Walt Disney

After the success of Snow White, Walt built a new studio in Burbank and began working on Pinocchio, Fantasia and Bambi. These films were not as commercially successful as Snow White, but, over the years, have become timeless family classics. What distinguished Walt's cartoons from their predecessors, was his ability to breath life into his characters and give them distinct personalities. Anthropomorphism (attributing human characteristics to inanimate objects, or animals) was a key ingredient in Disney cartoons.

At the start of World War II, the Disney studio was commissioned by the State Department to make health films. The studio also continued to suffer from financial setbacks. To battle the rising costs of animation, Walt began to combine animation with live action. Transition films like Song of the South, and The Three Caballeros, led the way to Disney's highly lucrative venture into family friendly films based on classic tales like Treasure Island. Walt enlisted the help of the very best naturalist photographers to produce films like The Living Desert, and added clever narratives to his true-life nature and adventure films. The audience witnessed not only spectacular photography, but also a story that would endear its characters to the hearts of the viewers.

Following his success in the movie business, Walt was ready to move into his next creative venture: the medium of television. The Disneyland television series first aired on October 27, 1954. Each week, Walt would take his viewers on a journey through lands of fantasy and adventure (O'Day, 2000). As part of the agreement to do the weekly show, Walt had also received financial backing from the network to fund what would be one of Walt's greatest achievements. Television allowed him to take his audience behind the scenes of his latest project, the "Magic Kingdom", formally known as Disneyland.