Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapter 2, Walt Disney Summary

Chapter 2, Walt Disney Summary and Analysis

Chapter Two, Walt Disney, focuses on the beginnings, history and technical advances of Walt Disney and the studio that would make animation history.

Disney's early career in film was rocky. After a short stint as an adman at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio, Disney and his coworker, Ub Iwerks, formed "Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists." The company formed in 1920, was also to be short-lived. Disney and Iwerks went to work at the Kansas City Film Ad Company, where the men learned about cut out animation. Eventually, Disney was able to start his own company and created a highly successful series of animated features, known as "Newman's Laugh-O-Grams," which made Disney, extremely popular in the Kansas City area. Unfortunately, Disney was a terrible money manager and the company eventually went bankrupt. That point Disney decided to head to Hollywood.

Once in Hollywood, Walt formed a new company, with his brother Roy. Although the...
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