Today's lesson focused on Walt Disney (1901 - 1966), the history of American animation and theme parks. Disney was an American entrepreneur, animator, writer, voice actor and film producer. He was a pioneer of the American animation industry. As a film producer, Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards earned by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Disney developed an early interest in drawing. He took art classes as a boy and got a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to CA from IL in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio with his brother Roy. Walt developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for Mickey Mouse in the early years. As the studio grew, Disney introduced synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons and technical developments in cameras. The results, seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio, Fantasia (both 1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942), furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed after World War II, including Cinderella (1950) and Mary Poppins (1964), the latter of which received 5 Academy Awards. In the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, and in 1955 he opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California. In 1965, he began development of another theme park, Disney World (opened in 1971), the heart of which was to be a new type of city, the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT). Sadly, Disney died in 1966 before either the park or EPCOT were completed. Walt Disney set the standard for animation, children's movies, TV programming and theme parks. Countries around the world seek to emulate this now distinctive American way of life and there are now 7 Disneylands around the world!