Walt Disney photos. Walt Disney: biography and personal life

The name Walt Disney is widely known to both adults and children. More than one generation was brought up on the cartoons of his studio. modern people. However, few people know that this man had to endure a lot life trials, before making a name for yourself and doing what you love.

We invite you to briefly read the biography of Walt Disney and learn a few interesting facts about the life of this amazing purposeful person.

Childhood

The future cartoonist, whose works immersed children in fairy world, inhabited by amazing creatures, spent a very joyless childhood. He was born in 1901 into a modest, poor family, one of five children in the Disney family. The parents were a carpenter and a school teacher. Walter's first years were spent in troubled Chicago, where life was seething with criminal passions. When the hero of the material was only 4 years old, his parents decided to move to the quieter town of Marceline, where his father’s brother lived.

The family purchased a small farm and lived very modestly. So, Walter had neither paper nor pencils with which to draw. Meanwhile, a great dream has already begun to form in his soul, which will subsequently lead him forward and not let him give up, despite all the difficulties. He dreamed of becoming an artist.

First difficulties and victories

The boy was distinguished not only by his friendly, cheerful disposition, which is why all his neighbors loved him, but also by his early talent for drawing. There is a well-known fact from the biography of Walt Disney - one of his neighbors bought a drawing of a horse by the young artist, which gave him faith in success. However, there was still a lot of time left before the dream came true.

At the age of 8, the boy got his first job as a letter deliverer, so he was able to earn his own pocket money. Strict father took everything his son earned, but the enterprising Walter found a way out - he began to take on more work and work harder, so he hid part of the money from his parent.

Later, the family changed their place of residence again, moving to Kansas City. It was here that little Disney saw a luxurious mansion, which his childhood mind imagined as a magical castle. The child decided that someday he would be able to build the same one and make it available to children from all over the world. Walt Disney's biography indicates that this dream will come true - he will be able to found Disneyland, which every child longs to go to.

Difficulties of adolescence

Walter did not go to war in 1918, because at that time he was under 18 years old, but he found a job as an ambulance driver. Already here future artist showed his creativity, decorating the car with various designs, making it look very unusual.

In the post-war years, Disney entered the Chicago Art Institute to study, but the classes weighed heavily on him and interfered with his creativity, so Walter quickly lost interest in them. He was unable to find a job in his profession, so all his energy was devoted to a new hobby - animation.

In 1920, the young man received the position of advertising artist; his first short films turned out quite well. However, the growing interest in animation turns out to be stronger than the desire to have a stable income, and Disney takes a risk - it opens its first animation studio. Alas, it did not last long.

First success

For children, in the biography of Walt Disney, it is necessary to mention that his failures. In 1923, he went to Hollywood, having very modest capital with him, where he opened a small animation studio. Walt's partner was his brother Roy.

In 1924, the first creation appears new studio"Alice's Day at Sea", based on immortal work Lewis Carroll. In the 20s of the last century, Disney worked on other films about Alice.

At the same time, he threw in his lot with Lillian Bounds, who worked as an assistant at the studio.

New characters and success

Walt Disney's biography of this period is full of fascinating events. In 1927, Oswald the Rabbit was released. It was he who brought the Disney studio popularity and success. Then well-known characters appeared:

• Mickey Mouse. Justice requires pointing out that it was created not so much by Disney himself as by Ub Iwerks, Walter's companion. The debut of the famous mouse is the film "Airplane Crazy", which is still silent. Later, when it became possible to make films with sound, Disney gave the character his voice and voiced him in several films.
• Steamboat Willie went down in history as the first film with sound.
• Pluto appeared in 1930. In most films he is Mickey Mouse's pet dog, but in some films he is an independent character. A distinctive feature of the hero is that he is not endowed human qualities and behaves like a normal dog.
• Goofy appeared two years later in 1932. This dog is not like Pluto, he behaves like a person: he is a friend of Mickey Mouse, he is distinguished by his good nature and cheerful disposition. Very often, Goofy gets into situations that he deftly gets out of thanks to his love of life and optimism.
• Donald Duck was created in 1934. This drake has become the focus negative qualities, which, as the animator believed, could no longer be added to the image of Mickey Mouse.

These animated characters are still recognizable and loved not only by children, but also by adults all over the world.

First full-length films

In 1934, an important moment came in Walt Disney's biography - he began creating the full-length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Other artists were also busy working with him. By 1937 the film was ready. The painting cost its creator almost one and a half million dollars, which was an astronomical sum at that time. However, the result was fantastic - the cartoon was appreciated by both viewers and film critics. In 1939, Disney received for it prestigious award"Oscar". Moreover, in addition to the traditional large figurine, the animator was awarded 7 small ones, equal to the number of gnomes.

In 1940, another full-length film, Pinocchio, was released - a fairy tale about a boy whose nose began to grow as soon as he was lied to. The work was intense; it is known that in order to make the scene with the whale realistic, the artists had to observe the behavior of these underwater inhabitants for some time. The film received two Oscars at once.

First Disneyland

From the biography of Walt Disney in English with translation, you can find out that he opened his first Disneyland, a real paradise for children of all ages, in 1955. It was a fantastic amusement park, where visitors could enter the wild jungle or the underwater kingdom.

More than 15 million dollars were spent on the construction of this masterpiece of architecture and technology. But the costs paid off quickly, as Disneyland quickly became almost the most popular place family vacation in USA.

Further cartoon creativity

The further biography of Walt Disney is no less instructive. You can name several of it full-length films, which young viewers around the world enjoy watching:

• A touching story about the baby elephant "Dumbo", whose talent was the ability to fly.
• The sad story “Bambi” about the fate of a fawn.
• “Cinderella” is a fairy tale that clearly illustrates the victory of good over evil forces.
• "Peter Pan".
• "Sleeping Beauty".
• "Lady and the Tramp".

These films do not lose their modernity both in plot and in technical implementation.

Transformation into a producer

Photos and biography of Walt Disney indicate that he was an extraordinary person. Having achieved unprecedented success in animation, he did not stop and continued to create. As a producer, he shot a number of color films about nature, wanting to instill in viewers a desire to protect its values.

