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Transcript of Walt Disney
Liceul Teoretic “Bolyai Farkas”
LUCRARE DE ATESTAT LA LIMBA
ENGLEZĂ
WALT DISNEY
Profesor coordonator: Absolvent:
Peti Réka-Eszter Dóczi Orsolya
XII.B
Tîrgu Mureş2014
1
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“Bolyai Farkas” Theoretical High SchoolWALT DISNEYGuiding Teacher:
Peti Réka-Eszter
Student:Dóczi Orsolya
XII.B
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................4
2. The story of a creator`s life......................................................................................................5
2.1 General introduction...................................................................................................................5
2.2 Childhood....................................................................................................................................6
2.3 Teenage years..............................................................................................................................6
3. A career in development...........................................................................................................7
3.1 Laugh-O-Gram Studio..................................................................................................................7
3.2 Alice Comedies............................................................................................................................7
3.3 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit..............................................................................................................8
3.4 Mickey Mouse.............................................................................................................................8
3.5 "Disney's Folly": Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs...................................................................8
4. Golden age of animation..........................................................................................................9
5. Planning and opening Disneyland theme park.......................................................................11
6. Illness and death.....................................................................................................................12
7. The Walt Disney Company's most popular productions:.......................................................14
8. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................15
9. Bibliography:..........................................................................................................................16
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1. Introduction
”We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in
public.” Bryan White`s words made me think about the advantages
and disadvantages of being a child or an adult. I constantly feel that I
do not want to grow up, now, when I reached a particular age,
though my dream as little girl was to become an adult and do
whatever I want, to be free. Have you ever felt the same way? Life is
a tricky game, though filled with magic, where we ought to find the
light and happiness.
Brainstorming this idea I realized that one of the most important basics of my childhood
was the magic world of cartoons. Sitting on the couch with chocolate cakes or a mug of milk was
the sign of a big adventure coming; it was time to watch a new cartoon. They were films created
for us, children, a world that considered us just as important as adults were for TV channels. The
best cartoons always started with the same sound and the same pictures. I remember that I
always read a name on the screen: Walt Disney Pictures.
This is the reason I chose to present his work, and his path to become a legend for every
little boy and girl. Our childhood would not have been the same without him and his
extraordinary cartoons. Walt Disney was imaginative, perseverant, and humorous, and placed all
his personality into his cartoons and animation. There was a man, who had a dream, drew it, and
let us enjoy the gifts of his talent, though we know only a few things about him.
I consider that he earned the privilege to be in my presentation and the world to know his
name. This is the reason I chose this topic. My aim is to get to know him better through this
work, to find out who this wonderful man was and to show his influence on us. I would like to
end my introduction with one of his sayings, which is a constant motivation for me: “What ever
you do, do it well.” (Walt Disney)
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2. The story of a creator`s life
2.1 General introduction
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was born on 5th December 1901 and answered the final summons
on 15th December, 1966. Being an American business magnate,
animator, cartoonist, producer, director,screenwriter, entrepreneur, and voice actor he built up a
shining career. He was the „soul” of the American animation industry, well known for his
influence and contributions to the field of entertainment during the 20th century. With his
brother Roy O. Disney, co-founded Walt Disney Productions, which later became one of the
most famous motion picture production companies in the world. According to the official
information The Walt Disney Company had annual revenue of approximately US$45 billion in
the 2013 financial year. As an animator
and entrepreneur, Disney was known to
be a film producer and a popular
showman. Along with his partners created
some of the world's most well-known
fictional characters including Mickey
Mouse. For Mickey, Disney himself
provided the original voice. He got the
most awards and nominations in the
history, receiving four honorary Academy
Awards, winning 22 Academy Awards from a total of 59 nominations, including a record four in
one year. He gave his name to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the
U.S., as well as the international resorts like Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, and Hong
Kong Disneyland.
