Walt Disney: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - Rival Romeos (1928)
It seems like no one ever remembers Oswald. He was an unsuccessful Disney cartoon before the success of Mickey Mouse. Here he is in one of my favorite Oswald cartoons called Rival Romeos.
Walt Disney an American Original was one of my favorite books I have ever read. I don't like non-fiction reading, but this book changed that opinion and I am now a true believer in the writings of Bob Thomas. I would recommend this book to anyone. Of course, I was Disney fan long before this book, but I was interested to learn more about this amazing man. But if it weren't for this assignment I wouldn't have read a biography on his life. I am very glad I did. The amount of information I gained from this reading is shocking and this book is by far the most interesting I've read. I loved how Thomas wrote the book as a story not as a compiled book of facts. This blogging experience has been a positive one. I have always enjoyed looking through blogs but until now, I never knew how much effort and preparation went into every post. This has also given me experience in case I decide to make a blog in the future. I liked how with blogging you could make it entirely your own; the background, the font, and the format according to your vision as a blogger. Overall I really enjoyed creating my blog and reading my non-fiction book.
5 Facts
2 million separate drawings were used to create Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The Tiki Room at Disneyland was inspired by an animatronicbird that Walt's wife, Lily found while antique shopping in Puerto Rico.
In early cartoons Walt was the voice for Mickey Mouse.
Lily had come up with the name for Mickey Mouse it was originally going to be Mortimer Mouse.
When Walt first came to Hollywood he wanted to become director not a cartoonist.
This last section of the book covers the ideas and planning for Walt Disney World and EPCOT until Walt's death. Walt and his wife Lilly traveled the world on Walt's Private plane. They went to Paris, Switzerland, Cuba and many more exciting places. Walt was always looking for inspiration for Disneyland and for new movies. For example, when he was in Cuba he went to a pirate's island and was inspired to make Pirates of the Caribbean and when Lilly found a mechanical singing parrot in Puerto Rico it became inspiration for The Enchanted Tiki Room.
Mary Poppins
Walt was asked to go to present attractions at New York's World Fair in year 1964. Ford commissioned Walt to make an attraction that Walt called Magic Skyway which was a ride through time starting at the Stone Age through present day. General Electric sponsored the making of The Carousel of Progress as it was called after the ride moved to Disneyland from New York. Walt also created It's A Small World with artist Mary Blair who did all of the artwork and design features. This ride was also moved to Disneyland after the world fair. Walt with the help of all the workers at WED created all of these attractions including the very complicated Audio-Animatronic President Lincoln for the attraction Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Once the stress of the World Fair was over Walt put his attention into making Mary Poppins the highest grossing and most successful Disney Film. It had thirteen Academy Award nominations and made $44,000,000. He also put in the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland and made movies including the Jungle Book and LT. Robin Crusoe.
Tiki Room
Mary Poppins with Bert
Walt received his highest award on September 14th, 1964 when President Johnson presented him with The Medal of Freedom the highest award that a civilian can receive. A big part of Walt's life came when he decided to help art conservatories by helping create Cal Arts and college for talented young individuals.
Walt decided he wanted to have another Disneyland in Florida in 1958. He also decided that he wanted to create a City of Tomorrow later called EPCOT using state of the art technology and creating a community environment where citizens would have a simplistic lifestyle. All land for the Florida Project as WED called it was settled in 1965. Walt had two of his best men Marv Davis and Joe Potter assist him in this ambitious project. EPCOT became Walt's obsession and put most of his time and effort into it. In 1966 Walt was made the Grand Marshal at the Tournament of Roses Parade. After this event Walt's health greatly decreased; his polo injury was bothering him more than ever, he suffered from and chronic sinus problem, he had developed a kidney ailment. Walt even as a young man had a premonition that he would die before finishing his work and his illness reinforced that thought. During this time though Walt and Lilly became closer and spent more time together. He also worked more seamlessly with his brother Roy and didn't have as many quarrels. But Walt's heath continued to worsen and when he went for an X-ray they found his lung cancerous and had to remove it. He was optimistic about it and returned to work as soon as he could. But he was admitted back to the hospital soon after he left his physical pain was excruciating. His family finally thought he was feeling better when he died on December 15, 1966 from an acute circulatory collapse. He never got to see his final project. His death was mourned by many, but business had to go on. Roy took control of the company and saw out the the Florida Project that Roy decided to call Walt Disney World. But soon after its opening Roy too died just barely seeing out his brother's dream.
