Disney Channel
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Early Enterprises... Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois, to his father Elias Disney, and mother Flora Call Disney. Walt had very early interests in art, he would often sell drawings to neighbors to make extra money. He pursued his art career, by studying art and photography by going to McKinley High School in Chicago. Walt began to love, and appreciate nature and wildlife, and family and community, which were a large part of agrarian living. Though his father could be quite stern, and often there was little money, Walt was encouraged by his mother, and older brother, Roy to pursue his talents. Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas to France, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials. Once he returned from France, he wanted to pursue a career in commercial art, which soon lead to his experiments in animation. He began producing short animated films for local businesses, in Kansas City. By the time Walt had started to create The Alice Comedies, which was about a real girl and her adventures in an animated world, Walt ran out of money, and his company Laugh-O-Grams went bankrupted. Instead of giving up, Walt packed his suitcase and with his unfinished print of The Alice Comedies in hand, headed for Hollywood to start a new business. The early flop of The Alice Comedies inoculated Walt against fear of failure; he had risked it all three or four times in his life. Walt's brother, Roy O. Disney and Walt borrowed an additional $500, and set up shop in their uncle's garage. Soon, they received an order from New York for the first Alice in Cartoonland(The Alice Comedies) featurette, and the brothers expanded their production operation to the rear of a Hollywood real estate office. On July 13, 1925, Walt married one of his first employees, Lillian Bounds, in Lewiston, Idaho. Creation of Mickey mouse In 1928 Walt created a new animated character, Mickey Mouse. Mickey was constructed from two large circles, one for the trunk and one for the head, to which were appened two smaller circles, representing ears, along with rubber hose arms and legs that terminated in plump hands ( ungloved at this early stage) , and large booted feet that provided him stability. He was also equipped with a long, skinny tail, a plump shaped nose, and buttoned eyes. He was designed for maximum ease of animation (circular forms are easier to animate effectively) But beyond that Mickey was provided with something that was new to the medium: ³A REAL PERSONALITY´ Another factor that made Mickey an immediate hit was that he had good tune to be the right mouse at the right place at the right time (Steamboat Willie, was the first cartoon with a soundtrack) Disney was quick to see that his future would depend upon wedding sound to the cartoon medium. To do this properly, he realized, would demand care and imagination. An early Mickey Mouse model sheet which shows the basic simplicity if his design At that time colour in the animated series was new. Disney signed a deal with Technicolor to have exclusive animation rights to the use of their new ³three- strip system´ for the next two years. In 1932, the production entitled Flowers and Trees won Walt the first of his studio's Academy Awards. Meanwhile other characters like Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy were added to the animation. Painting for Pluto¶s Dream House In mid- thirties, Mickey had become a national symbol and as such he was expected to behave properly at all times. It was becoming harder to find comic situations for him that would not give offence in some quarter. Besides this restriction, the cartoons were always very innovative. Animated classics Initial success did not satisfy Disney for long. In 1930¶s he began to think seriously about producing a feature- length animated film. REASONS: The Disney shorts were so popular that they often shared billing with the main feature, but because film rental was determined by running time, the potential revenue from these shorts was limited. Disney was anxious to work within an expanded format that would give him a chance to evolve more complex ideas and greater naturalism. Walt Disney started with ³Snow White & Seven Dwarfs´ as his first full-length animated musical feature. During the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed other full-length animated classics such as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi. Apart from the products of the feature animation department, there have been other full length animated films like Duck Tales: The Movie (1990), a mediocre spin-off of a television series, and A Goofy Movie (1995), which succeeded very well within its own terms. Disney artists were very little experienced in animating the human form. So, special classes by Do Graham were provided to them to improve their knowledge of anatomy. Bringing the human form to life was the exclusive goal of the artists. Snow White was the first feature where transparent colours were employed for the background paint. Highly stylized treatment tended to slow the action and interfere with character development. Sleeping Beauty (1959) began with high hopes but ended with disappointment. A Second Flowering - Beauty and The Beast ( 1991) Beast had to be shown sympathetic (although no less terrifying) Give life and naturalism to the objects of the story. Nominated for an Academy Award- Best Picture Category- first time an animated picture was accorded this honor Disney created an animated movie, Toy Story (1995), in which computer- generated animation was used to create a world realistic enough to sustain a feature- length story. The movie was the result of a collaboration between Disney and Pixar, a computer animation company founded by George Lucas and now owned by Apple Computer cofounder Steve Jobs. Toy Story introduced a new era in animation with such authority that it established itself as an instant classic. Other Disney/ Pixar film are: A Bug¶s life, Cars, Incredibles etc. In 1946 Disney started creating full-length live- action films. In these movies a full complement of professional actors is used to tell an entirely fictional story. Cartoon inserts helped sell the movie to the public. A still from Song of the South History then conspired to push Disney towards a series of all live- action historical pictures. Because of post war monetary restrictions, a significant portion of Disney financial assets were frozen in Great Britain. He could access the money only if it was being employed there, and on the advice of his brother Roy, Walt decided to use it to make films in the British Isles. The fruits of this venture are: Treasure Island, The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, etc DREAMING DISNEYLAND Walt Disney presents his vision of a ³magical park´. The more he dreamt of it, the more elaborate his plans became. In 1954, the year before Disneyland opened, Walt Disney shared his ideas on TV and to potential investors- by using maps and concept drawings to show that Disneyland would be like. As Walt Disney sat at a bench, at an amusement park, watching his daughters play, he noticed how ragged and filthy the small amusement park was. He also observed people's reactions to different rides, and noticed how children's parents had nothing to do. They would be anxious to go home, while their children were still having fun, and playing. This is where Walt was conjuring, and planning a new type of amusement park; one that would be clean, and would have attractions for parents and children together. This was Walt Disney's idea, which eventually turned to be Disneyland. Years before Disneyland was constructed, Walt was thinking, generating, and creating everything in his mind. He traveled the United States, and visited buildings of Americas most prolific inventors and creators, such as Thomas Edison's Workshop, the Wright Brothers Bicycle shop, and the home of the Dictionary magnate Noah Webster. While visiting these places, he was formulating and dreaming of a "Mickey Mouse Park" with a western village, Main Street, and more, these ideas would eventually form Disneyland. When the real designing came around, Walt was met with inevitable questions. How do you make believable wild animals, that aren't real? How do you make a Mississippi paddle ship? How do you go about building a huge castle in the middle of Anaheim, California? So, Walt Disney looked to his movie studio staff for the answers. The design of Disneyland was something never done before. There would be five uniquely different lands. Then-Vice President Richard Nixon and family help Disney introduce the Disneyland Monorail, on June 14, 1959. Logo A µstylized version of the founder¶s signature¶ Signifies the brand name and promises secure, cheerful and quality American mainstream entertainment. Different animations and styles were introduced in the Walt Disney logo to complement the entertainment quality and the technological breakthroughs of the era. The original Walt Disney logo, to a large extent, has retained its uniqueness, however, over the time, Other than the regular logo, the company uses different logos on its different products. A castle on a blue background version of the Walt Disney logo is used for the movie releases and as the curtain-raiser to its films. The Walt Disney signature with ³World´ added to it is used for the company¶s resorts "Walt Disney World Resort" A Mickey¶s head is adopted for the company¶s Mickey Mouse Club and ³Studios´ was added to the Walt Disney logo signifying Disney Studios around the world.