Disney adventure films are also known:

• "Treasure Island";
• "Mary Poppins";
• "Robin Hood".

He took a direct part in the creation of each painting, so they all bear the imprint of his bright, original personality.

Family

Speaking about the biography and personal life of Walt Disney, it should be noted that all his life he remained faithful to his wife Lillian, whom he married in 1925. They had a daughter, Diana Mary. But fate did not give Disney any more children. Lillian's two pregnancies ended in miscarriages.

In 1937, the couple adopted a girl, naming her Sharon. Later, Diana, in her memoirs, described her father as an exemplary family man who, despite his eternal busyness, always found time to communicate with his children.

Death

The story about the biography of Walt Disney is coming to an end. He did not live long, only 65 years, but managed to do a lot. The cause of the cartoonist's death was lung cancer, after which cigarettes never appeared in the films produced by the Disney studio.

Despite passing away ideological inspirer, the studio’s work continues, cartoons, TV series, and films are being produced that are popular with viewers of all ages.

Some interesting facts

Anyone can read the biography in English of Walt Disney and learn a lot of details about this person. For those who do not have such an opportunity, we invite you to get acquainted with a selection of little-known facts:

• Not everyone knows that the purposeful young man tried himself in acting and even played as an extra, but very quickly became disillusioned with his work.
• Walt was predicted to become an actor by his first teachers and childhood friends, since the boy very talentedly portrayed the gait of Charlie Chaplin, who was popular in those days. But the fate of our hero turned out differently.
• Disney's wife Lillian was his assistant at first. And she even refused her fee for the sake of the studio’s success.
• Oswald the Rabbit was both a success and full of failures in Disney's career - he brought success to his creator, but taught him to be wary of business partners, because the rights to the film were appropriated by the studio's producer.
• The famous Mickey Mouse was originally called Mortimer Mouse. But the wife asked Disney to use the name Mickey. As the animator later recalled, he could not refuse his beloved such a trifle.
• The films and biography of Walt Disney indicate that this man knew how to take risks and defend his point of view. It is a known fact: when Disney was about to work on his first feature film, his brother Roy, upon learning about the cost of the picture, almost fainted. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy, but one of the banks came to the rescue, the owner of which turned out to be a big fan of the studio’s work.
• The Triumph of the American Imagination, Neal Gebler's biography of Walt Disney, vividly captures the extraordinary personality of a man who rose from humble beginnings in the American outback to become a world-renowned animator, producer, screenwriter and director. Unfortunately, the book has not yet been translated into Russian.

We looked at the biography of Walt Disney. For children, it allows them to be convinced that this person was able to achieve a lot solely thanks to talent, hard work, determination and the ability to take risks. He did not have rich parents, but on his own, Disney was able to make his dream come true and live, albeit a short, but bright and happy life.

Fairy tales may begin in different ways, but they must end the same way - happily. The childhood of our today's hero did not fall into the category of “fairy tales”, and, rather, resembled genres such as “detective”, “crime drama” or “tragedy”.

However Walt Disney, legendary American artist, producer and director, managed to change his destiny and make his life, if not fabulous, then very, very successful.

The creator of the first musical and feature-length cartoons in the history of cinema, he achieved a lot. Judge for yourself - during his creative life, the fruitful Disney released about 700 cartoons, won 29 Oscars and 4 Emmys, received honorary degrees from Yale and Harvard universities, and was awarded the highest civilian government award in the United States - the Medal of Freedom. On the Hollywood Walk of Fame, two stars are dedicated to Disney, one for the development of television, the other for his contribution to the art of cinema.

Walt Disney founded The Walt Disney Company", which is now the most large company in the entertainment industry and is ranked 13th on Forbes' list of "Most Powerful Brands."

But more valuable than all the quantifiable material awards is the popular recognition that Disney was awarded by enthusiastic spectators.

Walter Elias Disney was born (and this is the full name of the American legend) on December 5, 1901 in Chicago in a large family; Disney had 3 more brothers and a sister.

The Disney couple was barely making ends meet. But, as they say, the wealth of a family is determined not by capital, but by the warmth and support that family members provide each other.

Little Walt was not too lucky with this either - his oppressive father Elias often beat the child. Justifying himself by the fact that nothing educates better than physical punishment, Elias simply took out his anger from insolvency on his family - no matter what business he took on, be it the construction business, cultivating orange groves or selling newspapers, he failed everywhere.

Disney's father beat him so cruelly that poor Walt believed that he simply could not be his real dad! After his “lessons,” little Walt turned for comfort to Roy, his older brother, who tended to his wounds, physical and mental.

In this situation, the mother also tried to console her son - she read him fairy tales. However, these fictional stories allowed Walt to hide for a while in an imaginary world and escape from the frightening reality. It was under these conditions that the fantasy of the future leader of animation developed.

In 1906, the Disneys moved from troubled Chicago, where a policeman was killed on the street next to their home, to a farm in Marceline, Kansas.

The new place turned out to be better than the previous one - on the farm, five-year-old Walt meets the farm animals, and they respond to the boy’s kindness with warm affection. In the future, Walt will transfer some images from his childhood to the big screen - Porker the hog, which he loved to ride as a kid, will serve as the prototype for Silly from The Three Little Pigs. Disney admitted that upon finishing the sketch of Silly, he was “practically crying from nostalgia.”

However, the family continues to be poor on the farm. Disney, who loved to draw, was not bought any pencils or paper, and the tools for drawing became a stick and resin, and the resourceful Walt used walls, fences or toilet paper as canvases.

The father constantly punished his son for drawing, and perhaps Disney would never have taken his hobby seriously if not for a happy accident

Walt had a cheerful personality since childhood, and therefore many neighbors in Marceline knew and loved him. One of these neighbors, the elderly Dr. Sherwood, gave Disney 25 cents for a child's drawing of his horse. The profitable sale of a portrait of a mare pushed Walt to the idea of ​​becoming an artist. Soon, with his drawings, Walt was already paying for a haircut and a local barber.

In 1909, the family moves again, and eight-year-old Walt runs away from home. He is quickly found and returned to his family. For the next six years, he works for the benefit of “daddy” - he gets up at the crack of dawn and delivers advertising brochures and letters from his father’s company.

