Walt Disney's Managerial Skills

Introduction

In order to comprehend how influential Walt Disney truly was, try to imagine the world without him. Imagine the world today with out Mickey Mouse, the fairytales, Disney World, and possibly all animation. Walt Disney has most likely affected your life, whether by touching your heart with a Disney classic such as Beauty and the Beast, or by simply fascinating you by one his amazing theme parks. Walt Disney developed animation and changed the world we live in today. Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois. (Broggie: pp121-125) Walt had four brothers and sisters. Growing up, it was clear that he had a high interest in drawing and art. When he was a toddler he would sell small sketches to neighbors and was always doodling pictures of animals and nature. Against his Father's wishes Walt Disney attended a night school called the Academy of Fine Arts in order to enhance his drawing capabilities. Walt Disney's family had moved to Kansas City. Walt's artistic skills were rapidly improving and now, Walt was not only interested in drawing, but also acting. At school, he would entertain his friends by telling stories and at the same time illustrate on the chalkboard what he was saying. Walt decided that he wanted his career to be in commercial art, which led Walt to experiment in animation.

Still in Kansas City, Disney started his own company, Laugh-O-Grams. He produced short animated films for local businesses. When his company went bankrupt, Walt refused to give up. He gathered up his project, the Alice Comedies, and went straight to Hollywood. He did all this before he was even twenty-two. (Mosley: 29-31)

Discussion

In Hollywood, Walt originally faced failure. He had almost no money and was doing everything he could to keep his dream alive. He borrowed money from many relatives in order to fund his business. Walt's project Alice in Cartoonland gained popularity and took Walt Disney to the top of Hollywood society. Walt would have never been able to achieve this without being optimistic and having faith in himself. Walt Disney created the famous Mickey Mouse in 1928 where he was first put to use in a silent cartoon. The adorable little mouse made his first screen appearance in a sound cartoon at the Colony Theatre in New York on November 18, 1928.

This was only the beginning for Walt and he moved forward with optimism and imagination. He won his first Academy Award in 1932 for a production called "Flowers and Trees." In 1937 "The Old Mill" was the first short subject to utilize the multi-plane camera technique. On December 21 of 1937 his first full-length animated feature film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" premiered at the Carthay Theatre in Las Angeles. The production costs for the movie were through the roof at an unimaginable $1,499,000. Producing such a costly movie in the midst of the depression is still considered one of the amazing feats of the motion picture industry. "Snow White" was ...