Roy Disney at Walt Disney World's opening
Walt's Dream of EPCOT
The Walt Disney name continues to stand for what it did then; quality, family, entertainment and he will always be remembered by those who knew him and people who experienced the Disney dream.
Review:
This section for me was very depressing. The author kept hinting that the inevitable was coming, but I refused to look at the signs. I was procrastinating to read until the end because I was afraid of the emotional wreck I would become. I had to read it eventually and as I predicted I cried. It's like watching the Titanic; you know what is coming and you tell yourself you're not going to cry this time, but then you always do. Of course this section wasn't all about his death but also his final accomplishments. I found it to be very interesting that a few of Disneyland's most successful rides started at the World Fair. The mission to create the perfect Audio-AnimatronicLincoln was inspiring. I did like reading about the start of Walt Disney World because being there this past Summer I had many questions that were answered in this part. Walt really did live a wonderful life and it was an amazing experience for me to read about his journey.
Focus: Explain Why Walt Disney was so successful.
Walt Disney was successful because of his dedication and passion for the entertainment business. He stayed true to his ideas and morals. He never wavered from the dream he was trying to make reality. He was not always successful but it was his failures that made him stronger in his future. Walt also had a great family to support him as well as thousands of employees and millions of fans. His father was an entrepreneur and sparked Walt's innovative mind. Walt was always driven by what the people would like and it was because of his attention to detail that he was as successful as he was.
In this section Walt's dream of Disneyland becomes a reality. It starts with the creation of the movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea the Studios first live-action movie. It was immensely successful and very expensive film to make. It posed many challenges including the building of a realistic giant squid. He made Lady and the Tramp in this period as well. Walt really started to put his ideas into action for Disneyland in December of 1952 when he created WED Enterprises which was a personal corporation for Walt's endeavors outside the film industry. To get money for the park Walt used television and created shows like, Zorro, Davy Crockett, and the Mickey Mouse Club. Bu this first was the Disneyland Story, staring Walt telling the audience what Disneyland would be like. Another challenge that Walt faced was where to put Disneyland; he decided on an orange grove in Anaheim, California because of its cooler temperature and easy access. He started excavating land in August of 1954 only eleven months before it was scheduled to open. During this time he was also working on a documentary on how 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was created; this film aired on television and earned an Emmy for the best show of the year.
Davy Crockett
Jungle Cruise
In Disney's personal life his daughter Diane was married and had a child named Christopher Disney Miller. Though Walt was secretly disappointed they didn't name their son after him. Construction started on the park and Walt was there every day supervising and planning out every detail, even the trash cans. There was going to be five different lands, True-Life Adventurland, The Word of Tomorrow, Fantasyland, Frontier Country, and Holiday Land. The Disneyland Railroad was one of the first things to be completed and was modeled after Walt's scale model train in his back yard. Walt even built an apartment so he could stay in the park overnight. He also made what were called "dark rides" including Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, and Walt's favorite Peter Pan. He also had the Jungle Cruise and King Arthur's Carousel. Somehow they managed to open on July 17th 1955 but it was a disaster with food shortages, a gas leak and many more problems. Walt moved on and fixed the problems and was also working on new attractions. So in 1959 the Matterhorn, Monorail, and Motor Boat Cruise were opened. Movies were also released during this time including The Shaggy Dog, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Parent Trap, and the very successful Swiss Family Robinson.Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color was Walt's fist colored television show and was revolutionary in the business. Because of the success of the movies and Disneyland on April 25, 1961 Walt and Roy Disney had finally paid off their loan to Bank of America.
Lady and the Tramp
Opening of Disneyland
Review:
This section was particularly interesting for me because of the creativity that went into the making of Disneyland. Being Disneyland obsessed long before this book it was amazing to see how much though and effort was created to make the perfect place for children and families. Walt would stop at nothing to see his vision become a reality. He pushed his engineers to new heights and imagined what couldn't be dreamed about. Everything his was for the people and it was very interesting for me being on all of the rides depicted and knowing that Walt personally rode them to make sure they were perfect. It was wonderful to read about a place that I love so much in it's first steps of creation. I have long been a Disney lover but now I truly have an appreciation the amazing accomplishments he made.
First Map of Disneyland
1955 Disneyland Overview
Focus: Describe how Walt Disney's wealth changed him.
