Best known for creating Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney is one of the 20th century's most honored and important icons of animation. After producing animated shorts and launching his own animation studio, Disney introduced Mickey Mouse to the world in 1928, and released the first American animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. During his career, Disney worked as an animator, director, producer, and screenwriter and expanded his business to include the world-famous theme parks Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida. Nominated for 63 Academy Awards, he produced many cartoons and feature films considered classics today, including Bambi, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and Sleeping Beauty . His artistic and technological innovations include developing the first sound cartoon and pioneering animation techniques such as personality animation, three-strip Technicolor, and multiplane animation. Walt Disney delves into this man's colorful life, explaining the inspiration for his classic creations and revolutionary animation techniques.Chapters include:An Innovator in the MakingA Perfect Fit: A Mouse Named MickeyStretching the ImaginationBreaking New GroundMaking Dreams Come True.

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Excerpted from Walt Disney by Jeff Lenburg
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