Walt Disney

Hello there! My name is Walt Disney, and I want to tell you a story about how imagination and hard work can make dreams come true. I was born in a big city called Chicago on December 5th, 1901, but my favorite childhood memories are from our farm in Marceline, Missouri. I loved the animals, the big open fields, and especially the steam trains that chugged past our property. The sound of the whistle made me feel like anything was possible. I loved to draw more than anything. I drew on scraps of paper, on fences, and one time, I even used a stick and some tar to draw a big picture on the side of our white house! My parents weren't too happy about that, but they saw how much I loved art. My family, especially my older brother Roy, was always my biggest supporter. He was my best friend, and we would become business partners for our whole lives, always looking out for one another.

When I grew up, I knew I wanted to make my drawings move. I started a little company in Kansas City called Laugh-O-Gram Films, but it didn't succeed. I was so broke that I sometimes had to eat beans out of a can and couldn't even afford a place to live! But I never gave up on my dream. I packed my only suitcase and moved to Hollywood with my brother Roy, and on October 16th, 1923, we started the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. We had some success with a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, but we lost the rights to him in a bad business deal. On the long train ride home, feeling very sad and defeated, I started doodling. I drew a cheerful little mouse with big round ears. I wanted to name him Mortimer, but my wonderful wife, Lillian, said, 'What about Mickey?' And so, Mickey Mouse was born! We made a cartoon called 'Steamboat Willie,' which premiered on November 18th, 1928. It was one of the very first cartoons to have sound that matched the animation, and people absolutely loved it!

Mickey Mouse became a star! He helped our studio grow, and we created more cartoons called 'Silly Symphonies.' But I had an even bigger idea buzzing in my head. I wanted to create a movie that was a cartoon—a full-length feature film. Everyone thought I was crazy! They called it 'Disney's Folly' and said no one would sit through a cartoon that long. They worried it would hurt people's eyes and that no one would take it seriously. But my team and I believed in the idea. We worked for years, drawing every single picture by hand. We poured all our creativity and heart into the story of a kind princess and her seven friends. On December 21st, 1937, 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' premiered in a grand theater. The audience laughed, cried, and gave it a standing ovation. It was a huge success and showed the world that animation could tell beautiful, epic stories just like any other movie.

After making movies, I had another dream. I loved taking my daughters to amusement parks, but I noticed the parks were often dirty and didn't have much for parents to do. I wanted to build a new kind of place where parents and children could have fun together. I imagined a magical park, clean and happy, where stories would come to life right before your eyes. I called it Disneyland. Building it was a huge challenge; we had to invent new technologies and overcome many problems. But we did it, and on July 17th, 1955, we opened the gates to 'The Happiest Place on Earth.' Seeing the joy on families' faces was the best reward. I passed away on December 15th, 1966, but my dream lives on. I hope my story reminds you that anything is possible if you dare to dream it. Always remember what I used to say: 'If you can dream it, you can do it.'