The First Animated Feature Film Released (1937)

Hello. My name is Walt Disney, and I love to tell stories. Ever since I was a boy, I loved to draw. I would draw funny animals and make them come to life on paper. You might know one of my first big stars, a cheerful little fellow named Mickey Mouse. We made lots of short cartoons with Mickey and his friends, and it was so much fun to hear people laugh. But deep down, I had an even bigger dream. I wanted to tell a story that was long, just like the movies with real actors. I wanted our drawings to make you laugh, cry, and feel wonderful for a whole hour and a half. I thought and thought about the perfect story. Then I remembered a fairy tale about a kind princess named Snow White. She had seven funny friends, a scary queen, and a handsome prince. 'That's it.' I thought. We could make this story magical with beautiful colors, happy songs, and drawings that moved like a dream.

My studio became a buzzing beehive of artists. Imagine hundreds of people, all working together on one big dream. Each artist had a special job. Some drew Snow White, making her gentle and sweet. Others drew the seven dwarfs, giving each one a funny personality, like Grumpy or Dopey. To make them move, we had to draw thousands and thousands of pictures. Each drawing was just a little bit different from the one before it. When we put them all together, it looked like magic. But not everyone thought it was a good idea. Some people whispered and said, 'A cartoon that long. No one will want to watch it.' They even gave our movie a silly nickname. They called it 'Disney's Folly,' which means they thought it was a big mistake. I felt a little sad when I heard that, but my team and I believed in our story. We worked even harder. We even invented a special camera called the multiplane camera. It was like a giant stack of glass windows. We would put drawings of trees on the front glass and drawings of the castle far in the back. When we moved the camera, it looked like you were walking right through a real forest. It was our own special kind of magic.

The big day finally arrived. It was December 21st, 1937. The air was buzzing with excitement as we all gathered at the movie theater for the premiere. I sat in my seat, and my heart was beating like a drum. I was so nervous. What if people didn't like it. What if they thought it really was a silly folly. Then, the lights went down, and the movie began. I watched the faces in the audience. When the dwarfs marched on screen singing 'Heigh-Ho,' the whole theater filled with laughter. When the Evil Queen appeared with her poison apple, I heard people gasp. And when the prince finally woke Snow White, everyone cheered. At the end of the movie, there was a moment of silence. My heart stopped. And then, the whole room exploded with applause. People were clapping and cheering so loudly. I felt a huge wave of happiness and relief wash over me. We did it. Our dream had come true. It just goes to show you that if you have a big dream and work hard with your friends, you can make magic happen, no matter what anyone else says.