Dateline:02/22/01
When last we checked in with Walt, he had wowed
the world with its first animated feature length films. Not one to rest on his laurels,
Disney moved on to the next step on the path to
fulfilling his dreams.
During the 1950s, the Disney phenome hit television. Disney
had opened Disneyland, and his new weekly television show enabled
him to tout his fabulous amusement park at the same time he
presented his latest work, featured parts of his past work,
and showed the American public a bit of the behind the scenes
stuff we all craved. I'll never forget a feature he did on making
animation realistic. On this show, he explained the several hundred
stop-action photographs of water dripping were needed to produce
an animated rain storm in oneof his films. He also showed the
opening of a flower. Amazing!
Also during the fifties, the Mickey Mouse Club television show was born.
I wonder how many of us raced home from school in the afternoons
to catch up on Spin and Marty, or to see Annette sing a sweet song.
We can all sing the theme song from memory, and we can remember
the names of all the Mouseketeers--led by Jimmy, the only adult
in the cast.
Nowadays, the Disney Company, under the chairmanship of
Michael Eisner, has become a major conglomerate,
with branches that oversee five major theme parks (including the brand new California Adventure), dozens of films both
animated and live action, videotapes, collectibles, fan clubs,
Broadway theatre, The ABC Television Network, a cable television network, a web presence,
an enormous merchandising machine and anything else you can envision in the field
of entertainment. Walt is gone now, but his dream will live on
forever.
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