The Creation of the Pioneering Disney Studios
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The Walt Disney Company was created in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney in Los Angeles. The Disney brothers started by creating a series of live-action/animated short films communally named The Alice Comedies. Within four months of the first screenings, the brothers were forced to relocate to larger facilities, dubbed “Disney Bros. Studio.” According their official website, in 1925 the Disney brothers placed a deposit on a lot on Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. This lot would house the Disney Studio for the next 14 years, seeing the beginning of such beloved characters as Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald Duck.
In fact, it was Walt Disney’s wife Lillian Marie Disney who gave Mickey Mouse his name. Her husband wanted to call his new character Mortimer Mouse. She claimed this suggestion was one of her prouder moments. Representative of Mickey’s triumph and popularity was the awarding of a special Academy Award for “Mickey Mouse” in 1932. Mickey was colorized in 1935 and soon his friends were drawn in their own personal series. Donald Duck and Pluto would all get their own series in 1937, while Goofy would enjoy a solo series in 1939. Again, according to the Disney website, of all of Mickey’s friends, only Donald Duck would contend the much-loved mouse’s popularity. The two characters shared the screen first in 1934, in a short called Orphan’s Benefit.
The cartoon shorts would make way in 1937 for the inventive full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White was met with phenomenal acclaim and success, solidifying Disney’s brilliance. This world-wide regard prompted Disney to secure 51 acres of land in Burbank and break ground on an entirely new studio dedicated to making animated films
Walt Disney was intimately involved with designing the new studio, right down to the minutia. From the layout of the buildings to the design of the animators’ chairs, nothing missed his astute eye. His intention was creating a self-sufficient, state-of-the-art production facility that could oversee all the means of animation, from start to finish. He also had separate buildings dedicated to each aspect of animation, including Inking and Painting and the Camera building where the artwork was finished and photographed. All of the post-production work was finished in the Cutting building. These buildings were connected together by an intricate system of underground tunnels so nothing could disturb production, including bad weather. To preserve a campus feel, Disney had all the utilities sunk underground to prevent any unsightly views.
It was from this pioneering studio in Burbank that Disney would bring many of its beloved family films, including Fantasia, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice In Wonderland, and Peter Pan.