Walt Disney

(Chicago, 1901 - Los Angeles, 1966) Cartoonist and film producer, pioneer
of animated film, the main creator of the classic stage of animation and
founder of the corporation that bears his name.

Although born in Chicago, he spent the happiest years of his childhood on a

farm near Marceline (Missouri), until in 1909 his father became ill and the
family had to move to Kansas City. I start working there newsboy, work
that arranged with its studies, which did not stand out. He preferred
drawing and cartoons; the first to appear in the newspaper traced his high
school in Chicago, where the family had moved again.

Walt Disney

In 1918, the young Walt tried to enlist in the army. As was not old enough,
he faked his birth certificate and, pretending to have met seventeen,
managed to be admitted as an ambulance driver for the Red
Cross. However, when he finished his training, the war was over and his
work was reduced to transfer officers.

Back to the United States, he settled in Kansas City and got a job as a
publicist in the Pesemen-Rubin Art Studio, where he formed a friendship
with artist key Ubbe Iwerks. Both the company founded in 1920 Iwerks-
Disney Commercial Artists, which was a failure. They had to work again
employed in the Kansas City Film Ad, company you would place your first
contact with rudimentary animation techniques of the time, whose
possibilities fascinated immediately to Disney.

In 1922, when he believed he had learned enough, Disney founded the

Laugh-O-Gram Films company, which made successful short films based on
children 'sstories. However, production costs outweighed the benefits, and
the following year had to close. Discouraged, Disney moved to Hollywood
without another idea to become director of "normal" cinema. Luckily, a
distributor was interested in Alice's Wonderland , one of the films that had
produced Laugh-O-Gram Films, and commissioned new films that combined
animation and live action . To meet the custom he was born the Disney
Brothers' Studio (directed by Walt and his brother Roy), which
would produce nine Alice Comedies (Comedies of Alicia), which
wouldcontinue in 1927 the series Oswald the Lucky Rabbit , an order for
Universal Pictures created by Ubbe Iwerks, who had joined the new venture
of the Disney brothers.
The series were successful and the study grew with talented artists, but a
stumble with Universal Pictures, which owned the rights to Oswald and
decided to dispense with his services, was about to ruin the nascent
company. The solution was tocreate another character and this was neither
more nor less than the mouse Mickey Mouse, who would eventually be the
emblem of the call Factory Disney . His fatherhood is disputed; Disney was
attributed, but could be the work of Ubbe Iwerks or both. After two failed
attempts, the new mouse triumph with Steamboat Willie(1928), which was
a great success. Immensely popular, the shorts moved quickly, and in 1930
went to the comic character. Short starring Mickey Mouse alternated with a
series of funny animation titled musical silly symphonies .
Despite some setbacks (such as abandonment of Iwerks, complaining of
the exploitation to which it subjected Disney), business was booming. In
1934, Disney launched a visionary project: the production of a feature film
would be the first in the history of animation. No one had dared to do so by
the huge costs involved; in fact, the industry of the time considered the
idea crazy. And indeed, in mid-1937, the study had been left
penniless. Disney had to borrow money to complete the million and a half
dollars it cost. But it happened that, at the box office, Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs (1937) generated revenues of eight million dollars. There
was not only successful as an entrepreneur, but also as an artist,
because Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was also a masterpiece of high
technical level, sensitivity and great narrative graceful ease.
The benefits allowed Disney to build, two years later, a huge studio in
Burbank, and produce, alongside the usual short, extraordinary films
( Pinocchio , Fantasia ,Dumbo , Bambi ), however, not always produced
benefits. Disney also had to address other problems, such as the 1941
strike, which paralyzed the studies and damaged the image of the
company; some of its leaders would take revenge in 1947, denouncing
before the Committee on Un - American Activities.
He managed to weather the storm opening up to other genres, such as
documentaries, and in the 50s, with a more buoyant situation, returned to
the fray with new features success: Cinderella , Alice in Wonderland , Peter
Pan or the lady and the tramp . At the same time, the activities of the
corporation continued tospread to other areas, such as films with real
actors ( Treasure Island , 1950,Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ,
1954), the production of television programs (initiated in 1950 ) and a final
megalomaniac idea, to bring to land your fantasy world with the
construction of Disneyland, which opened in 1955, was what today we
would call the first theme park history.
Was even grander project of a new park in Orlando, Disneyworld, do not
get to see concluded. Tucked in his last years and direct work in animation
and more focused on business projects, in 1966 he was diagnosed with
lung cancer and died a few months. The Wizard of Burbank , as it is often
called, left a solvent business empire that still lingers. And your kind films,
full of humane wildlife, are still populating the imagination of millions of
children.
Walt Disney
(Chicago, 1901 - Los ngeles, 1966) Dibujante y productor cinematogrfico
estadounidense, pionero del cine de dibujos animados, principal creador de
la etapa clsica de la animacin y fundador de la corporacin que lleva su
nombre.

Aunque nacido en Chicago, pas los aos ms felices de su infancia en una

granja cerca de Marceline (Missouri), hasta que en 1909 su padre enferm
y la familia hubo de trasladarse a Kansas City. All empezara a trabajar de
repartidor de peridicos, labor que compaginaba con sus estudios, en los
que no destacaba. Prefera el dibujo y las historietas; las primeras que
traz apareceran en el peridico de su instituto en Chicago, adonde la
familia se haba trasladado nuevamente.

