I am the mother of a musician, my 15 year old son Dakota is a guitarist. It is absolutely amazing that at such a young age he knows that music and his guitar define him. Dakota’s absolute belief that music is what he was born to do got me to thinking about Walt Disney and his destiny to be become the most famous animator of all time.
Walt’s talent was evident at a very young age. In fact, at the age of 7, while living in Marceline, Missouri he was paid to draw pictures of Rupert, his neighbor’s horse. He earned money by selling drawings and sketches to other neighbors as well. Truth be told, Walt sketched and doodled a lot more than he did his school work. Needless to say, his father was not very thrilled when he expanded his canvas by drawing pictures with tar on the side of the family home.
During his teenage years, Walt continued his sketching and found a love for photography and writing for the McKinley High School paper. In the evenings he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago to work on his drawing skills. After moving to Kansas City, he continued to develop his skills and even took up acting and performing much to his father’s chagrin. Thank goodness his mother, Flora, and brother, Roy, encouraged him to pursue his dream.
Since he wasn’t old enough to join the military, Walt joined the Red Cross and was shipped overseas to France where he was an ambulance driver. For Walt Disney his ambulance was a blank canvas and as I am sure you already know, his ambulance was covered inside and out with Disney cartoons. For Walt sketching and drawing were as much a part of him as his brown eyes and famous mustache.
I, for one, am so glad Walt knew from such a young age that his love for drawing and sketching were his true destiny. Walt Disney was a true pioneer of animation from Technicolor to the multi-plane camera to the California Institute of the Arts. I am quite sure that his legacy will be enjoyed and appreciated for many generations to come.
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