In any weather, even in such weather when a kind owner would not kick a dog out into the street, Walt has to deliver mail. The father took all the honestly earned money for the development of the common business, but the resilient Walt came up with a way out here too. He, in secret from the evil “boss,” simply took twice as much work, gave what was due to his father, and saved the remaining dollars for pocket money.

So, think about how the same circumstances can lead to different consequences. On this occasion I remember the following parable:

“Once upon a time there were two twin brothers.

One brother became a very successful man, famous for his good deeds. The second brother became a murderer and was about to be tried. Before the trial began, journalists surrounded the second brother, and one asked:

– How did it happen that you became a criminal?

– I had a difficult childhood. My father drank and beat my mother and me. Who else could I become? - he answered.

At the same time, another group of journalists interviewed the first brother who came to the trial. One of the reporters asked him: “How did it happen that you became famous and successful?”

– I had a difficult childhood. My father drank and beat my mother and me. Who else could I become?

Walt Disney is a worthy example of a man who knows how to squeeze first-class lemonade out of a lemon! Sometimes it’s worth saying “thank you” to the troubles that come our way - they make us stronger.

Disney's parents returned to Chicago, and with a new move, Disney in 1917 again found himself in the city where he was born. There he studies high school McKinley, and in the evenings he goes to the academy fine arts.

Walt receives money for his education and living expenses by working part-time at his father's jelly factory. Disney also completes a newspaper cartooning course, where he learns that thinking outside the box is a good thing and gains the skills to express his thoughts in a concise manner.

When World War I begins, Walt crosses the ocean and whole year In France he works as a driver of a medical van for the International Red Cross. His car becomes a local landmark, since Disney did not give up his hobby, decorating it with drawings.

After the war, Walt returns to Kansas City and takes a position as a cartoonist at a local newspaper.

But only a month passes and he is fired due to his “prominent inability to draw”!

Employers would be surprised if someone told them that years later Walt Disney would become the most outstanding cartoon creator in US history!

In 1919, Disney was hired as an artist at a film advertising studio, at which time the idea of ​​experimenting in animation was ripening. However, the animation studio that Disney opened in Kansas City is about to go bankrupt. But is this a reason to give up?

“If you can dream, you can make your dreams come true.”, Walt thought.

He teams up with Ub Iwerks, his former workmate, and begins work on Two-Bit, Disney's first viable animated feature.

The studio where “Smeshinki” was created was located in a garage and had only primitive equipment. And again the garage. When studying biographies outstanding personalities I sometimes have the idea that creating your own business in a garage is an indispensable attribute of any successful business. It even seems to me that Americans have their own signs on this topic. Like, “if you create a business NOT in a garage, then there will be no luck.”

Improving their drawing skills, the companions worked day and night. However, their next creation - a hand-drawn version of "Little Red Riding Hood" - fails, and, fleeing from creditors, debtors flee the city.

In 1923, Disney comes to Los Angeles to visit his older brother Roy. He still dreams of creating animated films and is not going to give up on the path to his dream, because “it’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

Roy believes in his brother's ideas and becomes his partner and co-founder of a small animation studio. So, with a rented garage, a couple of hundred dollars and handicraft production began The story Walt Disney Company. The roles in the created company were distributed as follows - Walt was the creative genius, and Roy was the financial chief.

In March 1924, Alice's Day at Sea premiered, becoming Disney's first commercial cartoon.

In 1925, Walt Disney married Lillian Bounds, who in their studio was engaged in “filling” - painting the characters drawn by Walt. In 1933, after several unsuccessful attempts to have children, the couple had a daughter, Diana Mary.

In 1937, the couple adopted a girl, Sharon May. Much to Disney's chagrin, the couple no longer had the opportunity to have their own child. By the way, there was a period in the life of Disney and his wife when they could not give birth to a child for 8 years. Walt's wife had two miscarriages and all this caused them both great suffering.

According to Diane’s own daughter Mary, Walt was an exemplary family man and did his best free time spent with my daughters.

In 1927, a series of cartoons with the lucky rabbit Oswald, invented by Disney, gained great popularity. This character was created “to order” and brought fame to its creator.

However, he also taught Walt to carefully read business papers, because this story ended ugly. The people who paid for the creation of Oswald turned out to be unscrupulous businessmen who managed to draw up a contract in such a way that they, and not Walt, had the rights to the cartoon character.

Upon learning of this, Disney furiously threw out all of Oswald's drawings and informed his "partners" that “there are still many characters living where he came from”!

And it was absolutely true. Following Oswald, other beloved characters are born - Mickey Mouse, Pluto the dog, Goofy the dog, Donald Duck the duckling.

In the year when Disney invented his famous mouse, all the newspapers were discussing Mr. Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic, and the enterprising Disney decided to “put” his new hero at the helm. The first silent cartoon with Mouse, Airplane Crazy (1928), was a success!

Mouse was drawn by the company's leading artist Ab Iwerks, the name "Mickey" was suggested by Disney's wife, and the voice was provided by Walt himself, who personally voiced the mouse in the studio's first sound cartoon, "Steamboat Willie."

One day I approached the great master a little boy and asked: “So you draw Mickey Mouse?” Disney said no. “So you come up with his jokes and amusements?” the boy insisted, but even then Disney answered “no.” “Mr. Disney, what are you doing?” he asked in bewilderment. young viewer.

Disney will then formulate the vision of his activities as follows: “I imagine myself as a kind of bee that flies from place to place, collecting pollen. I walk around the studio and direct everyone's work. I guess that’s what I’m doing!” Here is such a hardworking “Disney Bee”!

Because of “Steamboat Willie,” the company finds itself on the verge of bankruptcy, because the cost of a sound cartoon far exceeded the creation of a silent one. In the future, Disney will often have to balance on the brink of ruin, because the first priority for him was creativity, not earnings: “I don't make films just to make money. I make money to make films." Walt emphasized.

Disney's quote echoes the sentiments of many famous people, such as ("The only way to do great work is to love it"), ("Enjoy what you do and you will never work in your life") and others. This love outstanding people to their business largely determines the success of their endeavors.