2.2 Childhood
Disney was born on December 5, 1901.His father, Ellias Disney was half Irish, half Canadian
and her mother, Flora Call Disney, was of German and English descent. In 1878 Ellias moved 5
from Huron County, Ontario, Canada to the United States, with the aim of seeking gold in
California. Elias worked for the Union Pacific Railroad and married Flora Call on January 1,
1888, in Acron, Florida, which is only 40 miles away of where Walt Disney World is developed.
The family moved to Chicago and in 1906, when Walt was four, Elias and his family moved to a
farm in Marceline, Missouri. He loved to draw, and used his talent by working to one of the
family's neighbours, a retired doctor named "Doc" Sherwood, who paid him to draw pictures of
Sherwood's horse, Rupert. His interest in trains also developed in Marceline, a town which was
famous of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway which ran through it. Walt would put his
ear to the tracks in anticipation of the coming train then try and spot his uncle, engineer Michael
Martin, conducting the train.
The Disneys moved to Kansas City in 1911, where Walt and his siblings went to the Benton
Grammar School. There he met Walter Pfeiffer whose family really liked theatres, and
introduced Walt to the world of vaudeville and motion pictures. After some time Walt was
spending more time at his friends` house than at home. Walt often went to Electric Park with his
sister, Ruth, 15 blocks from their home, which turned to be a major influence of his design of
Disneyland.
2.3 Teenage years
Walt started his freshman year at McKinley High School, Chicago and took night courses at the
Chicago Art Institute. He became the cartoonist for the school newspaper, drawing patriotic
topics and focusing on World War I. He left high school at age of 16 with the aim of joining the
army, but he was rejected for being underage. He didn`t lose hope after all and joined the Red
Cross. Soon after this he was sent to France for a year, where he drove an ambulance.
Hoping to find work outside the Chicago O-Zell factory, in 1919 Walt moved back to Kansas
City to begin his artistic career. After thinking whether to become an actor or a newspaper artist,
he decided on a career as a newspaper artist, drawing political caricatures or comic strips.
Nowadays it is hard to believe, that nobody wanted to hire him, thinking he was untalented, then,
using family relations Walt got a temporary job through a bank colleague at the Pesmen-Rubin
Art Studio, where he created advertisements for newspapers, magazines, and movie theaters.
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There he met a fellow animator, Ubbe Iwerks. They soon decided to set up their own commercial
company, entitled "Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists", at first, their company seemed to be
unsuccessful. While working for the Kansas City Film Ad Company, where he made
commercials based on cutout animations, Disney became interested in animation, and decided to
become an animator.
3. A career in development
3.1 Laugh-O-Gram Studio
After reading the Edwin G. Lutz book Animated Cartoons: How They Are Made, Their Origin
and Development, Disney decided to open his own animation business and employed Fred
Harman, his first employee. They agreed with the owner of the local theatre, named Laugh-O-
Gram to screen their cartoons there. Disney`s cartoons were really popular and he was able to
acquire his own studio, also called Laugh-O-Gram. The studio soon became loaded with debt,
and finally the big creator decided to go find his luck is Hollywood, California in 1923.
3.2 Alice Comedies
They started to work on a new series, called
“Alice Comedies", which was about a little girl`s
adventures in a fantasy world. The series turned to
be reasonably successful. By the time the series
ended in 1927, its focus was more on the animated
characters, rather than the live-action Alice. In
1925 Disney hired a woman, named Lillian Bounds
and they got married in the same year.
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3.3 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Walt then started work on a series around a new animated character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Despite its success Walt had to deal with a big problem in 1928, because he discovered that M.J.
Winkler and her husband, Charles Mintz, had stolen the rights to the character away from him.
They had also stolen all his animators, except for Ub Iwerks.
