Walter Disney, later known as "Walt" Disney, was born on 5 December 1901 in the US. He was very good at drawing and painting and studied cartooning at school. He worked as an ambulance driver during the First World War (1914–18) but his passion was for drawing.
When the war ended, he started to work on some short films. Los Angeles, in California, was already the centre of the US film industry, so Walt moved there with his brother Roy. The two of them decided to start their own company to produce Walt’s animations, and on 16 October 1923, the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio was founded.
In 1928, Disney launched one of his most famous creations, the black-and-white film . You can watch the eight minute cartoon on YouTube – it includes the first appearance of Mickey Mouse. turned Mickey Mouse into a huge star.
Soon, fans could buy their own Mickey Mouse dolls, dishes – even toothbrushes. After Mickey’s success, Disney created other characters, such as Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck. In 1934, Walt decided that he wanted to try something more ambitious – his first full-length film.
He was inspired by a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm called . It took three years to make, but would become one of the highest grossing (money-making) films of all time. This massive inspired the studio to tell more children's stories in animated form, which led to , , and .
For Walt, there was no limit to the number of tales he wanted to invent. He once said, "I don't make movies to make money. I make money so I can make more movies.
" In 1955, Disney opened the first Disneyland. At first it was meant to be beside the film studio, as a place to entertain fans who wanted to visit, but Walt had such big ideas that it soon became clear the site was too small. The company bought a larger site a few miles away and created rides and experiences inspired by Disney's films.
Guests could meet their favourite characters and visit the famous castle from . People loved it, and a second Disney park, which was even bigger, opened in Florida in 1971. There are now Disney theme parks in Asia and Europe too.
Even though Walt Disney died in 1966, his film company carried on. , and , won lots of awards for their amazing animation and songs. There were live-action films too, including and were also a hit.
In recent times, Disney has expanded its storytelling. is about the Madrigal family in the mountains of Colombia, and tells of a daring mission through the Pacific Ocean. A new film called is out in November, too.
It tells the story of the wishing star, which has appeared at the start of Disney films ever since in 1940. - saving £21 - when you subscribe to The Week Junior magazine. Continue on subscription and pay just £33.
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