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Walter Elias Disney
Walter Elias Disney was born in 1901 on December 5th in Chicago Illinois.
Most of his childhood took place in Missouri, where he made drawings and sketches to sell to the neighbours.
To start his career Walter moved to Kansas city and did a few different jobs until he decided to open his own animation business.
He was the creator of many iconic and timeless animated films that are watched and loved by all age groups. -
The beginning
Walter named the studio Laugh-o-grams and the short films he created were screened at a local theatre in Kanasa city. During this time Walter created a series of 7 minutes long fairytales but shortly after he went bankrupt and had to close down. -
Hollywood
After going bankrupt, Walter and his brother, Roy, moved to Hollywood. In Hollywood, Walter hoped to become a director. The two brothers pooled what money they did have together and opened "Walt Disney Brothers Studios". -
The Introduction of Mickey Mouse
Steamboat Willie The Steamboat Willie cartoon introduced the character Mickey Mouse who has become the mascot of the Walt Disney company. This cartoon is also important because it was the first one to incorproate sound, as it was created around the same time that sound was able to be added to films. -
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Creating Snow White The first full length animated film created by Walt Disney was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This animation was created using an eight-deck camera and 362,919 frames of colour film. It required more than 1,500,00 individual pen and ink drawings and water colour paintings. This technique is called Cel-Animation. In spite of the depression, this film made $1.5 million and won a total of 8 Oscars. Snow White was widley popular and helped Walt Disney's career take off. -
Burbank Studio
During the year of 1939 a new campus for Walt Disney studios was opened in Burbank, California. Many of the films that we know and love today were created on this campus. -
Set Back
In 1941 Disney animators went on strike because of salary adjustments made after the war. Eventually some animators resigned and this was a set back for the company.
During the mid 40's Disney created "packaged features", which were groups of short animations strung together that ran at feature length. -
Cinderella
By 1950 Walt Disney focused on creating feature films and this is when the famous Cinderella animation was released. During the process of creating Cinderella, Disney used new techniques and a different approach to get the final product. The film was first shot in a series of live action scenes and this footage was used as a guide for the animators. -
Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland was created shortly after the less popular animation by Walt Disney, Treasure Planet. Alice in wonderland was created based on the books by Lewis Carroll. -
Peter Pan
Peter Pan was created by the scottish writer J.M. Barrie and it is the 14th film in the Walt Disney classics. Following Peter Pan (mid 50's) was Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmations, all of which became a family favourite. -
The Sword in the Stone
During the 60's, the Walt Disney company released 3 more classics. The Sword in the Stone was followed by Mary Poppins, in which Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews danced with cartoon figures in an animated world. The combination of live action and animation was made possible by the Disney-developed traveling matte process, which allowed separately photographed foreground action to overlap with any background footage. -
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is an important film for the Walt Disney company because it is the last animated film that Walt Disney was able to create himself. Walter passed away on December 15th, 1966 in Burbank, California. -
Aristocats
During the 1970's, Aristocats, Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh and The Rescuers were released. For these films the Walt Disney company put its attention towards story developement and casting the perfect voice actors for each character. -
The Fox and the Hound
At the time, The Fox and the Hound was the most expensive animated film to produce. It cost a total of $12 million. This film was loosely based on the novel written by Daniel P. Mannix. During the 1980's, other classic films produced by the Walt Disney company include, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver and Company and The Little Mermaid. -
Beauty and the Beast
The story of Beauty and the Beast has been passed down from centuries. The earliest known work was created by Giovan Straparalo in 1550. The story has been adapted into a variety of films and television series but none are as well known or loved as the Walt Disney Classic created in 1991. -
The Lion King
The Lion King was the highest-grossing animated film of all time until the release of Finding Nemo. The film that takes place in Africa was influence by biblical tales and William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. During the course of production more than 600 artists, animations and technicians contributed to the animated film. -
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was inspired by the histroy of Native Americans. The fillm was praised for its music and animation but criticized for the historical inaccuracy. However, the film was a huge success. It made a total of $346 million at the wolrdwide box office and the film recieved two Academy Awards for its achievments in music. -
Hercules
During the late 1990's, the Walt Disney company created the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan and Tarzan. In the 90's photo-realistic 3D animation was appearing in more cinema films. As the animation technology changed, the Disney films evolved with it. -
Lilo and Stitch
Photo-realistic 3D animation was used in the 2000's. Lilo and Stitch, Brother Bear, Bolt, Up, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled and Brave are a few of the well known and popular Disney films created during this time period. -
Frozen
The latest animated film created by the Walt Disney company is Frozen. The company had been working on "The Snow Queen" (Elsa) for more than 70 years. The success of the film Tangled allowed Disney to complete Frozen. Frozen was one of the top grossing films in 2014. In order to get the realistic snow in the film, the Disney animators used simulation-based engineering, which is the same computer simulations used to predict the effects of building explosions. The film was widley successful. -
Conclusion
Over the years the Walt Disney company has created hundreds of timeless, family films. The films are imaginative, creative and inspiring.
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." - Walt Disney