3.4 Mickey Mouse
Walt decided to create a new character of his own, to replace
the lost. On a train home, he was doodling on a piece of
paper, the result of this was Mickey Mouse, based on a mouse
he had adopted as a pet while working in his Laugh-O-Gram
studio in Kansas City. Three cartoons were produced about
this character, they weren`t really popular, until Disney
decided to create a Mickey cartoon with sound called
Steamboat Willie. After this huge success, Walt used sound in
all of his future creations, and Cinephone also became the
new distributor for Disney's early sound cartoons. Mickey
became the most popular cartoon character in the world, in the
early 1930s, with its popularity subsequently skyrocket.
In 1932 Disney got his first Academy Award for the creation of "Mickey Mouse", which soon
was followed by other famous characters, as Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. In
late 1932, Herbert Kalmus, convinced Disney to reshoot his cartoon, entitled Flowers and Trees
in three-strip Technicolor, this was the first cartoon to be produced in colour and the first cartoon
to win an Oscar.
3.5 "Disney's Folly": Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
In 1934 Disney decided to create a cartoon which runs the length of a feature film. The film
industry dubbed this endeavour and called it "Disney's Folly". His partners tried to talk Disney
out of the project, but he continued plans for the feature. The cartoon entitled Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs was in creating process from 1934 until mid-1937, when the studio ran out of
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money, but he managed to finish it. The film premiered at the Carthay Circle Theater on
December 21, 1937 and at its conclusion the audience gave Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a
standing ovation. The film became the most successful motion picture of 1938 and earned over
$8 million on its initial release, the equivalent of $132,671,390 today. Disney earned with this
creation one full-size, and seven miniature Oscar statuettes.
4. Golden age of animation
After the big success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs he opened a new campus for the
Walt Disney Studios in Burbank on December 24, 1939. He continued to produce animated
features as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Peter Pan and Wind in the Willows, though none of them
achieved the same success as Snow White. Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan both had been
shelved during the war years, but in the 1940s Disney`s studio managed to continue it. The new
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star cartoon became Cinderella, Disney's most successful film since Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs.
Shortly after the release of Dumbo in October 1941, the US entered World War II. The U.S.
Army and Navy Bureau of Aeronautics obliged Disney`s studios to create films for the military,
such as Der Fuehrer's Face and the 1943 feature film Victory Through Air Power, then projects
aimed at the Latin American markets, such as Saludos Amigos! (1943) and Three
Caballeros (1945). After the war ended animation became increasingly expensive in relation to
live action, Disney scaled down production of unprofitable shorts. Live action production is
films became unbelievably popular so the company increased films like Make Mine
Music(1946), Song of the South (1946), Melody Time (1948), and So Dear to My Heart (1949).
The release of the all-animated feature Cinderella (1950) was followed by the studio's first
entirely live-action feature, Treasure Island (1950), which began a string of live-action
adventures, including The Sword and the Rose (1953) and Twenty-thousand Leagues under the
Sea (1954). Disney's other ventures for ABC included "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955-1959)
and "Zorro" (1957-1959).
By the early 1960s, the Disney empire was a major success, and Walt Disney Productions had
established itself as the world's leading producer of family entertainment. Through careful
market positioning of his product amid those of major film corporations, Disney focused on
family entertainment. Live-action films took historical and often patriotic subjects in Johnny
Tremain (1957), Old Yeller (1957), Tonka (1958), The Swiss Family Robinson (1960),
and Polyanna (1960). The Shaggy Dog (1959) began a series of low-budget comedies such
as The Absent Minded Professor (1961) and Son of Flubber (1963) that became mainstays of the
company's production. Popular fantasies like Darby O'Gill and the Little People(1959) and Babes
in Toyland (1961) led to the blockbuster Mary Poppins (1964). Animation continued in Peter
Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty(1959), One Hundred and One
Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966),
and The Jungle Book (1967).
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5. Planning and opening Disneyland theme park
In the late-1940s Walt travelled to Chicago, he drew sketches of his ideas for an amusement park
where he imagined his employees spending time with their children. Disney visited a children`s
theme park, called Children's Fairyland in Oakland, California, this is where his idea came.
