Walt Disney had a difficult childhood growing up in Minnesota and had to work from a young age, leaving little time for childhood. He moved to Los Angeles with just a few dollars and started drawing and animating. He created Mickey Mouse in 1928 which became a huge success with the advent of talking films. Disney further developed his strategy of synergistic cross-promotion across various media. The 1950 opening of Disneyland was hugely profitable and proved critics wrong. Walt Disney died of lung cancer in 1962 while overseeing construction of Disney World.

1. Walt F—kin’ Disney, man.
And the children’s dreams he
created!
James Steinberg

2. Early Life
• Born into an abusive family in Minnesota
• Had to work from a very young age
• Barely had a childhood, thus made up for it
with the whole children’s entertainment
thing.
• Was always very close with his brother Roy
who later became his business partner

3. First days in Hollywood
• Disney moved to Los Angeles with just a few
dollars in his pocket and started drawing.
• He met Ub Iwerks, another animator who
helped him for years to follow
• Unfortunately he had very little success
initially…but he kept working diligently and
BAM:

4. First days of success
• Walt and a team of 7 other animators created
the character Mickey Mouse in a 20 period in
a garage.
• Luckily, the character’s animation coincided
with the invention of “talkies”.
• Disney company released the first talking
animated short which became a hit all over
the world

5. New Business Strategy?!
• With the Mickey Mouse short came a song called “Who’s
afraid of the big bad wolf”
• This song became a hit throughout the depression and was
the first example of “Disney Synergy”
• Disney Synergy is Disney’s current main strategy…It’s the
production in many different forms of media that advertise
each other… with it they make a lot of money.
• This technique can be seen in the current prominence of
Disney movies, Disney TV, and Disney music starts such as the
very talented Miley Cyrus.

6. The Real Money Maker
• In 1950 Walt and Roy Disney perfected “Disney Synergy” with the opening
of the first Disneyland.
• Investors thought it would be a terrible idea financially – idiots.
• It had over 2 million visitors its opening day and made huge profits.

7. Those Last Few Days
• In the early 60s Disney was diagnosed with
lung cancer.
• He died in 1962 in a hospital bed overlooking
the just opening Florida Disneyland…which
had been his and his brother’s dream project
for years.
• Contrary to popular belief he was not frozen
before dying, and is not coming back… ever.

8. Sources
• Wasko, Janet. “The Magical World of Disney” The
Monthly Review, April 2001. pp. 56‐71.
• Harmon, Melissa Burdick. “Walt Disney: The Man
Behind the Mouse” Biography Magazine, 2001.
• Lane, Anthony. “Wonder World: What Walt
Disney Made” The New Yorker, December 2006.
pp.66‐75