A Toast to Disney Himself

We had to write an Essay in my English class, " Who do you think deserves the honor to have their picture put on a coin or any kind of money and why?"

A Toast to Disney Himself

        

           He brought us laughter, joy, and imagination. He took us above and beyond the thoughts of any one man. This man gave us dreams and hope. The man I wish to talk about is none other than the great Walt Disney. The one and only Disney! The man who gave us the wonderful classic “Mickey Mouse.” Who else should have their face mounted on a coin, other than the man who brought us our childhood?

           The creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of Disneyland and Walt Disney World was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. Raised on a farm near Marceline, Missouri, Walt became interested in drawing at an early age, selling his first sketches to neighbors when he was only seven years old. At McKinley High School in Chicago, Disney divided his attention between drawing and photography, contributing both to the school paper. At night he attended the Academy of Fine Arts.During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was only 16 years of age, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials. His ambulance was covered from stem to stem, not with stock camouflage, but with drawings and cartoons.

                        After the war, Walt returned to Kansas City, where he began his career as an advertising cartoonist. Here, in 1920, he created and marketed his first original animated cartoons, and later perfected a new method for combining live-action and animation.In August of 1923, Walt Disney left Kansas City for Hollywood with nothing but a few drawing materials, $40 in his pocket and a completed animated and live-action film. It was from here on that Disney did countless things to do with films of animation and such. He did so for countless years. After spending Thanksgiving Day with his family, he collapsed at his home in Palm Springs on November 30, 1966.  He was staying in a hospital just across the street from his studios. Walt would ask the nurses to prop him up so he could see the studios. He died a few hours later, at 9:30 AM on Thursday, December 15, 1966. The cause of Disney’s death was announced as acute circulatory collapse and was listed as cardiac arrest on his death certificate.The cancer in his lungs was probably considered to be of secondary importance.

             Walt Disney was not only a hero to children, but also to adults. He gave children something to look forward to even if they were having a “terrible” life. He brought us beloved classics like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” “Fantasia,” “Dumbo,” and “Bambi.” Even now films and classics have been made in his title. His memory still lives on even in death. He is still the one we think of when we want to watch a cartoon or simply just remembering a childhood memory.

              Pictures of Presidents and other famous people have appeared on coins all through out history. If I thought of anyone… anyone at all who deserved an honor such as that I would have to choose Walt Disney.  “Why?” you may ask… because if I had to grow up without knowing Disney and his films… I would never have been a child.