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  • Essay / Walter Elias Disney - 1053

    Walter Elias DisneyDisney has become a household name in American society, but most people are unaware of Walt Disney's struggles before becoming one of the most prominent animators and directors and the most prosperous of the 20th century. Walt Disney is best known for his characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy and Minnie Mouse, but his company can also be credited with such achievements as the first fully synchronized sound picture, "Steamboat Willie", the first color picture. animation, “Flowers and Trees,” and the first animated feature film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, to Elias Disney and Flora Call. Walt was the youngest of four boys before his younger sister was born. At the age of five, he left the city with his family and settled on a farm near Marceline, Missouri. Walt loved his years on the farm and his early drawings depicted his beloved farm animals. Paper being scarce in the Disney house, Walt's original drawings were made on toilet paper, one of the reasons why his early works have never been preserved. Around the time Walt was eight years old, his mother scraped together enough money to buy him a book for his drawings. Walt's father fell ill, and during Elias' recovery, Disney's three youngest children, Flora and Elias, moved to Kansas City. For more income, Elias forced Walt and his older brother and future partner Roy to deliver newspapers. Even though there was a ten year age difference between Walt and Roy, the brothers always remained very close. After Roy fled, Disney's two youngest children and parents moved again to Chicago, where Walt became the junior editor of his high school newspaper "The Voice". ..died on December 15, 1966 of cancer, while Walt Disney World in Florida was under construction. Walt saw his company achieve greatness, but never in his wildest dreams could he imagine the legacy he left in this world. Today, the renowned Disney company still produces animated feature films that children around the world enjoy, and trips to Disney theme parks have become pilgrimages for young and old. Works Cited: “Disney, Walt”. British Encyclopedia. http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=31135Eliot, M., 1993: Walt Disney: The Black Prince of Hollywood. Carol Publishing Group. New York, NY. Mosley, L., 1985: Disney's World. Stein and Day Inc., New York, NY. Thomas, f. and O. Johnston, 1981: The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. Hyperion, New York, NY, “Timeline.” http://disney.go.com/DisneyChannel/z4/TheMagicIsBorn/timeline.html