added synchronized sound to the film. Walt Disney became the voice behind Mickey Mouse while working on other animations.
His next creation was Silly Symphonies in 1929, followed by Pluto (1930), Flowers and Trees (1932), Goofy (1932), Three Little Pigs (1933), and Donald Duck (1934).
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” – Walt Disney
In 1934, Disney transitioned from producing cartoon shorts to focusing on lengthy films based on fairy stories.
This shift marked the golden age of fairy tale animations that many still watch today. It marked the creation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942).
Disney also produced other packaged animations in the late 1940s, starting with Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), and One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).
Achievements Outside of Walt Disney Productions
Walt Disney opened the Disneyland theme park in 1955.
He made it a place where parents could take their children to explore, enjoy rides, and bond with their favorite animated characters.
Disneyland became an immediate success.
At a Time, Walt Disney Almost Made His Living Selling Vacuum Cleaners.
Disney also ventured into television film production. He played a role in the production of The Magical World of Disney (1954), Zorro (1957), The Mickey Mouse Club (1955), and Mary Poppins (1964).
He later began building a new theme park, Walt Disney World but did not live to see his plans come to fruition.
Personal Life
Walt Disney married Lillian Bounds, one of his early employees, in 1925.
The couple had two daughters, Diane (born 1933) and Sharon Disney Lund (adopted 1936). The family lived in Lewiston, Idaho, but moved to the Holmby Hills district, Los Angeles, in 1949.
Walt Disney Didn’t Draw Mickey Mouse.
The Death of Walt Disney
Walt Disney died of lung cancer in 1966 at 65 years. His family cremated and buried him at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
Walt Disney Company now has more than 200,000 employees and a market cap value of $203.92 billion.
Disneyland Had a Secret Apartment Where Walt Disney Lived.
Final Remarks
Walt Disney’s dream to become a painter, drawer, and cartoonist started when he was still in elementary school.
His interest quickly became a passion, skill, and, finally, a business that made him and his brother millionaires. Walt Disney inspires entrepreneurs to dream, more importantly, to pursue their visions.
Timeline of Walt Disney
Timeline of Walt Disney1901:
Walt Disney came to the world in the Hermosa side of Chicago, Illinois.
1906:
The Disney family relocates to Marceline, Missouri, where Walt develops an interest in painting and drawing.
1911:
The Disney family moves to Kansas City, Missouri.
1918:
Walt joins the Red Cross and gets positioned in France to drive an ambulance.
1919:
Walt Disney returns to Kansas City and works as an advertising cartoonist.
1923:
Disney teams up with his brother, Roy, and establishes Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.
1925:
Disney marries Lillian Bounds.
1926:
Walt and Roy Disney rename their company Walt Disney Studios and relocate to a new premise.
1927:
Walt and Roy Disney develop a new animation series, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
1928:
Walt and Roy develop Mickey Mouse. Walt becomes the voice of Mickey.
1929:
Disney launches Silly Symphonies cartoon series.
1930:
Disney and Roy develop Pluto animation shorts.
1932:
Disney develops Goofy.
1933:
Walt and Lillian get their first child, Diane Disney.
1936:
Walt and Lillian adopt Sharon.
1937:
Walt develops Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
1940:
Walt Disney creates Fantasia.
1941:
Disney releases Dumbo.
1942:
Disney produces Bambi.
1950:
Disney releases Cinderella.
1955:
Walt and Roy establish the Disneyland Theme Park.
1964:
Walt and Roy create Mary Poppins.
1965:
Walt and Roy begin plans for Walt Disney World.
1966:
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3 Lessons From Walt Disney
There are many lessons we can learn from Walt Disney. However, I chose three that stood out to me. See the lessons below and my take.
Chase Your Dream
Walt Disney’s first lesson is to chase your dreams.
A dream is a part of you, and ignoring it is ignoring a part of yourself.
As you know, following your dreams is easier said than done. It is very difficult to drop everything in your life and start over.
The best way to do this is to follow your dreams before you choose your career! Nevertheless, it is not too late to make your dreams a reality.
If you want to follow your dreams, you can’t just drop everything and do it! But you can plan for it now!
Plan your transition from where you are now regarding your career and responsibilities to where you want to be.
You don’t have to work alone to achieve your dream.
So why not talk to people that can help you get from where you are now to where you want to be?
They can offer insights and tips and help you plan to achieve your goal.
Believe in Yourself
Walt Disney’s second piece of advice is to believe in yourself. I could not agree more. When you believe in yourself and your abilities, you function differently than when you don’t.
For example, let’s say you’re starting your own business and have everything you need except believing in yourself.
In this situation, you’ll be second-guessing every move.
You’ll be focused on failure, so you think, instead of thinking that you can do it, can I do it? This will affect your behavior, and your behavior will affect your outcome.
It’s important to believe in yourself to succeed in a project. If you don’t believe in yourself, resolve that issue before moving on.
Don’t Lose Sight of What You Are
Walt Disney’s third lesson is never to lose sight of who you are.
You may lose who you are if you become extremely successful because you will have more freedom to do whatever you wish and because you will have forgotten the struggles you had to overcome to get to where you are.
For example, imagine someone being discovered as a singer and becoming an instant celebrity. They have people catering to their every need.
They have people fighting for their attention, and their life has changed with more opportunity to do almost anything they want.
If you haven’t already set your values, it is important, so you don’t lose track of who you are.
When you have a strong set of values, even with temptation, you’ll be able to stay true to your values because you have set them ahead of time.
When you start a company and it becomes successful, you don’t want to change the mission for profit.
Instead, you want to do what you set out to do as your original goal, and instead of looking at only the finances, look at improving what you set out to do.
Frequently Asked Questions
The information in this post answers many of the questions about Walt Disney.
This section provides a summary and any additional information.
1. How much was Walt Disney worth at his death?
Walt Disney was worth between $100 and $150 million when he died, equivalent to $1.1 billion today.
2. Was Walt Disney the first CEO of the Walt Disney Company?
Walt Disney served as president of his company. His brother, Roy Disney, became the company’s first CEO.
3. How many siblings did Walt Disney have?
Walt Disney had four siblings, three brothers and a sister.
4. Does the Disney family still own the Walt Disney Company?
The Disney family today owns less than 3%. Walt and Roy owned roughly 20% of their company.
5. Who owns Disney today?
Disney’s three primary shareholders include Berkshire Hathaway, Cadbury, and the descendants of Walt and Roy Disney.