The truth is Walt was never change by money. He remained the same loving, driven, and hardworking man he had always been. One thing that did change was his car. He was driving home from work when he saw this beautiful Mercedes Benz coupe, he told his sister, and he said to himself, "Gee, I wish I could afford that,"(276) and continued driving. When he had gone a few blocks down the road he said "Yes I can!" and turned right around and bought it. He told interviewers, "I've always been bored with just making money," (276). Some people thought he had no regard for money but that was untrue. Walt only saw money as something he could do with, to better things. An example of his kind heart came before Disneyland's opening. The Studio received a letter from a mother with a seven-year-old son with leukemia, her son requested that he do two things meet Pinky Lee a comedian, and ride Walt Disney's train. The train had almost been completed when the family arrived at Disneyland, the pieces of the train were still being put on my crane. The engine was started for the first time and Walt took the little boy in his arms and took him on the first ride on the train. He also gave the boy one of two gold frames from Lady and the Tramp artwork the other given to movie star Grace Kelly. After the boy's trip Walt had only one request, no publicity.
This section of the book covered from the start of World War
Two in 1939 until 1950 when ideas for Disneyland were starting to be thought
about. The war was a difficult time for the Disney Company. Because 45% of
Walt's income for his cartoons came from the Countries at war. Walt continued
to make films such as Fantasia, Dumbo
but constantly worried about the finical problems they were having. Walt was
invited to go to Washington DC where he would be asked to do propaganda films
for the war. He agreed to do so but, these films made him no money so he still
financially struggled(Read more in depth in "Focus") When the war
ended the company was 4.3 million dollars in debt because of some unsuccessful
films during the war period and residual money from the Great Depression.
Though Walt and Roy were against it they had to do what was best for the
company and decided to use stock to repay their enormous debt. The company's
next problem came in 1941 when 40% of workers from his company went on strike
because not only were they afraid of loosing their jobs because of the
company's debt but also believed in the new movement of unionization. (Read
more below.) The problem was eventually solved but ended in inevitable layoffs
and a tense feeling throughout the workplace. Walt took a trip to South America
for ten weeks with the purpose to find inspiration. This trip inspired Walt to
create Saludos Amigos and the famous Three Caballeros. When the war with
Japan came Disney had to give up some of his facility to the soldiers, thus
forcing Disney's workers into a small section of the building. Walt also made
shorts for this war paid for by the government. The projects Alice in Wonderland and Bambiwere put on hold.
Protest 1941
The Three Caballeros
Once the war was over work was continued on these projects. Bambi was released first but was not
high grossing fallowed by Alice in
Wonderland. Walt expected only the best from his workers but did not often
praise them. They were thanked by a surprise bonus in their pay check. Walt at
home showed no signs that he was a celebrity. He didn't spoil his children but
gave them all the comforts of life. He taught his girls how to swim and ride horseback.
Walt took them to amusement parks on Sunday. He was much evolved in their lives
and the family had no nanny like most Hollywood families did. Walt made a movie
called Song of the South with the hit
song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. This movie was a transitional step because it had 30%
cartoon and 70% live action (much like Mary Poppins years later). Walt also had an obsession with trains and
when he moved into his new home he built a one eight working scale model that
he dedicated all his free time to. He polished it rode it and made tracks for
it to ride though.
Walt's Model Train
"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"
Walt stated experimenting with documentaries but decided to
go back to full length cartoons. He released Cinderella after this revelation. Cinderellawas a major success and with the help of some other films
the debt was decreased and was now 1.7 million dollars. Alice in Wonderland was
finally released as well as Peter Pan
and The Story of Robin Hood. Now,
with the accessibility of the television in everyday homes Walt made a
Christmas special in 1950. During this time period Walt matured. He didn't care
about money for his own but wanted his family to be taken care of after he
died. Walt suffered from a neck injury from playing polo and a smoker’s cough
from all the cigarettes he smoked.
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Focus: Explain how World War Two affected Walt Disney Studios
The war was particularly difficult for Walt. He made mostly
films he was commissioned to do by the government; so most of his own ideas
were put on hold. Though these films did not get him out of dept and in fact it
increased it. With many of his workers enlisting in the army Walt was left with
few people to carry out the work. He was very unsuccessful keeping the moral of
his workers up and was often found sad and depressed in his office. When the
war ended Walt was left with 4,300,000 dollars in debt and a complete
disconnect of what the people wanted because he had been making government
films for so long. When Walt went to start new films, they didn't make any
money for him. Bank of America called Walt and Roy into a meeting to decide
what their bank was going to do with their company. They decided to give them a
second chance. But now with the war over people strongly believed in
unionization this belief and the impending changes at the Studio caused a
protest with three hundred strikers. This was a big blow to Walt and caused him
have a less intimate relationship with his creative staff.
