WALT DISNEY -the Dream Maker.

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Walt Disney was born on Dec. 5th, 1901. As he grew into a man, he took a deep interest in Cartoon Animation. During the Year 1928, Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse, which would capture the hearts of people all over the world. Disney's first animated short, "Steamboat Willie" was released that year, which introduced Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Disney's very first Animated Villain, "Pete." In the Early-Mid Thirties as Mickey Mouse Cartoons were becoming more and more popular, Donald Duck and Goofy (originally called "Dippy the Dawg") were also introduced, and were big hits. Also during the early years of Disney Animation, Walt Disney produce a series of musical Disney Shorts called Silly Symphonies. These included classics such as Hiawatha, The Old Mill, The Pied Piper, Wynken,  Blynken, and Nod; Music Land, and of course the all-time classic, the Three Little Pigs.

 

      Disney produced his first animated motion picture, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937. In 1941, he produced his first "Part live action-part animated" Motion Picture Classic, Song of the South." Later in 1948 he produced his second part live action--part animated movie entitled "So Dear to My Heart." Disney himself had provided the voice of Mickey Mouse all the way up to the creation of Disney's 9th Animated Movie Classic, Fun and Fancy Free, which featured Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Willie the Giant in the Animated Segment, "Mickey and the Bean Stock." During the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's; Disney produced several more Animated Motion Picture Classics such as "Cinderella, Bambi, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan and Sleeping Beauty. Disney and Company also made movies which were half live action and half animation. The first half live action and half animation movie was Song of the South which was released in 1946. Others followed including So Dear to My Heart (1948), Mary Poppins (1964), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), Pete’s Dragon (1977), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and the Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003). Mary Poppins earned a "Best Actress Oscar" for Julie Andrews in 1964. Disney also produced live action family classics such as Treasure Island (1950), Old Yeller (1957), Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959), Absent Minded Professor (1961), and The Parent Trap (1961).

 

In 1955, Walt Disney opened his famed Theme Park, Disneyland" in a small rural town called Anaheim, California. Anaheim did not remain a "Small rural town" for very long. Today, it is one of the Top 10 largest cities in California, and one of the top 5 Convention Cities in the United States, and home to two Disney Professional Sports Franchises: 1) "The Anaheim Angels" and 2) "The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim," an NHL Team which arose of a Disney Movie on Peewee Hockey entitled "The Mighty Ducks." Walt Disney took strong interest in youth, youth organizations and their education as he produced films such as "Donald in Math Magic-land," and his documentary series on "People and Places." During the Mid 1950’s Walt Disney and Company made T.V. Mini Series on famous Americans who have become American Folklore Legends. These include Davy Crockett, Francis Marion (A.K.A. “The Swamp Fox’), Elfego Baca, and Texas John Slaughter.

 

The last Disney Movie made before Disney's Death in 1966 was about "The Boy Scouts of America." The movie was entitled "Follow Me Boys." Walt Disney was gone, but his company and people like Roy Disney and Michael Eisner have kept Disney's Dream and Legacy alive-- a Dream and Legacy which will never die.

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