A PowerPoint Presentation on

Walt Disney

By: Jenna Hinckley

Basic Facts

• Born- December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois• Died- December 15, 1966 in Burbank, California from

lung cancer• Occupation- Film producer, co-founder of The Walt

Disney Company, formerly known as Walt Disney Productions

• Spouse- Lillian Bounds Disney (1925- 1966)• Children- Diane Disney (b. 1933) Sharon Disney

(1936-1993)• Was an American film producer, director,

screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist

• Became one of the best known motion picture producers in the world

Awards

• Received 64 Academy Award nominations out of which he won on 26 occasions

• Won 7 Emmy Awards• 1932, the film “Flowers and Trees”

won Walt the first of his 32 personal Academy Awards

Childhood

• Born to Elias Disney, an Irish-Canadian, and his mother, Flora Call Disney, coming from a German-American descent

• While living in Marceline, MO Walt developed his love for drawing

• One of his neighbors, a retired doctor “Doc” Sherwood, paid him to draw pictures of his horse, Rupert

• His family remained in Marceline for four years, moving to Kansas City in 1910

Teenage Years• In 1917, Walt’s dad acquired shares in the O-Zell jelly factory in Chicago and

moved his family there• During Disney’s freshman year at McKinley High School, he began taking night

courses at Chicago Art Institute• Became cartoonist for school newspaper• Cartoons were very patriotic, focusing on World War 1• Dropped out of high school at 16 to join the Army but was rejected because he

was underage• After the rejection Walt and a friend joined the Red Cross• Following this he was sent to France for a year where he drove an ambulance• He moved to Kansas City when he got back to begin his artistic career• Brother Roy worked at a bank in the area, and got him a job through a friend at

Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio• Created ads for newspapers, magazines, and movie theatres• It was here that he met cartoonist, Ubbe Iwerks, and became close friends and

decided to start their own art business• January 1920 Disney and Iwerks formed company called ”Iwerks-Disney

Commercial Artist”• Following a rough start, Iwerks left temporarily to earn money at Kansas City

Film Ad Company.

Hollywood

• With his brother, Disney pooled in money to set up the first Hollywood cartoon studio in his uncle’s garage

• He sent an unfinished print to New York distributor Margaret Winkler, who promptly wrote back to him

• She was keen on a distribution deal with Disney for more live-action/animated shorts based on “Alice in Wonderland”

Mickey Mouse

• Was based on a mouse adopted as a pet, working in a Kansas City studio

• Ubbe Iwerks reworked sketches made by Disney so it was easier to animate it

• However, Mickey’s voice and personality was provided by Disney

• 1st animated short with Mickey in it titled, Plane Crazy, was a silent movie

• Soon after appearing in his second film Steamboat Willie

Silly Symphonies• Following Mickey Mouse series, musical short series “Silly Symphonies”

came along in 1929• The first short was called “The Skeleton Dance” and was drawn and

animated only by Iwerks, who was responsible for drawing most of the cartoons for Disney in 1928 and 1929

• In 1930, Disney signed a new distribution deal with Columbia Pictures, because they thought they weren’t getting enough profits from Pat Powers

• Iwerks was pulled into opening his own studio by Pat Powers• He launched his own series Flip the Frog• He also made two other series Willie Whopper and Comicolor• In 1936 Iwerks shut down his studio to work on various projects• In 1940 he returned to Disney Studios• By 1932 “Mickey Mouse” was successful but “Silly Symphonies” was not• In that same year, Disney got competition with Max Fleischer’s cartoon

“Betty Boop”• Silly Symphonies had gotten stronger plots• Through this, Disney created the cartoon “The Three Little Pigs” in 1933• Featured a hit song, which became the anthem of the Great Depression,

“Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf”

“Snow White and the seven Dwarfs”

• On Decemebr 21, 1937, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, the first full length animated musical feature, premeired at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles

• It produced at unheard cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Depression

Bibliography1. Walt Disney Ed. D Merrill Jan 24, 2008 Wikimedia Foundation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney

2. Walt Disney: A Short Biography Ed. Chris Wingert 2003

Just Disney.com http://justdisney.com

3. Fanning, Jim. Walt Disney, Pop Culture Legends. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1994

4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dir. David Hand. Videocassette. Buena Vista Home Video, Dec. 21, 1937