Review:
This section really focused on the struggles that Disney faced during wartime.It was not as engaging as the other sections
have been and talked mainly about how the studio was facing financial difficulties.The part I really enjoyed was when the author
went into Walt as a father and husband.It showed a new side of Walt that was unseen by those not in his imitate
family and friends. It exposed Walt’s other love; trains.The author spends time on the characteristics
of Walt as a human not the famous animator.Through this I feel that I could understand Walt’s motives and decisions.
I always saw Walt as a historical figure
but as I read this book more and more I realized that there is so much more to
him than that.
This section starts when Walt first came to Hollywood.Walt applied to work as a director but
companies turned him away.So Walt and
his brother Roy decided to become business partners and would create cartoons.They found a distributor who would pay them
for their cartoons including the Alice Comedies.
Walt also sent for Ub to come and work as an animator with him in Hollywood.After the signing of the contract with the
distributor Roy and Walt rented a space in Los Angeles and called it the
“Disney Brothers Studios.” When the
“Alice Comedies became a hit Walt started hiring more employees one of them
including a woman by the name of Lillian Bounds who he would marry in
1925.With more employees came the need
for a bigger place so they moved to a studio on Hyperion Avenue and with the
move Roy changed the name to “Walt Disney Studios.” With Alice Comedies revenue diminishing Walt and Ub collaborated and
launched a new series called Oswald the
Lucky Rabbit.Unsuccessful at first, but Oswald grew
into money making shorts.Then Walt hit
a road block when the distributor he signed with was going to steal his company
and already had all Walt’s employees except Ub signed with him not Walt.Walt went back to Kansas City feeling
defeated.But this feeling didn’t last long;
soon Walt, Ub, and Roy were back in California and started to create Mickey
Mouse.They found a new distributor by
the name of Pat Powers and with the financial help of Powers they made the
first Mickey Mouse cartoon called Plane
Crazy.But it was Steamboat Willie (1928) that truly made
the mouse famous because of its cutting edge technology of synchronizing music and dialogue with the cartoon.Walt continued
making Mickey cartoons with great success and soon moved to a new set of
cartoons called Silly Symphonies.Their distributor Pat Powers wasn’t paying
the company enough money so when he went to go talk to him Powers said that he
already had Ub signed with him. So, if Walt renewed the contract he could have
Ub back but Disney declined and was hurt by his friend’s betrayal. Walt became very stressed so his doctor recommended
he take a vacation and take up a sport and that is just what he did.After the trip in 1931, Roy signed a contact permitting
to sell Mickey merchandise; including watches, stuffed animals, and toys which were
a big hit with the public.The next step
for Walt was colored cartoons and in 1932 Flowers
and Trees was the first Disney colored cartoon which he won an Oscar for as
well as a special award for the creation of Mickey.A year after his baby girl Diane Marie Disney
was born on December 18.During this
time also created the Disney Art School for new artists and a place to train
new employees.In 1934 a new idea arose
to make a full length motion picture called Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs.This
film was special because not only did it have music and color it had depth as
well.With the use of a multiplane
camera different scenes are layered on top of each other to create three dimensional
appearances. Three long years and over two million drawing later the film was
finished.Making eight million dollars
and won Walt a very special Academy Award (seen below.) In 1936 Walt and
Lillian adopted Sharon Mae Disney because Lillian was having birth
complications. This was also the year that Walt’s mother died caused by asphyxiation by defective
furnace.Walt was
out growing the Hyperion Studio and decided to build a new studio on Buena Vista
Street in Burbank California.Walt was
very involved with the new building and wanted it to be a workers paradise.At this time he was also working on Pinocchio next Fantasia was made, then Bambi.
But with the start of the war in 1944 things began to halt at the studio.
Plane Crazy
Steamboat Willie
Recieving Special Oscar for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Review:
I found this section particularly interesting. The beginning of Walt's career is a struggle and it is inspiring that he never gave up on his dream. His gains out weighted his losses. Every struggle had a counter success. In this section it really starts to interpret Disney's actions and tell of the man he really was. He truly cared for his employees and was extremely committed to his job. As I get deeper in my book I find that I am continually drawn to the book notice that I am always thinking about it. The book is so intriguing and every Disney lover will fall head of heels for this enchanting story.
