Disney Sketch Class (Aidan)

~Walt Disney~

Walt Disney did not start off popular or famous. He never planned to become a household name. His full first name was Walter, and he lived with his mother and sister, his father being a construction worker. Walt Disney grew to love art from his mother who drew the blue prints for his father, who used them in his work. His mother, though her art work was not as exciting as the famous artists, was still passionate about her vocation, and she taught her young son to follow. He learned from his mother, and he was happy with his home. But his father had plans. 

So, the Disney family became farmers. Mr. Disney's construction vocation had failed, but this did not suppress his ambitious idea of one day becoming wealthy and content. So, he started the task of caring for his enormously large farm. He did not believe in starting small. So Walt Disney learned the ways of the farmers along with his father, and he began hard work from an extremely young age. Walt Disney learned to be content with this job, but that was not the end of it. 

Mail routes! Again, Mr. Disney failed, and so he started a twice a day delivery to 700 individuals. And again the rest of the Disney family was uprooted from their home to live closer to their father's job. And again Disney worked hard for his father. At three in the morning he woke up to leave for his deliveries, and at five in the evening he started again. His school suffered, but he still found ways to have fun. He and his friend created an act about Abraham Lincoln and a friend. The school loved the act, and Disney enjoyed himself along with his friend.

Jam making? Mr. Disney again failed at a vocation, and so he bought a factory to make jam, and Disney was forced to work for him for free. Walt Disney knew how this would end. And as the Disney family worked at this job, a war began. World War I started, and Disney watched as his friend went off to war, leaving him behind to work for his father. Disney wished to help in the war, and he was just old enough to be a red cross ambulance driver. But there was a problem. His parents had to sign the paper. Mr. Disney refused. He was not going to lose his best worker. But his mother sneaked in and signed the paper for Disney. His father knew nothing about it.

Disney traveled to Connecticut to train to become an ambulance driver. But before he finished training, the war ended. So, Disney was to help with the wounded soldiers who were not yet able to return home heal. He heard the stories of the wounded, and he became familiar with trench rats. These rats would crawl into the pits that soldiers fought in, and Disney sketched pictures of the interaction between humans and these rats.

After Disney was no longer needed, he did not want to return to his father's business. So he thought he would work for a movie company. Movies had started to become popular, and some companies made advertisements that played before the movie. Disney tried drawing for the company, but he was no good. After a while, he left the company.

But Disney still dreamed of drawing moving pictures. So, he started his own company, and he hired some of his more artistic friends to draw for him. He failed to draw a hit for a long time, but finally, Oswald the lucky rabbit became a favorite. People became attached to this little cartoon, and Disney began to make money. He also began to disrupt the larger companies.

So, Disney was sent a letter to sign for the rights of Oswald to draw in a short clip. He signed. He did not know that in the letter it also asked for all of the rights of Oswald. Disney lost more and more money without knowing what had happened. He finally went to ask why his business was failing, and the company showed him the letter. Disney was furious. He had lost his only success, but he would not give up.

Disney again set to work. After a bit of experimenting, Disney stumbled across a great plan. He would not only make his drawings move, he would make them talk. So, he drew Mortemore, the funny little mouse that caused his fame. But his wife did not like this name. So, she suggested Mickey. This sounded more appealing, so he named his mouse Mickey Mouse.

The talking animation was a huge success, and people wanted more. So, Disney began to create his first movie. Snow White was the first full length animated movie to include sound. Disney worked hard on creating more and more movies. But, he ran into trouble.

Across the sea, World War II began. Disney's buildings began to fill up with soldiers who needed a place to sleep. He was no longer able to make movies. His buisness was beginning to fail.

So Disney met with government officials, and he made a deal with them. If they fully funded his operation and let him keep his buildings, he would make more movies, supporting the war effort and national security. These movies kept his company alive until the end of the war.

The legacy of Disney stretches all the way into modern times. Movies still are being created by the Disney company. One man's passion of acting and drawing created years of entertainment and memories. Today, two parks, Disney World and Disney Land, stand as a memory to the man who sketched a mouse Named Mickey.
By: Rus (Age 12)