Who was Walt Disney?

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If you don’t know about Walt Disney, the person, you probably know his last name. Maybe you watch the Disney Channel. Maybe you’ve visited Disney World in Florida or Disneyland in California. Maybe you’ve seen some Disney movies, like The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Lilo and Stitch, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Disney name is everywhere, especially in kids’ entertainment, and Walt Disney is the person that started it all.

He was born on December 5, 1901. He first studied cartooning by taking a correspondence course, which is a type of course that is done through the mail. A student actually mails things to his or her teacher to be graded

With his brother Roy as a business partner, he worked on many short animated films. In 1928, Steamboat Willie was shown in theaters and became very popular. It was the first appearance of Mickey Mouse, who is probably Walt Disney’s most famous character.

In 1937 his first full-length animated movie was released. This was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Walt Disney was also one of the first people to take advantage of new television technology and produced many shows and movies for TV.

His excitement for fantasy and entertainment led him to open Disneyland in California in 1955. He died on December 15, 1966, but he had already begun plans on a second park. Walt Disney World in Florida would open in 1971. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world! 

Fun with Flip Books

A cool way to make your own animated cartoon at home is by making a flipbook. A flipbook is a book that you flip through so quickly that the images appear to be moving, just like a cartoon you would see on TV.

One of the easiest ways to make one is by using index cards. On half of each card draw an image, and make it slightly different than the image before. If you want to make a cartoon about a ball rolling down a hill, you’ll have a hill in all your pictures, but in the first picture, your ball will be up at the top of the hill. In the second picture, the ball will be a little bit lower.

When you are finished drawing, use a rubber band to hold the index cards together. Then, flip through them and see the story you made!