Flowers and Trees
Focus: Authors Point of View
Bob Thomas at the start of the book flashes back to when he was viewing the uncompleted Disneyland with Walt. He was so intrigued by how Walt had such a clear vision on what Disneyland would become and how passionate he was about his work. When Thomas decided to write this book on Walt's life he had numerous long interviews with Disney which he found that Walt was a very different man than he expected. And after many years of research Thomas wrote the true story of Walt Disney. Not just the story of his success but of the man he really was. An unsuccessful cartoonist from Kansas City who went bankrupt at his first cartoon attempts then developed into the American legend that we know of today.
Walt Disney an American Original is a biography written by Bob Thomas takes the reader through Walt Disney's
life. Walt was born December 5, 1901 in Marceline, Chicago on a farm. His
parents Flora and Elias had five children Walt was the second youngest. His
life was pleasant; his parents didn't spoil him, but loved him greatly though
his father was a stern man and an entrepreneur.Flora was a lighthearted,
loving, woman with a sense of humor polar opposite to her husband. At the
Disney farm hard work was necessary to keep the business going. After years in
Marceline, the Disney family moved to Kansas City where Disney made his first
animation using a flipbook at the age of nine. Disney went to Benton Grammar
School and his teachers described him as distracted and always reading
adventure books. During six years of his childhood he was a paper boy for the Kansas
City Starto help support his family. His family moved again once Elias
Disney became a shareholder of the O-Zell jelly factory in Chicago. In Chicago
during his young teen years he delivered letters and at school he drew cartoons
for his school newspaper. When Walt was fifteen he worked as a train attendant.
This experience triggered his life time love of trains and the future design
elements of Disneyland. Disney at the age of sixteen was inspired by his
brother to join the Navy, so he dropped out of High School to enlist; but was
declined because of his age. Instead he decided to join the Red Cross as an
ambulance driver. The Red Cross sent him to France but after one year the war
ended and Disney went back to Kansas City Missouri where his career began to blossom.
He started working for a Pesman and
Rubin Commercial Art drawing advertisements for companies. But when that
company went bankrupt he and his work friend Ubbe Iwwerks decided to make their
own company named “The Iwweks-Disney Commercial Artists.”But when Walt got an offer at the as a Kansas City Film Ad Company the
company dwindled.Soon he started to
make his own cartoon films and separated from the Film Ad to make his own
company called “Laugh-O-Grams.”His
first cartoon film was Little Red Riding
Hood and continued making films such as,
Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss and Boots, and Cinderella. Next came Alice’s Wonderland which redefined the cartoon
industry.It had a real young actress by
the name of Virginia Davis acting with cartoons.But their profits were not enough to pay all
of the workers and the company soon went bankrupt.Disney didn’t give up and bought a one way
ticket to Hollywood to become a director.
Laugh-O-Gram Studios
Alice Comedies Ad
Alice's Wonderland
Review:
I have really enjoyed this book so far. It has given a great insight to the early life and history behind the young Walt Disney. It really shows his struggles in childhood and the lead up to what would be an amazing career. Fans of Disneyland will find this book interesting because of its in depth descriptions of the beginning of Walt’s success. The author writes in such an intriguing way that you feel as if you are watching a movie on Disney’s life not reading a book. It is clear that the author is very knowledgeable on Walt Disney and writes in a way that is more like a story and less like a Biography. I have honestly learned an ample amount of information about Disney and how his past foreshadows the future path that he will take. I loved how the author portrayed the transition between the farm in Marceline to Chicago: “All his remembered years had been spent amid the calm fields and country lanes of a farming town. Now the boy saw broad boulevards filled with trolleys and automobiles” (Thomas 33). This way of writing gives the reader a look into what Disney saw.
Focus:Questions
·What atmosphere would the Laugh-O-Grams Studios
be like?
·Will the friendship with Ubbe Iwwerks continue
through Disney’s life?
·Will Walt be able to make it in Hollywood?
·Why did Walt purchase a first class ticket to
Hollywood even though he had only forty dollars in his pocket and only one
coat?
·What will Walt do first when he gets to
Hollywood?
Note: Please view hyperlinked words in summary passage for videos, more information, and interesting sites .
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
A blog on the wonders of Walt Disney a simple man from Kansas City.
