Walt Disney Biography

Walter Elias Disney was brought up on a farm and attended McKinley High School in Chicago, where he showed an early interest in drawing.

In 1918, he attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army, but was rejected because he was too young. He then joined the Red Cross as an ambulance driver until the end of World War One, before moving to Kansas City, where he produced the first of his animated films alongside collaborator, Ub Iwerks, at the Kansas City Art Institute.

Following the bankruptcy of his first business venture, Disney moved to Hollywood, in August 1923, to set up a studio with financial backing from his brother, Roy.

The first of his films was an 'Alice Comedy' featurette, a series which proved popular between 1923 and 1927. On 13th July 1925, Disney married one of his employees, Lillian Bounds, with whom he was to have two daughters, Diane Marie and Sharon Mae.

However, Disney’s breakthrough success came with the creation of his Mickey Mouse character, for whom Disney himself provided the original voice. The character debuted in the 1928 silent cartoon, 'Plane Crazy'; however, the advent of sound technology enabled Disney to produce the first synchronised sound cartoon.

Mickey Mouse’s screen debut, 'Steamboat Willie', premiered at the Colony Theatre in New York on 18th November 1918. A string of successes followed, including the first full-length colour cartoon film, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', in 1937.

In 1932, Disney received a special Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse, whose series was moved into colour in 1935 and soon launched spinoff series for supporting characters such as Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.

Shortly after Dumbo was released in 1941 and became a successful moneymaker, the United States entered World War II. The U.S. Army contracted for most of the Disney studio's facilities and had the staff create training and instructional films for the military. 

Between 1945 and 1955, the studio made inexpensive film packages, which included animated shorts such as 'Make Mine Music' in 1946, 'Melody Time' in 1948, 'Fun and Fancy Free' in 1947 and 'The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad' in 1949. The latter consisted of two shorts, with one being based on 'Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame and the other' The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' by Washington Irvine.

Disney also started creating feature-length films that incorporated live-action and animation, such as 'Song of the South' as Mickey Mouse's popularity started to decline after the war.
The studio was also able to finish 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Peter Pan' in the late 1940s after they had been shelved due to finance during the war. 'Cinderella' was released in 1948 and became Disney's most successful film since Snow White.

In 1955, recognising the market for themed pleasure parks, Disney oversaw the launch of Disneyworld in Anaheim, California. 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.

Disney's involvement in Disney World ended in late 1966; after many years of chain smoking cigarettes, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on 15 December 1966, ten days after his 65th birthday.

During his lifetime, some 81 films were released from his studio, for which he won a record 32 Academy Awards.

After Walt's death, Roy Disney returned from retirement to take over the studios. He also opened the official Walt Disney World Resort in memory of his brother in October 1971.

The studio took a long time to recover from Disney's death as he was a pioneer in animation who brought his personality to his films. In the 1980s, the studio got its confidence back and created some of their most successful films to date including 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' in 1988, 'The Little Mermaid' in 1989, 'Beauty and the Beast' (1991), 'Aladdin' (1992) and the 'Lion King' in 1994.