Walt Disney

En 1918, el joven Walt trat de alistarse en el ejrcito. Como no tena la

edad suficiente, falsific su partida de nacimiento y, fingiendo haber
cumplido los diecisiete aos, logr ser admitido como conductor de
ambulancias de la Cruz Roja. Sin embargo, cuando termin su formacin, la
guerra ya haba terminado y su trabajo se redujo a trasladar oficiales.

De regreso a Estados Unidos, se estableci en Kansas City y consigui un

trabajo de publicista en el Pesemen-Rubin Art Studio, donde trab una
amistad clave con el dibujante Ubbe Iwerks. Ambos fundaron en 1920 la
empresa Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists, que result un fracaso.
Hubieron de trabajar otra vez por cuenta ajena en la Kansas City Film Ad,
empresa en la que tendra lugar su primer contacto con las rudimentarias
tcnicas de animacin de la poca, cuyas posibilidades fascinaron de
inmediato a Disney.

En 1922, cuando crey que haba aprendido lo suficiente, Disney fund la

compaa Laugh-O-Gram Films, con la que realiz exitosos cortometrajes
basados en cuentos infantiles. Sin embargo, los gastos de produccin
superaban los beneficios, y al ao siguiente tuvo que cerrar. Desalentado,
Disney se traslad a Hollywood sin otra idea que llegar a ser director de
cine "normal". Por suerte, una distribuidora se interes por Alice's
Wonderland, una de las pelculas que haba producido Laugh-O-Gram Films,
y le encarg nuevas pelculas que combinasen animacin e imagen real.
Para satisfacer el encargo naci el Disney Brothers' Studio (dirigido por
Walt y su hermano Roy), que producira nueve Alice Comedies (Comedias
de Alicia), a las que seguira en 1927 la serie Oswald, el conejo afortunado,
un encargo para la Universal Pictures creado por Ubbe Iwerks, que se haba
unido a la nueva andadura de los hermanos Disney.
Las series tenan xito y el estudio iba creciendo con talentosos dibujantes,
aunque un tropiezo con la Universal Pictures, que tena los derechos
sobre Oswald y decidi prescindir de sus servicios, estuvo a punto de
arruinar la naciente empresa. La solucin era crear otro personaje y ste
fue ni ms ni menos que el ratn Mickey Mouse, que con el tiempo sera el
emblema de la llamada Factora Disney. Su paternidad es discutida; Disney
se la atribuy, pero pudo ser obra de Ubbe Iwerks o de ambos. Tras dos
intentos fallidos, el flamante ratoncito triunfara con Steamboat
Willie (1928), que fue un gran xito. Inmensamente popular, los
cortometrajes se sucedieron con rapidez, y en 1930 el personaje pas al
cmic. Los cortos protagonizados por Mickey Mouse se alternaron con una
serie de graciosas animaciones musicales titulada Sinfonas tontas.
Pese a algunos contratiempos (como el abandono de Iwerks, quejoso de la
explotacin a que lo someta Disney), el negocio iba viento en popa. En
1934, Disney emprendi un proyecto visionario: la produccin de un
largometraje que iba a ser el primero de la historia de la animacin. Nadie
se haba atrevido a ello por los enormes costos que supona; de hecho, la
industria de la poca consider la idea una locura. Y, efectivamente, a
mediados de 1937, el estudio se haba quedado sin un cntimo. Disney
tuvo que pedir un crdito para completar el milln y medio de dlares que
cost. Pero ocurri que, en taquilla, Blancanieves y los siete enanitos(1937)
gener unos ingresos de ocho millones de dlares. No solamente haba
acertado como empresario, sino tambin como artista,
porque Blancanieves y los siete enanitos result ser adems una obra
maestra, de altsimo nivel tcnico, graciosa sensibilidad y gran soltura
narrativa.
Los beneficios permitieron a Disney construir, dos aos despus, un
inmenso estudio en Burbank, y producir, junto a los cortos de siempre,
extraordinarios largometrajes (Pinocho, Fantasa, Dumbo, Bambi) que, sin
embargo, no siempre produjeron beneficios. Disney tuvo que encarar
adems otros problemas, como la huelga de 1941, que paraliz los estudios
y perjudic la imagen de la empresa; de algunos de sus lderes se vengara
en 1947, denuncindolos ante el Comit de Actividades Antiamericanas.
Logr capear el temporal abrindose a otros gneros, como los
documentales, y en la dcada de los 50, con una situacin ms boyante,
volvi a la carga con nuevos largometrajes de xito: La Cenicienta, Alicia
en el pas de las maravillas, Peter Pan oLa dama y el vagabundo. Al mismo
tiempo, las actividades de la corporacin siguieron extendindose a otros
mbitos, como la pelculas con actores reales (La isla del tesoro,
1950; Veinte mil leguas de viaje submarino, 1954), la produccin de
programas para la televisin (iniciada en 1950) y una ltima idea
megalmana, la de traer a la tierra su mundo de fantasa con la
construccin de Disneylandia, que, inaugurado en 1955, fue lo que hoy
llamaramos el primer parque temtico de la historia.
Ms grandioso fue an el proyecto de un nuevo parque en Orlando,
Disneyworld, que no llegara a ver concluido. Apartado en sus ltimos aos
ya del trabajo directo en la animacin y ms centrado en los proyectos
empresariales, en 1966 se le diagnostic un cncer de pulmn y falleci a
los pocos meses. El Mago de Burbank, como se le llamaba a menudo,
dejaba un solvente emporio empresarial que an perdura. Y sus amables
pelculas, repletas de fauna humanizada, siguen todava poblando la
imaginacin de millones de nios.