This is followed by cartoons from the series “Naive Symphonies” (1929), one of the episodes of which brought the studio its first Oscar.

The cartoon "The Three Little Pigs" (1933) becomes an international sensation. In 1935, at the Soviet Film Festival in Moscow (now called the Moscow International Film Festival), Disney's works (The Three Little Pigs, Mickey the Conductor and Fancy Penguins) received the 3rd Prize for "animated feature films that are a high example of excellence" "

And the song of stupid pigs, familiar to us from childhood ( "We are not afraid Gray wolf, gray wolf, gray wolf. Where Do You Wander, Silly Wolf, Dire Old Wolf) is actually a translation of a song from the Disney cartoon "The Three Little Pigs"!

In 1934, Walt Disney began creating his first full-length hand-drawn film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. At that time, viewers were accustomed to watching cartoons that were 7 times shorter, and by releasing the “extended format” film, Disney took a big risk.

This cartoon practically bankrupted the studio. “I spent almost two million dollars on this film. Isn’t this a fairy tale for you?” - this is how Disney sneered about his film.

But “Snow White” turned out to be a profitable investment - it was received with a bang by everyone and brought its creator one real Oscar and seven small Oscars for each dwarf.

More masterpieces are being created at the studio. " We strive forward, open new paths, take on new things because we are curious... Just forward.”, - here is another quote from Disney.

In 1940, Disney released Pinocchio and Fantasia. next year a story about Dumbo appeared on the screens, and in 1942 “Bambi” was published. In 1945, a film about a naive and touching fawn also appeared on Soviet screens - Disney gave this film to the allies; 4 years later, on the eve of the Cold War, American cartoons were banned in the USSR.

But Disney didn't just create cartoons. In the second half of the 40s, Walt Disney was captivated by the idea of ​​​​creating an amusement park. The idea came from his walks with his daughters, when he was forced to spend hours in boredom watching Diana and Sharon having fun at the zoo or on children's rides. “We believed in our idea - a family park where parents and children can have fun together,” he will say.

In 1955, the first Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California.

The man whose talents seemed to know no bounds also did not limit his own. new project: “Disneyland will never be finished, it will continue to grow as long as the imagination in the world lasts.”

Disney, who did not have a single normal toy as a child, managed to create a real one. fairyland, and not only on the screen, but also in reality! (click on the picture to enlarge)

Walt Disney continued to expand the scope of his company's activities - in addition to creating feature films, he directed the release entertainment programs on television, and in 1961 founded the California Institute of the Arts.

Unfortunately, Disney was not destined to see the implementation of some of its grandiose plans. He passed away on December 15, 1966.

“When Walt Disney was just starting out, his entire capital consisted of a very modest talent as a draftsman, a vivid imagination and an inhuman determination to succeed,” the press will write about him.

After Walt's death, his brother Roy was able to make some of his dreams come true. In 1971, he completed the construction of Disney World, the largest in area (100 sq. km!) and the most visited entertainment center in the world. To honor his brother's name, Roy named the park Walt Disney World.

A person who made a significant contribution to the development of modern American culture, did not consider himself a genius, he stated that “geniuses are strictly prohibited from entering my studio.” And yet he really was a brilliant innovator, whose contribution not only to culture, but also to the creation Have a good mood in millions of people it is difficult to overestimate.

P.S. What is your favorite Walt Disney cartoon or movie?

Childhood: Chicago – Marceline – Kansas City

One day, four-year-old Walter, who had a desire to draw from the first years of his life, due to the lack of paints and pencils, used resin and a stick to depict his first projection on the wall of his parents' house. The punishment that followed did not discourage the boy from wanting to draw, but he realized that he needed money to buy pencils and paper. The farm that Elias had hoped for did not bring in enough income. Living on the brink of poverty forced the Disneys to sell the farm and move to Kansas City.

As a schoolboy, Walt woke up early in the morning for six years straight to deliver newspapers and earn money, some of which he spent on art supplies. The father harshly punished the boy for what he considered an unreasonable waste of money and introduced the teenager to the production of jelly, which he did himself. Nevertheless, Disney Jr. found time for his drawings and even sold them to neighbors, depicting pets at their request. School was abandoned; Walt dreamed of becoming a film artist or drawing comics.

Youth: Chicago - California

For another person, bankruptcy would have forced him to give up making his illusory dreams come true, but not Walt. He brought his older brother Roy into his plan. They opened a store that provided household needs, and a few years later both moved to California and created The Walt Disney Company studio, which produced animated films. The heroine of the first animated film in 1924 was Alice, a well-known book character by Lewis Carroll. The series of stories “Alice in Animation Land” brought Disney its first success and the first money earned by doing what it loved.

Career: Mickey Mouse & Co

To prevent the on-screen Mickey from getting bored, Disney then creates images of a stupid, but good dog Pluto, the cheerful and cheerful Goofy, the stingy, sluggish drake of Donald Duck. This company, led by Mickey Mouse, has been adored by four generations of viewers on all continents. Unprecedented success - seven Oscars - brought Walt his first full-length cartoon Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937. Animation classics touching stories the flying elephant calf Dumbo (1941), the trembling deer Bambi (1942).

1935 brought Disney recognition from the League of Nations, which regarded his work as a symbol of the unity of peoples and awarded the first animator a medal of honor.

The Soviet people were lucky enough to touch the genius of the great animator. In 1933, by order of Joseph Stalin, the first American animation festival was held in the USSR. “The Three Little Pigs”, “Snow White” and, of course, Mickey Mouse himself came to Moscow. The magic and world of Disney's fairy tales inspired animation in Russia: in 1936, the Soyuzmultfilm film studio was created.

Before World War II Walt visits South America and creates documentary with elements of the cartoon "Hello, friends." During the war years, the Disney film studio produced propaganda films with the participation of famous cartoon characters, videos for aviation and navy. After the end of the war, the animator produces feature films, but in each of them his cartoon characters are visible.

The mid-twentieth century delights enthusiastic viewers with new Disney films - the film adaptation of Cinderella (1950), the magnificent Peter Pan (1953), the lyrical Sleeping Beauty (1959), the saga of dog love and fidelity Lady and the Tramp (1955) . And the animated thriller “One Hundred and One Dalmatians,” released in 1961, created a real boom in America: dog lovers began to have Dalmatian pets at home.

