So Walt’s early life was quite ordinary. No one would have predicted that he would one day entertain and influence millions of people. Or maybe they would have? Those who knew Walt all his life say there was something special about him. He had the ability to enjoy and to benefit from his circumstances, no matter how difficult those circumstances might be. When his family was struggling to make a living as farmers, (near the small town of Marceline, Missouri) Walt gloried in the joys of country living. He and his brother Roy explored the woods hear the family‘s farm, went camping, and rode horses. Walt also loved spending time in Marceline where he could experience electric lights, automobiles, and other early 20th Century marvels. When his family moved to the city, he was able to go to movies and Vaudeville shows. He even convinced his father to pay for art lessons. Despite the fact that he struggled in school, most of his classmates and teachers liked him. This was probably because Walt often entertained them by drawing funny pictures or by putting on shows. 

 
The Laugh-O-grams Film Company

Walt’s interests eventually focused on creating and providing entertainment. Even when he was drawing advertisements for someone else, he was learning all he could about film animation. Eventually he founded his own animation studio: The Laugh-O- grams Film Company. He achieved some success selling cartoons to Kansas City theatres. Then a distribution deal fell through and Walt’s business went bankrupt. With no other prospects, Walt left Kansas City to seek new opportunities in Hollywood.

Walt and Roy with Mickey’s Oscar

This experience established a pattern in Walt Disney‘s life. He would do well for a time, and then something would happen that threatened to destroy his success. However, Walt refused to be beaten down by bad luck, bad circumstances, or bad people. When he failed in Kansas City he came with the idea of placing a live actor in a cartoon world, and then found someone to carry out his idea. (In this case Ub Iwerks, who also drew the first Mickey Mouse cartoons.) The result was the Alice Comedies featuring a live little girl inserted into a manic cartoon world. This series gave Walt the capital he needed to establish the Disney Brothers Studio. (Roy Disney had joined Walt by this time to handle the financial side of the Studio.)  When popularity for the Alice Comedies faded Walt and Ub came up with a new cartoon star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald was very popular and the Studio (now renamed Walt Disney Productions) seemed on the way the way to great success. Then Walt’s distributor (who owned the rights to Oswald) took Oswald from Walt and left him with nothing. So Walt and Ub came up with a new star, Mickey Mouse, and a new way to sell him, a cartoon with synchronized sound. Mickey Mouse became a cultural phenomenon and Walt Disney was hailed as an artistic genius. He enhanced his standing with critics and the public when he released the first feature length cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Walt Disney Productions’ future seemed bright. Then World War II began.