Disney has played a major role in many of our lives. Whether you have vacationed with your family in one of the Disney theme parks or if Disney movies have been played at your household on numerous occasions, it is likely that you have come to love this magical world of cartoons and entertainment. How much do you really know about the mastermind behind Disney, however? Here is a biography on Walt Disney, the man who started it all.
Who is Walt Disney?
Born in 1901, Walt Disney was born into a working class family which had four other children. His talent for art began incredibly early on. At McKinley High School in Chicago, Disney studied art and photography. Disney was rejected from being allowed to enter the army at age sixteen, and chose to join the Red Cross, which sent him to France. When he came back to the United States, Disney started an art company. It was not successful and eventually, he had to file for bankruptcy. At this point, Walt Disney began his career in Hollywood.
How Did Disney Begin?
After releasing a few small dreams that earned him recognition, Walt Disney released his first animated movie that would become a classic, which is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. This was during the depression and ended up earning over one million dollars. Shortly after, Disney made other movies, such as Dumbo, Bambi, Fantasia, and Pinocchio.
There are also a wide variety of non-animated movies that Walt Disney released. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Pollyanna, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Parent Trap are the movies that he produced. During 1955, Disney also earned a spot on television, which was called the Wonderful World of Color, which later came to be known as the Wonderful World of Disney.
What About Disneyland?
Walt Disney envisioned an amusement park that would be clean and family-oriented. In 1955, Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California opened. It was very successful from the moment that it opened. Walt Disney also wanted to open a theme park in Florida. While he never got the opportunity to see its opening in 1967 because he passed away in 1966, his brother Roy Disney ensured that the park would open. The park originally consisted of Magic Kingdom but later other parks called Epcot, MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom opened. Disneyworld also has two water parks, which are called Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Over the years, other Disney theme parks have been opened in Europe and Asia.
Even after Walt Disney died in 1966, movies continued to be released by the Disney company. The Little Mermaid was the first movie that was released after his death that actually gained successful and the company has released many reputable movies since then. It has recently purchased Pixar, a company that is known for its computer-animated films. The Disney theme parks are also still vacationed at today by many families around the world.