6 Secrets of Walt Disney's Success

Walt was one of the first to recognize the power and possibilities of television. “An Hour in Wonderland” is his original program, which, in addition to many spectacular stunts, always showed animated films from the Disney studio.

A pioneer in the creation of musical, sound and feature-length animated films, Walt Disney made 111 films during his life and produced almost 600 films. He is the record holder for the number of awards and prizes in the field of cinema, the owner of two stars on the Walk of Fame, the initiator and creator of the largest children's country, Disneyland.

Walt Disney's personal life

She never received any special courtship from Walt, but in 1925 the couple was legally married. Being famous, Disney, in one of his interviews, when asked about the reason for getting married, laughed in his own manner: “I got married so as not to pay off debts, they had accumulated too many.” Two years later, the couple moved into their own apartment and got a chow chow dog named Sunny.

The family was financially secure, but throughout their lives they experienced their own internal tragedies. Despite his busyness and love of life, Disney was subject to deep depressions, during which Lillian sent him on trips, tried to support her husband and pull him out of despondency.

For a long time the couple did not have children. Lilly became pregnant twice, but only the third time, in 1933, was she able to give birth to Walt's child. The girl was named Diana. On the eve of her birth, Disney, who had lost interest in his wife, admitted in a letter to his mother that he did not feel the joy of upcoming fatherhood and thought of himself as the most disgusting future parent. However, it was on walks with his daughter that Walt often had brilliant ideas, which he then brought to life. Disney had no more children of his own, but in 1937 the couple adopted a little girl, giving her the name Sharon May and their last name.

The Death of Walt Disney: An Unforgettable Legacy

However, on December 15, 1966, America said goodbye to the symbol of the era. The Walt Disney Company also said goodbye to him, whose employees, after the death of the Master, a heavy smoker, made a collective decision: not a single subsequent cartoon character would appear on screen with a cigarette. The memory of Walt Disney is kept in his masterpiece works and the hearts of millions of viewers. An asteroid was named in his honor, in 2013 the biographical film “Saving Mr. Banks” was shot, where the role of the brilliant animator was brilliantly played by Tom Hanks, and in 2015 the documentary project “Walt Disney” was released.

Documentary about Walt Disney

Walt Disney (English Walt Disney, full name - Walter Elias Disney English Walter Elias Disney, December 5, 1901 - December 15, 1966) - American animator, film director, actor, screenwriter and producer, founder of Walt Disney Productions, which has now turned into the media empire “The Walt Disney Company”. He is the creator of the first sound cartoon in history, the first musical and the first full-length.

The city in which he was born was large, noisy and did not satisfy Walt's parents at all. Chicago. They decided to settle the children on a farm near the small town of Marceline, Missouri. Walt was only 4 years old at the time. The family didn't have money for pencils and paper, and Walt wanted to draw. He found resin, a stick and drew a house... on the wall own home. This may have been Walt's very first drawing. In three years he will start selling his drawings to neighbors. And in another 40 years they will be selling these drawings at auctions.

I don't make films just to make money. I make money to make films.

Disney Walt

Living on a farm was just as expensive and unprofitable as living in a big city, and the family again decided to try their luck by changing their place of residence. This time the city chosen was Kansas City. There, 8-year-old Walt began earning money by getting up at 3:30 every morning for six years and delivering newspapers. Walt wanted to make drawings like the ones he saw in comic books, but he didn't have any free time. His despot father, thinking that all artists are slackers, severely punished Walt. However, Walt managed to enroll at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he discovered that his true talents lay in conceptualizing and coordinating projects rather than in drafting documents.

Elios Disney, Walt's father, a carpenter, farmer and construction contractor, beat his children mercilessly and Walt came to the conclusion that he was not his real father. The father also managed to instill in the boy hatred of Jews, and Walt never held back in his judgments about them. But this is a slightly different story. Critics and psychologists believe that these trials, and especially the concern over his origins, became something of a pattern in later Disney films.

By the way, it has been noticed that children recognize themselves in Disney characters. By the fact which Disney character is the most sympathetic to a child, you can understand what problems he has. In 1918, Walt Disney tried to enroll in military service, but at the age of sixteen they were not accepted into the service. Walt then joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas, where he spent a year driving an ambulance.

Upon returning to Kansas City in 1919, Walt Disney began work as art director for a commercial studio. There he met Ub Iwerks, a young artist who became his business partner. They opened a joint studio and purchased a used camera, with which they made two-minute advertising films. The films were only shown in local theaters and the partners eventually moved their studio to Los Angeles to be a little closer to the Hollywood film industry. It’s like animation becomes a drug for him.

For centuries, artists have tried to depict moving figures. As a result of the development of technology, this became possible. Animation combined music, voices and colors. Disney understood this better than anyone.

Leaving the city with $40 in his pocket, he met his brother Roy, who had a little more money and could not be denied the desire to do something. Pooling financial resources and borrowing another $500, the brothers opened a store in their uncle's garage. And in January 1926, the first Disney studio opened in California. Two brothers - Walt and Roy - came closer to their dream by starting to create animated films. Creating even a small episode required the talent of a director, actor, sound engineer, screenwriter and music editor. Walt and Roy were capable of all this.

I just hope we don't lose sight of one thing: this whole thing was started by one mouse.

Disney Walt

How could they compete with other animators when even for a large studio a two-minute film requires months of work, and a feature-length film requires several years?

Walt Disney- an outstanding American animator, director, actor, screenwriter and producer, creator of a whole series of feature-length cartoons that earned him world fame. Father of Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Rabbit, Donald Duck and more than 200 other characters loved by all the children of the world. He received 29 Oscars and the highest civilian government award in the United States, the Medal of Freedom. Founder of Walt Disney Productions and creator of the world's first huge children's amusement park, Disneyland.