People often asked him to let their children visit Walt Disney Studios, but Walt considered that a
functional movie studio had little to offer to visiting fans so he wanted to offer them something
more. He started to visit other parks for inspiration and ideas, including Tivoli Gardens in
Denmark, Efteling in the Netherlands and Greenfield Village, Playland, and Children's
Fairyland in the United States.
At first, he imagined a small park, across the street, next to the studio, but it seemed to be a good
idea, and worth a bigger investment, a huge centre, named Disneyland. Walt asked proficient
help for his project and bought a 65 ha site near Anaheim in 1953. The construction began in
1954. Disneyland was finally opened On Sunday, July 17, 1955, with thousands of people
attending the occasion. Walter Disney gave the following dedication day speech:”To all who
come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of
the past .... and here youth may
savor the challenge and
promise of the future.
Disneyland is dedicated to the
ideals, the dreams and the hard
facts that have created America
... with the hope that it will be a
source of joy and inspiration to
the entire world.” Disneyland
turned to be a huge success and
it has undergone a number of
expansions and renovations
adding different attractions like
New Orleans Square in 1966,
Bear Country in 1972, and Mickey's Toontown in 1993.11
In 2001 opened Disney California Adventure Park on the site of the original Disneyland plans.
Disneyland became the world`s most successful theme park, with over 650 million guests since it
opened. According to a March 2005 report from the Disney Company the theme park has a
considerable number of employees, more specifically with 65,700 people working there. Walter
left us an inspiring message, saying:” Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to
grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.”
6. Illness and death
Disney was careful to not be seen smoking around children, though he was a chain smoker his
entire life. He played polo at the Riviera Club in Hollywood for many years, which caused him
an old neck injury; he was scheduled in 1966 to a surgery because of this. On November 2, the
on X-rays before the operation, doctors at Providence St. Joseph Medical Centre, across the
street from the Disney Studio, discovered a tumour in his left lung. After other tests they
discovered the tumour to be malignant and to have spread throughout the entire left lung.
Doctors removed the lung on November 11, and told him, that his life expectancy was six
months to two years. On November 30, Disney fell down at his home in Palm Springs. He was
revived by fire department personnel and rushed to St. Joseph's. He spent his 65th birthday in the
hospital bed with his wife and children. Roy ordered the lights at the Disney Studio across the 12
street, to stay on all the time, while Walt was in the hospital. Disney asked the nurses to prop him
up so he could see the studio. He died ten days after his 65th birthday, on December 15, 1966, at
9:30 a.m., of acute circulatory collapse, caused by lung cancer.
Roy Disney continued the Florida
project started by his brother, and
insisted the new name of this to be
Walt Disney World, in honour of his
brother, saying: "We will continue to
operate Walt's company in the way that
he had established and guided it. All of
the plans for the future that Walt had
begun will continue to move ahead."
The last cartoons, in which Disney took
part were The Jungle Book and The
Happiest Millionaire, both released in
1967, as well as the animated short Winnie the Pooh released in 1968. Robert B. Sherman
remembers of the last time he saw Disney: ” He was up in the third floor of the animation
building after a run-through of The Happiest Millionaire. He usually held court in the hallway
afterward for the people involved with the picture. And he started talking to them, telling them
what he liked and what they should change, and then, when they were through, he turned to us
and with a big smile, he said, 'Keep up the good work, boys.' And he walked to his office. It was
the last we ever saw of him.”
There are many rumours around his death: as people say, the last thing he wrote before his death
was the name of Kurt Russel, though the message of this action is still unknown. Another rumour
was also spread, that he was cryogenically frozen or that he is buried in a Snow White dress in a
glass casket. The Disney family denies this, though.
