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Walt Disney was a film producer, media magnate, and co-founder of the
Walt Disney Company. He was an iconic figure in the Twentieth Century
media and entertainment industry, helping to produce many films. With
his staff, he created famous cartoon characters, such as Mickey Mouse
and Donald Duck; his name was also used for the successful Disney
Theme Parks. During his lifetime, he received a record 59 Nominations
for the Academy Awards, winning 22 Awards.
wished to make a full length animated feature film of Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs. Many expected it to be a commercial failure. But,
using new techniques of filming, the production was met with glowing
reviews. It took nearly 3 years to film coming out in 1937, after Disney
had run out of money. But, the films strong critical reception, made it the
most successful film of 1938, earning $8 million on its first release. The
film had very high production values, but also captured the essence of a
fairy tale on film for the first time. Walt Disney would later write that he
never produced films for the critic, but the general public. Replying to
criticism that his productions were somewhat corny, he replied:
All right. Im corny. But I think theres just about a-hundredand-forty-million people in this country that are just as
corny as I am.
Disney always had a great ability to know what the public loved to see.
After the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , the studio
produced several other successful animations, such as Pinocchio, Peter
Pan, Bambi and Wind in the Willows. After Americas entry into the
Second World War in 1941, this golden age of animation faded and the
studio struggled as it made unprofitable propaganda films.
Political and religious views
In 1941, Disney also had to deal with a major strike by his writers and
animators. This left a strong impression on Disney. He would later
become a member of leading anti-Communist organisation Motion
Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals (the right-wing
organisation was also considered to be anti-semitic. At one point, he
(unsuccessfully) tried to brand his labour union organisers as Communist
agitators.
However, in the 1950s, Disney distanced himself from the Motion Picture
Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. However, by associating
with the organisation he was often associated with the anti-labour and
anti-semitic philosophy it expressed. Disney was a Republican, though
was not really involved in politics. It is often asked whether Walt Disney
was anti-semitic.
His biographer, Neal Gabler stated:
And though Walt himself, in my estimation, was not anti-