Walter Elias Disney:

A Legacy in Entertainment













By Dalton Baker











Historical Paper
Junior Division
Total Word-Count: 1320 Words

Walter Elias Disney: A Legacy in Entertainment

Walt Disney was a young ambitious cartoonist who was very
creative. He always made people laugh with his cartoon character Mickey
Mouse. He grew up in the early 20th century, a time of discoveries in the
United States. Disney was a leader in entertainment both with his
animated cartoons and his transformation of theme parks in the form of
Disneyland. Disney left behind a legacy which includes many animated
films and a corporation which continues his work of making children and
adults smile.
Historical Context
Walt Disney was born in a country of war, beginning with World War
I in 1917. In 1925 the first woman governor of Wyoming, Nellie Tayloe
Ross, was the first ever woman elected governor in the U.S. In 1933 the
Holocaust was starting in Germany led by Adolf Hitler. In 1937 Amelia
Earhart disappeared flying around the world. The Japanese bombed the
U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor in 1941, which then started World War II
(1930). On Jan 1,1956 the first satellite in space was launched.


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Background
Walt Disney grew up in a country still finding new ideas. Disney first
got his cartoon ideas when he was in high school making cartoons for the
McKinley High School in Illinois. It was at McKinley High School where he
took his drawing and photography classes. In Chicago, Disney got his
love of drawing, where he took classes at Chicago Art Institute (1930).
When Disney turned 16 in 1917, he dropped out of school to join the
Army to fight in World War I but was turned down because of his age. He
decided to join the Red Cross and was sent to France. He stayed in
France for one year and drove an ambulance (Sutcliffe).
In 1919 Disney came back to pursue his a career as a newspaper
artist in Kansas City, Missouri. His older brother Roy found him a job at
Pesmen-Rubin Studios. That is when he met Ubbe Eert Iwwerks, known
as Ub Iwerks. Iwerks was an American animator, cartoonist, character
designer, and an inventor (Ub). In 1922 Disney made his famous
Laugh-O-Gram starring a cat, dog, boy, girl, and a man (Gabler). With
him was his partner Iwerks as chief animator.These films were created to
hopefully educate and entertain kids. Unfortunately, Pesmen-Rubin
Studios went bankrupt (Sutcliffe).
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When Walt Disney went to Los Angeles in 1924, Ubbe followed him.
Disney and Iwwerks created the famous Disney character Mickey Mouse
in 1928. Disney got his idea for Mickey Mouse from a real mouse he kept
as a pet. Disney and Iwwerks also made a new cartoon series called The
Alice Comedies (Ub). When the cartoon ended, Walt asked Iwwerks to
make a new character. Disney was very strict about his cartoon
characters and was starting to fire his employes. He turned down many of
Iwwerks drawings. Later, Iwwerks opened his own studio, which he
named Flip the Frog (Ub).
Leadership
Walt Disney was a leader in creating children's books and movies.
Some of the books that he published are still famous today. The books he
created are some of the most popular. Disney made books to give
children a reason to imagine. Some of Disneys most creative books
include Mickey Mouse and Friends made in 1933 (Gabler) and Donald
Ducks Adventures published as a collection in 1990-1993 (American).
Those are some of the series that Walt Disney published.
Disney was also a leader in film. Disneys first film was
Laugh-O-Gram which started in 1921, but eventually went off air
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because of bankruptcy. Disney later got a chance to show his talent when
he started to create his famous movies. He made an impact in the world
of movies, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Bambi,
Cinderella, The Jungle Book
, Winnie the Pooh, Robin Hood, and Beauty
and the Beast. Those are some of the the movies he created in his
lifetime. Disney movies are so popular that movie studios are making
new films of his movies (Tiek). Disney was one of the most legendary
creators of movies. Children still watch them today. As a leader, Disney
believed, Of all things Ive done, the most vital is coordinating those who
work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal (Disney).
Legacy
Disney left behind the most visionary theme park Disney World,
which was created to give joy to his daughters and joy to all children. It
was also in dedication of Disney, even though he never got a chance to
finish it. Over his lifetime, he won many entertainment awards, including
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Presidential Medal of
Freedom, Congressional Gold Medal, Academy Honorary Award, Golden
Globe Award, Honorary Cesar, Grammy Trustees Award and many more.
When his awards added up he received 26 awards (American).

When I went to Disney World in Florida I had a great time. I went to

the famous Epcot in Disney World. I got to go on rides that I had never
seen before. There were different parks such as Magic Kingdom and
Disneys Hollywood Studios. Disney created this park for enjoyment.
(Dalton)
Conclusion

As the years go by, people will never forget Walt Disney. He will
always be remembered for his talent and leadership in the world of film.
His legacy includes books, cartoon characters, films and his theme parks.
Disney once said, I am interested in entertaining people, in bringing
pleasure, particularly laughter, to others, rather than being concerned with
expressing myself with obscure creative impressions. (Disney)

Appendix

Walt Disney Ubbe Iwerks, Disneys partner
("American National) (American National)

Disney Laugh-O-Grams
("American National")

Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources

"Disney Institute." Disney Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
This website gave me a timeline of Disneys life. It mentioned how
he started in the career of cartoons and how he went from a
cartoonist that nobody heard of to a legend in entertainment. I
learned background about his family and his younger years.

"The State Historical Society of Missouri." The State Historical Society of
Missouri. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.
This website gave me some history about what was going on when
Walt Disney was born. I picked out from the website some
interesting facts. It mentioned many famous events, like the
Holocaust and the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. This website
gave me context for my topic.

Secondary Sources

"1930 1939 World History." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 26 Jan.
2015.
This site gave me more information on historical events during the
time that Disney was born to his adult age. It mentioned some of the
famous people who made history during this time.


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"American National Biography Online." American National Biography

Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
This website includes information on Disneys past and present.
It showed me how he worked in his life and what gave him the
confidence to create movies.

Gabler, Neal. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination.
New York: Knopf, 2006. Print.
This book gave me some information about Walt Disneys life and
his creations. I used information from this book in my paper.

Sutcliffe, Jane, and Walt Disney. Walt Disney. Minneapolis: Lerner
Publications, 2009. Print.
This book gave me some reliable information on Walt Disney and
his television shows. I also learned about the awards that he
received for his work.

Tieck, Sarah. Walt Disney. Edina, MN: ABDO Pub., 2010. Print.
This book gave me some information on Walt Disneys
creations. The author discusses his style of books and shows and
his show, Laugh-O-Gram.

"Ub Iwerks." Disney Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015.
This website gave me pictures of Ub and information about him. It
told me about how he and Disney started together and how well
they worked together on cartoons.