Success Story, Biography of Walt Disney

Biography of Walter Disney began back in 1901 on December 5, when the fourth of five children, Walter Elias, was born into the family of a carpenter and a teacher. Walt's father Elias Disney had Irish-Canadian roots, and his mother Flora had German-American roots. Chicago, where the family lived, by that time had become not only the largest industrial, but also the most criminal city in the States. Disney's patience was overflowing with the murder of a policeman that occurred on a nearby street. After this incident, the Disney family moved to the brother of the father of the family, in the small town of Marceline, Missouri. Disney purchased a farm there. Walt was only 4 years old at the time. The family didn't have money for pencils and paper, and Walt wanted to draw. He found resin, a stick and drew a house...

Childhood and teenage years Walt Disney

Many people in Marceline knew Walt. He had a cheerful disposition, so his neighbors and acquaintances loved him very much. One of the neighbors, an elderly veteran, Dr. Sherwood, paid Walt 25 cents for the boy to draw his horse on a piece of paper. Disney later believed that it was the successful portrait of Dr. Sherwood's mare that gave him the idea of ​​becoming an artist.

Walt showed an interest in drawing from childhood, and began selling his first comics at the age of seven. Young Walt took part in the creation school newspaper as an artist and photographer, and in the evenings he attended the Academy of Fine Arts. Then he took a course for newspaper cartoonists, where he was taught unconventional thinking, funny violations of conventional logic, and a laconic style.

When Walt was eight years old, his father began to load him with work. The boy delivered letters and advertisements for his father's company: in any weather, rain, snow, early morning or late at night, Walt ran through the streets in his worn-out boots, rushing to deliver the mail on time. All the money Walt earned was taken by his father. But Walt didn’t complain: he simply took on twice as much work as his father demanded, in secret from his strict “boss,” and kept for himself everything he earned in excess of the norm as pocket money.

When Disney was 10 years old, his father fell ill with typhus. Flora Disney sat next to her husband and pressed orange slices to his withered lips, trying to get at least a little juice into Elias's mouth. " These orange slices seemed so wonderful to my brother and me that we also dreamed of falling down from typhus, or even from some more terrible disease, just to get a few drops of the desired juice"Walt's sister, Ruth, recalls.

Soon his father recovered, and they decided to move to Kansas City, like many poor families who migrated endlessly across America in search of work. This move played a significant role in Walt's life. In Kansas City there was a gigantic, rich mansion hidden behind a high fence and surrounded by a lush garden. The mansion belonged to a private owner and was the object of desire for local children. They all so wanted to crawl through some secret hole, play in the garden, and maybe even sneak into the mansion itself, run around its luxurious enfilades, and gaze at the ancient portraits.

Walt tried many times to enter the property, and all his attempts ended in failure. Then he swore that when he grew up, he would definitely build a huge house with entertainment for children, with a huge garden for games. Thus, apparently, a dream was born, which, forty years later, was embodied in Disneyland.

Disney's first best friend was Walt Pfeiffer. The boys spent all their pocket money on going to the movies. Their idol was Charlie Chaplin. Leaving the cinema, they wandered down the street, taking turns imitating Charlie's walk and trying to act out his tricks as a couple. At that time, Walt's friends, teachers, and Walt himself believed that he should definitely become an actor.

In the fall of 1918, the young man tried to enlist in military service. However, Walt was rejected because he was too young, so he volunteered for the Red Cross and was sent overseas, where he spent a year working as an ambulance driver. This car became a local landmark because Walt decorated it all with funny designs.

Upon his return, Walt managed to enroll at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he discovered that his true talents lay in conceptualizing and coordinating projects. He wanted to quickly escape from this building and start working on his own. He wanted to finish his studies quickly, just to devote his whole soul to drawing.

Finally he finishes it. And immediately in front of the aspiring artist Disney stood quite complex issue: where should I go to work? First, he got a job at one of the restaurant companies, which needed funny advertising drawings in the form of signs. Its director had a hard time hiring Disney, and the pay wasn’t very high - only $50 a week!

Creation of the Walt Disney Company

Having become seriously interested in animation, Walt Disney decided to leave his native Kansas, and in August 1923, with nothing but a few drawings, one finished animated feature film and 40 dollars in his pocket, he went to Hollywood.

The idea of ​​creating cartoons became an obsession for him. " I moved from one studio to another, where I visited all the offices in a row, from the personnel department to the set. The only job I was able to get was as an extra. I had to ride a horse for a few meters - in a crowd of other extras. However, it rained heavily, filming was postponed to another day, and then our scene was simply thrown out of the script. That was the end of my acting career."- Disney writes in his memoirs.

Desperate to get a job in Hollywood, Walt rents his uncle Robert's garage. Rent is a big word. He simply takes over the notorious garage, promising to someday pay for its use. In the garage he places necessary equipment, bought with money borrowed from brother Roy - paints, brushes, spotlights - everything for the production of cartoons. Roy becomes Walt's partner (Roy's share was $250, and another $500 was borrowed), and they create a cartoon studio called Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.

Soon Roy faces a gigantic problem: how and what to feed his brother, who is immersed in work? Usually Roy left the garage and went to the small room where the two of them huddled together to prepare a modest dinner for two. But suddenly Walt, not paying attention to any everyday difficulties, starts a terrible scandal, during which he yells at the confused Roy that he will not eat the pathetic gruel that his brother feeds him. And then Roy decides to “ desperate step": he proposes to his beloved girlfriend, Edna Frances, who, having become the wife of the unlucky cook Roy, moves in with the brothers and becomes their cook for many months.

And Walt himself was already thinking about marriage. A wonderful girl, Lillian Bounds, got a auxiliary job at the studio. She was mainly engaged in pouring paints - that is, she painted the characters created by Walt. Walt didn’t have to look after Lillian much - she immediately fell in love with her “boss”, and when he was broke, she easily gave up her honestly earned $15 a week - for the benefit of the studio.

Walt got the idea for the first cartoon after becoming interested in the cartoons of Max Fleischer. I saw that Fleischer uses very interesting technique: combining animation with real filming. Those. - the cartoon character seems to fall into real world. But Disney did not copy Fleischer's innovative solution. He did everything a little differently - he introduced REAL hero into the cartoon world, which is actually much more complicated. First of all, it was necessary to choose a plot (come up with a script). Walt loved the book “Alice in Wonderland” since childhood, so he decided to put on a cartoon with the participation of this character - the little girl Alice.