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7. The Walt Disney Company's most popular productions:
Title Original release date
by Walt Disney Pictures
Animation Studio 1]Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs
December 21, 1937 Walt Disney
Pinocchio February 7, 1940 Walt Disney
Dumbo October 23, 1941 Walt Disney
Bambi August 13, 1942 Walt Disney
Cinderella February 15, 1950 Walt Disney
Alice in Wonderland July 26, 1951 Walt Disney
Peter Pan February 5, 1953 Walt Disney
Sleeping Beauty January 29, 1959 Walt Disney
The Jungle Book October 18, 1967 Walt Disney
Robin Hood November 8, 1973 Walt Disney
The Little Mermaid November 17, 1989 Walt Disney
Beauty and the Beast November 22, 1991 Walt Disney
Aladdin November 25, 1992 Walt Disney
The Lion King June 15, 1994 Walt Disney
Pocahontas June 23, 1995 Walt Disney
Toy Story November 22, 1995 Pixar
Hercules June 27, 1997 Walt Disney
Mulan June 19, 1998 Walt Disney
Tarzan June 18, 1999 Walt Disney
Atlantis: The Lost Empire June 15, 2001 Walt Disney
Finding Nemo May 30, 2003 Pixar
Brother Bear November 1, 2003 Walt Disney
WALL-E June 27, 2008 Pixar
Tinker Bell September 18, 2008 DisneyToon
StudiosUp May 29, 2009 Pixar
A Christmas Carol November 6, 2009 ImageMovers
DigitalThe Princess and the Frog December 11, 2009 Walt Disney
Tangled November 24, 2010 Walt Disney
Winnie the Pooh July 15, 2011 Walt Disney
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8. Conclusion
I consider Walter Disney to be an incredibly inspiring person, his life path shows us that nothing
is impossible, and our aim in this world is to make others happy and we will be happy too.
Walt Disney started his career and his company with no money, no useful connections in
Hollywood, absolutely nothing but his creativity and ideas. He wanted to create something, that
would bring smiles to children`s face around the world. Walt Disney didn’t care if he made a lot
of money off his cartoons; he just wanted to keep doing what he loved. Disney once said, "You
reach a point where you don't work for money" I think he reached that point and put his heart
into his work for us and our children and grandchildren to have a happier childhood, developing
their creativity and imagination.
This precious person followed his dreams, managed to create the first synchronized sound
animation, the first feature-length film, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, and fulfilled creating
his own theme park. He never gave up, was fired from a newspaper, nobody wanted to hire him,
had no money, only his talent to show. All Disney`s movies, stories and characters provided
meaningful themes and thought us useful lessons for life, about the power of friendship, love,
goodness, and trust.
By writing this research paper I realised that
after every fairytale lies hard work and a
sensitive man`s heart. I think Disney`s
successful story should be an example for all of
us, as he affirmed: “All the adversity I’ve had in
my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have
strengthened me… You may not realize it when
it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
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9. Bibliography:
1. ”A Chance to Step Into Disney’s Childhood” , Brooks Barnes, The New York Times,
December 3, 2013
2. ”Cartoonist, Innovator, and Entrepreneur ” , Shelly Schwartz, 20th Century History
3. ”Steamboat Willie” , wikipedia.org
4. ”Uncle Walt” , entrepreneur.com, October 8, 2008
5. ”Walt Disney Biography” , Tommy Peter, imdb.com
6. ”Ruler Of The Magic Kingdom” , Richard Schickel, TIME magazine, Dec. 07, 1998
7. ”Walt Disney” , wikipedia.org
8. http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/d/disney/
9. http://www.biography.com/people/walt-disney-9275533?page=3
10. http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/disnehis/disn1966.htm
11. http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/walt-disney.html ,
thebiographychannel.co.uk
12. http://www.waltdisney.org/
13. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit , wikipedia.org
14. Walt Disney Biography
15. "Chronology of the Walt Disney Company (1981)" Island Net, May 21, 2008
16. "Warner Bros. Studio Biography" Animation USA, May 21, 2008.
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