Gutierrez 1

Ginna Gutierrez
Ms. Munnerlyn
Inquiry-period 2
1 December 2010
The Magical Life of Walt Disney

Walter Elias Disney was born on December 9, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were
Elias Disney and Floral Call Disney. Walt was one of the five children, four boys and a girl. He
and his family soon moved to Missouri where he lived most of his childhood. His interests
included drawing and art. So at the age of seven, it was no surprise he was beginning to sell his
sketches to his nearby neighbors. But like us teens, Disney left his school work aside and drew
on any piece of paper he was able to find. His work included mostly animal and nature such as
trees, landscapes, and wildlife he was able to imagine.
As time went by, Walt got a job at a railroad station where his uncle, Mike Martin, worked
also. There he sold newspapers, popcorn, and sodas to weary travelers. He attended McKinley
High School, which is where he contributed his photography and artistic skills in the school
newspaper. He also enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts to improve his talent. And as his love
for art grew so did his appreciation, respect, and devotion to nature, wildlife, family, and his
community.
A few years later, Disney’s family moved to Kansas City where his talents flourished by the
thousands. He had also gained the abilities of acting and performing. He would imitate Charlie
Chaplin’s silent movie actions. But against his father’s wishes, Walt would sneak out to perform
at comedy show at local movie theaters. This all helped his marvelous talent for the arts grow
and grow with time.
Later on, Walt decided he would join the army. But being rejected for being under age he
enlisted in the Red Cross and was immediately sent to France. He drove his usual ambulance
and “chauffeured Red Cross officials” to wherever they needed to go. Walt didn’t mind his job
 Gutierrez 2

at all though. His ambulance was one of the most original cars during that time, because rather
than having the same design as any other ambulance, this one had all of Disney’s cartoons all
over.
In August 1923, Walt and his brother Roy O. Disney opened the first animation studio
where the famous “Mickey Mouse” was born. Two years later, Walt married one of his
employees, Lillian Bounds. They happily had two daughters Diane and Sharon. Finally in
November 1028, Mickey Mouse made his first debut in “Steamboat Willy” which premiered at
the Colony Theater in New York City. And in December of the same year “Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs” was released. Shortly in the next five years, many more cartoons came to life
including “Pinocchio”, “Fantasia”, “Dumbo”, and “Bambi”. And throughout of Disney’s life,
more and more cartoons were created and debuted.
In Disney’s final days, he purchased 43 square miles of virgin land in Florida. There he built
“Walt Disney World”. Besides that park, Magic Kingdom entertained about 250 million people a
day. And after Disney World opened, EPCOT also opened. The purpose for this was to entertain
a much more diverse population in the park. This included many of Disney’s original cartoons
along with all of the new ones.
Walter Elias Disney died on December 15, 1966. He is remembered as the great artist who
brought to life his imagination and gave us comical cartoon characters. He never cared what
people said about his art, he was always determined to accomplish his goals. And with the help
of his supportive family including his brother Roy, he was able to become one of America’s
great inspirations. He was the one that brought families together on Saturdays to watch his
animations. He brought color, happiness, and vivid sounds to our homes, schools, and all
around the world. His cartoons are still around and that will never change.
 Gutierrez 3

Work Cited

 Aldridge, Brad. "Just Disney." Walt Disney. Just Disney Inc, 19 Sept 2010.
Web. 5 Dec 2010.
<http://www.justdisney.com/walt_disney/biography/long_bio.html>.
(Aldridge

 Biography." Walt Disney's Biography. N.p., 30 Nov 2010. Web. 5 Dec

2010.
<http://www.norsknettskole.no/fag/ressurser/itstud/fuv/gunnargrodal
/bio.htm>.

 Walt Disney Company." Walt Disney: A Biography. Disney, 29 Nov 2010. Web. 5
D e c 2 0 1 0 . < h tt p : / / d i s n e y . g o . c o m / v a u l t / r e a d / w a l t / i n d e x . h t m l > .

 Richard, Paul. "Arts and Living." Under Walt's Spell: Disney is no Mickey Mouse
in the World of Art. The Washington Post, 11 Jan 2009. Web. 5 Dec 2010.
< h tt p : / / w w w . w a s h i n g t o n p o s t . c o m / w p -
d y n / c o n t e n t / a r ti c l e / 2 0 0 9 / 0 1 / 0 9 / A R 2 0 0 9 0 1 0 9 0 1 1 5 2 . h t m l > . ( R i c h a r d )