Working on this cartoon required unbearable stress. Walt was no longer able to stay awake at night. for a long time, so he hired two aspiring artists. These were two friends who studied at the same art school as Disney - Rudolf Eising and Hugh Harman, the future authors of the animated series “The Adventures of Bosco”, “Barney Bear” and “Joyful Harmonies”. Disney explained his requirements for the animated film to the two guys, and finally the work really began to boil.

Having received little money for this cartoon, Walt and Roy decided to change the name of the studio. On October 16, 1923, Walt Disney signed a contract with Margaret Winkler, a distributor from New York. This date is considered the founding day of the current Walt Disney Company. This name turned out to be more fortunate for the brothers.

The studio produced Alice films for four years, and then Walt decided to switch to producing fully animated cartoons. The star of the new series is a funny rabbit named Oswald, created and drawn by Walt Disney. In just a year, the studio released 26 episodes about the adventures of a rabbit, but when it was time to start new season, Walt was horrified to discover that the practical Margaret Winkler had managed to lure away four studio artists and was now planning to release cartoons about Oswald without the participation of the creator. Alas, the contract was drawn up in such a way that it was the distributor, and not the author, who owned the rights to the cartoon character. It was bitter, but useful lesson for Disney, who has since been careful to ensure that the rights to all his creations belong only to him.

The beginning of the Mickey Mouse era

After the loss of Oswald, Disney had no choice but to come up with a new star for its cartoons. This is how the famous mouse Mickey Mouse was born (“ His first name was Mortimer Mouse, but my wife Lillian didn't like the name and suggested calling him Mickey. I couldn’t refuse her such a small thing - that’s how Mickey Mouse was born, bringing my company worldwide fame "- Disney recalled.), suspiciously similar to his older brother rabbit. Disney himself and the chief artist of his studio, Ab Iwerks, took part in its creation.

However, the studio was unable to sell the first two cartoons featuring Mickey Mouse: they were silent, and sound had already arrived in cinemas. Cartoons were created quite quickly for the studios of that time, and besides, we must not forget that the Disney studio was partly artisanal. As soon as sound films appeared in 1927, Walt immediately adopted the experience of his fellow filmmakers and began dubbing cartoons. The third film in the series (already with sound) was released on November 18, 1928, and this day marked the beginning of the Mickey Mouse era.

At the same time, Walt Disney launched a new series, the Silly Symphonies. It was built on different principles: new characters appeared in each film, which was supposed to stimulate the creative thinking of the studio's animators. The series became something of a training ground for Disney artists to practice new animation techniques before using them in larger projects. Nevertheless, it was the cartoon from this series that won the first Oscar for the studio in 1932 as the best hand-drawn film. From that moment until the end of the pre-war decade, Disney cartoons received an Oscar every year. For his work he received 29 such awards.

Very opportunely for the Disney company, it turned out that cartoon characters can be a good source of additional income. One day, a businessman from New York offered Disney $300 for permission to put an image of Mickey Mouse on fountain pens. Walt Disney just needed money, so he willingly agreed to replicate the image of the mouse.

After that, portraits of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters began to appear literally everywhere: on plates and toothbrushes, towels and school notebooks, candy wrappers and wallpaper for children's rooms. In 1930, the first series of Mickey Mouse comics was published. All this brought good money, and most importantly, contributed to the promotion of cartoon characters and ultimately led to the fact that many of them turned into national legends of America.

In 1927 Walt Disney and his wife Lillian move into their own, quite spacious, apartment. Walt gives Lillian a dog as a Christmas present. He began to play the role of the beloved child of Lillian, who had no children. By the way, two attempts by the Disney couple to have a child failed: both times Lillian had a miscarriage. And when she became pregnant for the third time, Disney, who seemed so eager to get an heir, suddenly lost all interest in his wife. In one of his letters to his cousin, Walt wrote: “I am married, and all I have to show off is a cute little wife and a handsome chow chow.”

So, in 1933, Walt and Lillian’s daughter, Diana, was born. On the eve of her birth, Walt sends a letter to his mother complaining: “ Lilly is expecting a daughter. Personally, I don't pay any attention to it. I don't want new disappointments. Our whole room has turned into a parody of a nursery, with pink and blue diapers lying everywhere... But I don’t want to know anything about it. I believe that I will make the most disgusting father in the world ... " It's funny that it was at this time, at the end of 1933, that Walt was awarded by Parents magazine for his contribution to the education of the younger generation of Americans.

Also in 1933, Disney released his first color cartoon, The Three Little Pigs. The song “We are not afraid of the gray wolf” that was played there became a national hit.

Meanwhile, the studio is growing. Several more cartoons are being filmed. Mickey Mouse is winning the hearts of millions - and not only Americans, but also Europeans. "Merry Melodies" is being filmed, and a quacking Donald Duck, a howling dog Pluto, and a dim-witted Goofy trying to scoop water from a pond into a colander appear on the screens. Disney enters into an agreement with Columbia Pictures, then with United Artists.

In 1934, Walt Disney announced to his employees that he intended to make a feature-length film. cartoon Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. At first, many were skeptical about this idea: few believed that a film in which there would be no live actors would be able to interest viewers in the same way as a big movie. However, gradually Disney’s idea ceased to seem fantastic, and work began to boil.

Filming lasted three years and cost a crazy amount for those times - $1.499 million. Disney was saved from ruin only by a loan from Bank of America, whose head, Amadeo Giannini, was very fond of Mickey Mouse. But the result was worth the money, since Snow White was for a long time the highest-grossing film of all time (its record was only surpassed by gone With the Wind). And in 1939, Walt Disney received his ninth Oscar for this feature-length cartoon. It is worth noting that during the award ceremony, Disney, in addition to one full-fledged statuette, also received symbolically seven small “oscors” - according to the number of dwarves. Since then, the Disney studio began to consider feature-length cartoons as their main and potentially most profitable products.

As the studio grows, so does the Disney family. Lillian, having once again failed in the field of motherhood, decides to adopt. In 1937, Walt and Lillian take in a little girl and name her Sharon Mae Disney.

