Disney's real beginning

The lives of successful people like Walt and Roy Disney are extremely fascinating to learn about because we discover that they still had to struggle like everyone else in order to achieve what they wanted. The Disney brothers had several ups and downs during the beginning stages of their company. Roy served in WWI and was unable to support anyone at home. Walt was deciding on his career choice: "I had two ambitions: to be an actor or an artist. It seemed easier to get a job as an artist than as an actor, so I decided on the former" (39). Starting any sort of career is never easy, especially one in art and cartooning. Walt went through many good and bad employments; he even incorporated a company for a time, but he went bankrupt. He eventually didn't know what to do and turned to Roy to help him start anew. They went to Hollywood, which "bore some resemblance to a gold rush town" (44). Hollywood is filled with all the famous studio names, which was what the Disney brothers came for. Their journey would later prove that any goal can be fulfilled with determination and intelligence.

The Disneys inevitably needed more money if they wanted to get an enterprise going. They were graciously supported by their family. Roy commented, "In our family we all helped each other" (47). It took a mortgage of their house, but it was definitely worth it. Walt and Roy rented a lot and called it the Disney Bros. Studio. Then the brothers moved, changing the name to the Walt Disney Studio. When asked about why the name included Walt, Roy said, "Walt was the creative member of the team. His name deserved to be on the pictures" (54). It's exciting for me as a reader to see how something as small as the company name would help give them success. The Disneys worked with several different distributors, and the brothers usually ended up losing their deals with them quickly. Walt produced many cartoons and pictures, including Alice Comedies, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and of course, Mickey Mouse, which became a national sensation. These words probably made Walt and Roy quite proud of their work, and they will soon have the huge company that will result from their accomplishments.

~ Outside Reading #2

Thomas, Bob. Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire. New York: Hyperion, 1998.
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Roy: the money behind Walt

You think there's only one person who made it all happen, but you always miss their partners. Yes, it is called the "Walt Disney" company, but it was actually co-founded by Walt and his older brother, Roy Disney. Though they were closely related and a business team, they had quite opposite personalities: "Walt was the inventive dreamer, Roy the financial wizard" (1). Inevitably, you wonder which is better: having optimistic creativity and big visions or a down-to-earth sense of what is physically possible? Though the Disney brothers had their arguments, they still greatly acknowledged each other. When Walt spoke publicly about his older brother, he admitted, "I still love him. I argue with him. Sometimes I think he's the stubbornest so-and-so I ever met in my life. But I don't know what the hell I'd do without him...he kept me on the straight and narrow" (5). The attitude contrast they had clearly did not affect how the two entrepreneurs climbed up to success.

I was very surprised at how far the Disney family was able to be traced back. Hughes d'Isigny fought with William the Conqueror to invade England in 1066. While living in England, the name was shortened to Disney, and 600 years later, they settled in Ireland. Then in 1834, a branch of the family set sail for New York. This action reminded me of how foreign people looked up to the United States as an assurance for a better life. Elias Disney, Walt and Roy's great-grandfather, definitely followed this statement, spending his lifetime "in a futile search for the bounty that America promised" (7). A big family was raised, and eventually, Roy and Walt were born in the turn of the 20th century. All the kids remembered their father's harsh demeanor, and they all "yearned to become independent of their father's commanding ways and occasional switchings" (24). This was probably an incentive for Walt and Roy to start their own lives and create their company. The Disney brothers are a fine example that no matter what your history is, anyone can be successful.

~ Outside Reading #1

Thomas, Bob. Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire. New York: Hyperion, 1998.