By 1940 the War had shut down foreign markets. Walt was forced to phase out the feature films. The Studio survived by making short cartoons, many of which were instructional cartoons for the military. These shorts allowed the Studio to survive the War, but Walt had the military cartoons made at cost to support the War Effort. So by the War’s end the money made from box office successes like Snow White and Dumbo was gone.

This meant that Walt had to start over. Since he couldn’t afford to do a feature film he had his artists put together a series of package films. (These were collections of shorts that were organized around a theme.) The public responded poorly to these flims and the critics said that Disney had lost his touch. Some even predicted that Walt Disney Productions would be forced into bankruptcy.

Walt with children at Disneyland

Walt, however, wasn’t done. While the experts were proclaiming he was finished; Walt was preparing to make his Company more successful than ever. First he took the surprising step of investing time and capital into television. (Most movie producers viewed television as a major threat to their industry.) His efforts produced a series of award winning programs and one of the most popular children shows of all time, The Mickey Mouse Club. In 1950 he released Cinderella, and its box office success silenced the critics that said Disney’s magic was gone. Finally in 1955 Walt defied the experts again and opened the world’s first theme park, Disneyland. The Park's success made the Disney Company financially strong and assured Walt’s status as a cultural icon.

Walt gives his Opening Day speech

What Walt Disney accomplished, because of his attitude and determination, would be an excellent example and model for students even if all that he did was establish a successful business.  However, as you probably already know, and as my students will learn, Walt Disney was much more than a businessman. (My previous Disney in the Classroom articles cover the effect Walt Disney, and his Company, had and has on our culture from the 1930's to the present.) In my lesson on Walt himself, I will not go into any detail concerning what he created, since I will cover that in my other Disney lessons. However, I will show his Opening Day speech at Disneyland. After they see the speech, I will have my students write down why they believe Disneyland has remained popular for almost fifty years. I anticipate that at least a few students will see that Disneyland’s popularity comes from the fact that being there gives people hope. As guests in the Park we can believe that good will always overcome evil, that we can be proud of our past, and that our future is bright. Disneyland is in fact the ultimate expression of the theme that runs through all of Walt’s work- there is always hope that everything will work out the way that it should.