On this day in 1901, one of the world’s modern geniuses was born. Repeatedly throughout his life, he took a new field (animation, television, theme parks, etc) and innovated in this space until he was the unquestioned leader in that field. Walter Elias Disney came… Read More »Happy Birthday Walt Disney!
The Disneyland Resort recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Disney Ambassador program and the very first ambassador, Julie Reihm (now Casaletto), was able to return to help crown the newest honorees. While at the park, she reflected on her time as an Ambassador, what… Read More »Meet Disneyland’s first Ambassador – Julie Reihm
I don’t talk about him too frequently, but I am proud to have as my grandfather one of the early Imagineers at WED Enterprises. Vic Greene had an impact on a lot of projects, but one that’s near and dear to my heart is the… Read More »Petition to return a lost tombstone to the Haunted Mansion
50 years ago Disneyland introduced the Ambassador program. Walt Disney wanted a host to act as a representative of the park for community events, tv shows, as well as to play host to VIP guests and foreign dignitaries. That first host was Julie Reihm (now… Read More »50th Anniversary of Disneyland Ambassador Program ceremony held on both coasts
Walt and Roy from “Walt Before Mickey”
You may have heard about the new unofficial Walt Disney Biopic. It focuses on Walt’s early years from his birth until the point he loses Oswald The Lucky Rabbit and partners with Ubb Iwerks to create Mickey Mouse. But did you know there are two competing Walt Disney Biopics.
There are. “As Dreamers Do” and “Walt Before Mickey” both cover essentially the same part of Walt’s life. Dreamers came out a little earlier this year with a festival premiere and “Walt Before Mickey” is just getting ready for release.
Walt Before Mickey stars a few names you might know. Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie) plays Walt, Jon Heder (Napolean Dynamite) is Roy Disney. David Henrie (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Hunter Gomez (National Treasure, Family Guy) are also in the cast.
In case you missed it, here’s the trailer for “As Dreamers Do: The Amazing Life of Walt Disney.” It has less well known actors, but the support of some big Disney fans.
Read More »Competing Walt Disney BioPic Trailers
Walt Disney often gets labeled as an animator, but he really was an industry innovator as well (right from the start when he invented the first animators drawing table). This video from Disney Insider provides a nice introduction to some of the many innovations Walt brought to the realm of animation and special effects.
Other innovations Walt developed for animation included the process to synchronize music to animation, the multiplane camera (first used in “The Old Mill”) and putting people into animation (instead of animated objects appearing in the real world).
How do you remember Walt Disney, as an animator, innovator or something else?
Follow us below the jump for Disney animator Don Hahn’s take on the alchemy of Disney animation
Read More »Walt Disney, Pioneer in Animation and Special Effects
Walt’s Grandchildren. Image courtesy of the Walt Disney Family Foundation
Editor Note: This article is republished in honor of Grandparents Day, September 7, 2014. It was originally written after a 2011 event at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco.
Family togetherness and memories of shared experiences to last a lifetime … those are at the heart of Walt Disney’s many creations — from cartoon characters and heart-warming movies that have entertained generations to Disneyland, which has delighted guests between the ages of 2 and 102 since opening in 1955.
Family meant a great deal to Disney, both personally and professionally. His daughter, Diane Disney Miller, told me that despite her father’s success, she and her sister, Sharon, lived a fairly typical family life. The girls had two loving, caring and protective parents. Her dad, she said, was a hugger who enjoyed family dinners at home, weekly outings with his girls, even time regularly spent driving his daughters to school on his way to the studio.
Walt was happy with his little family, even though Diane learned many years later from her aunt that he had wanted more children but that doctors had advised her mother, Lillian, not to attempt another pregnancy after a series of miscarriages.
It would have “only been me,” Diane said, if her parents hadn’t gone out and adopted her sister, Sharon. Walt and Lillian would later become “very loving” grandparents. And, making Walt a grandfather was the “best thing I ever did for him,” Diane said.
Diane and her husband, Ron Miller, parented seven children; six were born before Walt’s death on Dec. 15, 1966. Five of them — Chris, Joanna, Tammy, Jennifer and Walter Miller — shared memories of their maternal grandfather in a special program on Sept. 17, 2011, at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Ron Jr., born in 1963, was too young when his grandfather died to participate with his siblings and Patrick Miller wasn’t born until 1967.
Image courtesy of the Walt Disney Family Foundation
The program, arguably the best talk in the museum’s nearly five-year history, provided an intimate look at Walt’s family life from his adored grandchildren. Now adults, they had a unique relationship to one of the most creative and influential men of the 20th century. They said both their parents and grandparents did everything they could to give them a fairly typical family life.
The following offers highlights of the program. It’s been plussed and sprinkled throughout with material obtained during an exclusive interview after the event.
Note: This article is republished courtesy Leo N. Holzer and the Friends of the Walt Disney Family Museum. Thanks to David Lesjak for sharing his research with us. Imagine a world if Walt Disney had died on Sept. 4, 1918. It almost happened. Postal employee… Read More »Imagine a world without Walt Disney. How he narrowly escaped death on September 4, 1918