Ivan's Journal - MEMORABILIA

I still smile whenever I see Disney’s cartoons or pictures of Disney’s characters. I felt there’s some kind of bonds or connections with them. They’re the ones who comforted me when I’m sad, accompanied me when I had my meal, cheered me up when there’s nobody around. They’re all my close childhood friends and they still are until now.

Have you ever imagined a world without fun and laughter? A world without cartoons? Worlds without magic, dreams, passion, and optimism? It must be pretty boring. Walt Disney had changed our world to the world we knew today. He transformed the entertainment industry to a magical world full of fun. Walt Disney is a pioneer in the world of animation and cartoon. He had found a new way to teach and educate, all at once.

The optimism of Walt emerged from his unique talents that could see the pictures of the future as a whole. His visions came from his pleasant childhood memories and his strong will to build the future. Walt like history so much and he used technology to link his dreams with his purposes to make our life more enjoyable and fun. Walt is our bridge that connects the past and the future.

Walter Elias Disney was born in December 5 1901 in Chicago Illinois. His father, Elias Disney, is an Irish – Canadian and his mother, Flora Call Disney, is a German – American. Walt had four brothers and one sister. Not long after Walt Disney was born, his family moved to Marceline, Missouri. Walt spent almost all of his childhood there.

He was most interested in drawing and arts. When he was seven, he began to sell his sketches and pictures to his closest neighbors. Walt preferred to draw animals and natures rather than doing his school works. In summer, Walt usually worked at the train station selling papers, popcorns, and soda. He also made train miniatures, equipped with its railways and tracks.

Besides his hobbies, he also entered McKinley High School in Chicago where he learned about drawing and photography. When the night came, he went to the Academy of Fine Arts to sharpen his drawing skills.

Later, his family moved to Kansas City. Even after that, Walt continuously developed his drawing and artistic skills. Besides drawing, Walt tried to study acting and performing. Walt tried to entertain his friends at school by mimicking the performance of his favorite pantomime actor, Charlie Chaplin. Witnessed by his friends and teachers, Walt also tried to tell stories by giving illustrations and drawing at the board at the same time. He even tried to perform in comical skits at local theatres at night quietly without permission from his father.

Walt was not the same like any other most commonly Hollywood people. He preferred to stay at home, had dinner with his wife (Lillian), and his two daughters (Diane & Sharon), rather than socializing with other famous Hollywood people. Socializing was a boring thing to do for Walt. He usually would dominate every conversation and let the others mesmerized by his dreams, stories, and newest visions. His closest and best friends were the people who lived together with himself, his ideas, or both.

In 1925, Walt married his own employee, Lillian Bounds. After they’re married for 3 years, Walt created his animation character Mickey Mouse. His talents in cartoon firstly applied in a mute cartoon movie called Plane Crazy. But before that movie was released, the sound technology had already been introduced and ready to be used in motion pictures industries. So the legendary Mickey Mouse started his first debut in the first cartoon movie in the world called Steamboat Willie that used synchronized sound technology. The movie was played at the Colony Theatre in New York in 1928.

In December 1937, long musical animation movies called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were released and played at Carthay Theatre in Los Angeles. Rumors said that the movie was produced with $1.499.000 budget. Although it was produced in times of troubles and depressions, the movie is still considered phenomenal until now. Five years later, Walt Disney with his studio released other animation movies like Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi. Mary Poppins was released later in 1945.

Besides movies, Walt Disney also enchanted us with dreams and thoughts through his gigantic and massive amusement park that are clean and well organized. That dream came true when the Disneyland Park was built in 1955. The amusement park took investment budget of over 17 million dollars. Hundreds of people visited the park everyday including presidents, kings, artists, and the royal families from all over the world. The parks were later developed into a Disney World that had its own theme parks, motels, hotels, and resorts. It took 7 years of planning and 52 months of construction process to make this awesome dreamland.

A few years before his death in December 15 1966, Walt Disney opened the California Institute of Arts. It’s a university founded in 1961 for professionals who’re interested in creativity and arts (performing arts). It’s located in Valencia near Los Angeles that had combinations of two schools, The Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and The Chouinard Art Institute.

Walt Disney is a legend. He always does magical things to touch our hearts, minds, and emotions. Through his works and creations, we can find new ways to communicate and educate. The memories of my childhood will not be completed without him. He brings us closer to the future by telling sweet memories from the past. He is Walt Disney… Thanks Walt… :-)

Ivan the Freelancer