Walt Disney Essay

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Walt Disney, the most recognizable name in the world, appearing on books, toys, television and even in today's largest entertainment company, The Walt Disney Company. The man behind that name, Walter Elias Disney, is the epitome of a creative and ingenious individual. Many people think of him as the man who simply created Mickey Mouse or a studio head but the fact is Walt played a vital role in enhancing the ways we view the world of animation and entertainment today. He was a fulltime innovator who developed animation, television and theme parks in ways we've never seen them before. Throughout his 65 years of living he took on being an innovator thats unshakable confidence and fresh ideas led him to explore the use of new technologies in developing animation, television and theme parks and impact the way we view them today in American culture.
Before Walt, cartoons were crudely drawn and poorly animated consisting with nothing more than quick gags and weak stories, they were cheap and profitable but Walt took them to the next level. When sound became the latest in film technologies in 1928, it was the start of a new revolution in animation for Walt. According to Roy O. Disney, Walt's younger brother, Walt Disney was inspired to create a sound cartoon after watching the first film ever to feature sound, The Jazz Singer (“Steamboat Willie”). On November 18, 1928, he created and released the first cartoon to successfully synchronize sound and picture in animation, Steamboat Willie, which featured Mickey Mouse, making that his first debut appearance (“Steamboat Willie”). It was also the first cartoon to feature a fully post produced soundtrack afterwards. After that huge innovation, he took short animation to the next level in othe...

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...Disney World exceeded the expectations of anyone who heard the original grand vision for the resort.
The success of Disneyland and Disney World led to Disney parks in Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong, as well as a future resort planned for Shanghai. Additionally, Disney operates a cruise line, a timeshare program, a Hawaiian resort, and a line of boutique international adventures. Of course, that success spawned plenty of imitators over the years. The truth is, none of these vacation destinations would have been possible without the creative vision of Walt Disney.
Disney filled many roles in his 65 years: artist, husband and father, philanthropist, anti-Communist, filmmaker, and even the original voice of Mickey Mouse. But his greatest role was as an American innovator. From animation to television to theme parks Disney left his mark on our culture and enhanced our lives.

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