There is more and more money. The Great Depression had almost no effect on Disney's work. Well, there were just a couple of strikes at the studio - you see, the artists did not want to work under the supervision of a person who draws worse than them and who has such a meager education (one year of college), but who considers himself a director. The strike very soon “dissolved”: in essence, the conflict grew out of Walt’s disagreements with the producers who wanted to become Disney’s official collaborators.

Having become rich, Walt buys his parents a mansion. However, upon closer inspection, this mansion turns out to be somewhat damaged: its gas heating system is dangerously damaged. One sunny morning in November 1938, gas begins to leak from a pipe directly into the living quarters, Flora Disney, the mother of our “hero,” falls dead to the floor, Elias Disney tries to lift her, and himself also receives a dangerous dose of gas. Elias survived, but Flora could not be saved. Walt has been tormented by guilt for a long time after the death of his mother, because he knew about the damage to the heating system, but kept putting off solving this problem until later.

Filmed during the Second World War, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi, which had every chance of repeating the success of Snow White, did not bring Disney the expected profits. During the war, the studio had to concentrate mainly on filming propaganda and educational films for the military by order of the US State Department.

But all bad things come to an end. By the early 50s, the Disney Company managed to regain foreign markets taken away from it by the war, and again began making full-length films, including those with live actors.

In 1954, the Disney Company began producing television programs, becoming one of the pioneers of first black-and-white and then color television in the United States. The first television hit from

Disney became the series Disneyland, which, having changed its name several times, lasted on American screens for 29 years, and was shown exclusively in prime time. A year later, the famous program Mickey Mouse Club debuted, in which many future stars of American show business took their first steps.

Disneyland - A dreamland for children of any age

However, gradually Walt Disney's talent became cramped within the film and television business. A new field for activity was suggested to him by his father’s experience. While hanging out with his daughters, Walt often went to zoos, carnivals and other entertainment events. While the children rode on the carousel, the father sat patiently on a bench and waited for his daughters to frolic. During these gatherings, he came to the conclusion that America really lacks a place where it would be interesting for both adults and children to spend time. And then Disney decided to create such a place himself.

The first Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955 in Anaheim (California), south of Los Angeles. $17 million was spent on its construction, but very soon all investments paid off tenfold. During the first 25 years of its existence, the park was visited by more than 200 million people. In 1983, its own Disneyland appeared in Tokyo, and in 1992 in Paris.

28 thousand people came to the opening of the park. And another ninety million television viewers were able to watch this grand celebration live. The opening ceremony of the first Disneyland was hosted on television by the future US President, actor Ronald Reagan. It was a completely original and unlike anything else park, laid out according to four basic principles.

« To everyone who came to this happy place - Welcome! Disneyland is your country. Here the wonderful memories of the old are revived, and here the young can breathe in the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to ideals, dreams and real events who created America... with the hope that it will become a source of joy and inspiration to the whole world!» Walter Disney, July 17, 1955.

Disney's next major project was the California Institute of the Arts, which was founded in 1961, near Los Angeles. Music, painting, theater, sculpture, cinematography, and fashion were studied here.

In 1963, Disney began to implement an even more ambitious idea - the so-called Project X. With the help of his people, he found a suitable plot of land in Florida and bought it in parts, hiding behind the names of fictitious companies (similar precautions were taken to ensure that land owners did not raised prices for plots). In the end, the Walt Disney Company owned a plot of land equal in area to two Manhattans. Construction of a new park began on this site, which received title The Walt Disney World. It opened in October 1971.

Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966 from lung cancer, leaving unimplemented the ideas of no less than a “city of the future” and a “university for creative youth” named after Walt Disney. His brother Roy took his place and ran the Walt Disney Company until 1971. After his death, the company was headed by three people - Card Walker, Donn Tatum and Ron Miller, whom the Disney brothers began to prepare for leadership in advance. Walt Disney left to his successors many projects and ideas that he did not manage to implement himself. Their gradual implementation allowed the company to maintain what it had achieved during the founder’s lifetime for another two decades without any problems. leading place in the global entertainment industry.

Personal qualities of Walt Disney and the secrets of his success

The roots of Walt Disney's success lie in his willpower, fierce courage and perseverance. He did not give up, even when defeat seemed inevitable. He believed in his ideas and made smart decisions. Disney learned early on not to trust the judgment of others. Disney's power was inextricably linked to his enormous self-esteem, which allowed him to go against the opinions of experts. His works did not always bring success, but when success came, it was simply deafening.

Walt Disney willingly shared the secrets of the success of the Walt Disney Company:

1. Give everyone in your organization the opportunity to dream and develop creatively to achieve their dreams.

2. Treat your customers like guests.

3. Stand firmly by your beliefs and principles.

4. Support your employees, delegate authority and reward them.

5. Build long-term relationships with key suppliers and partners.

6. Use story-boarding techniques to solve planning and communication problems.

7. Intensive, ongoing training strengthens corporate culture.

8. Pay close attention to detail.

9. Have the courage to take calculated risks to bring new ideas to fruition.

10. Combine long-term vision with short-term execution.

Disney belonged to the Promethean personality type, suffering from gigantomania. These qualities allowed him to seize every opportunity that presented itself with unquenchable zeal. For the sake of the future, Disney was inclined to mortgage the present and simply loved to create everything new and special when the opportunity presented itself. At the same time, he rarely worried about where the money for his creations would come from. Thanks to these character traits, Disney created animated masterpieces and some of the most valuable films of the era. But it also kept the studio on the brink of bankruptcy for years. During this period, not even a year and a half passed without the company being able to pay its bills. Disney wasn't interested box office films, he was interested in creative success their paintings. Therefore, one of his films usually became a hit, while the other failed miserably.

Walt Disney's entire life resembled a roller coaster - beyond the fruitful periods, as a rule, the most tragic recessions followed. During the bright periods of his life, Disney could work all day without a break and also cover the night. When deadlines were tight, Walt usually spent the night in the studio. But when his projects failed or were nearing completion, Disney became depressed or simply broke down. He suffered eight nervous breakdowns during his career.

Walt Disney- a legend and national hero of America. He brought joy and happiness to people, his language is understandable to all peoples of the world.

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