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1933
DIANE AND SHARON
Walt always loved children, and in 1933, Lilly gave birth
to a baby girl whom they named Diane Marie. Walt and Lilly wanted more children,
but when Lilly's doctors advised against another pregnancy, they
decided to adopt. In January, 1937, Diane got a baby sister named
Sharon Mae. In this home movie clip, Walt proudly shows off his
two young daughters. Naturally, the film is in color! (More
about Diane and Sharon) To see the clip, choose either 56K
modem or DSL/ISDN.
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1936
"DISNEY'S FOLLY": "SNOW WHITE"
Buoyed by the success of the "natural" look of the Silly Symphonies,
Walt set out on the biggest risk of his career: to make a feature-length
cartoon in color and sound. Many Hollywood insiders didn't expect
people to buy a movie ticket just to see a cartoon. They called
the project "Disney's Folly." But Walt's instincts were right.
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was a huge success in its first
release in 1937. (More
about "Snow White") Walt received a special Academy Award®
for "Snow White" in 1939. To see Shirley Temple present the award,
choose either 56K modem or DSL/ISDN.
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1938
ELIAS AND FLORA'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Shortly after the successful launch of "Snow White," in January, 1938, the whole Disney family came together to celebrate Elias
and Flora's 50th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful party,
and no one could foresee that later that year, Flora would be killed
in her home by gas fumes from a malfunctioning furnace. Only Elias
survived. (More
about the death of Flora)
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1940
"PINOCCHIO"
Many people expected Walt to capitalize on the success of "Snow
White" by making a sequel using the same characters, but Walt
always searched for new ideas. He put three new animated features
in production: "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," and "Bambi." By the time
"Pinocchio" entered the theaters, in February, 1940, World War
II had started. People were worried about the future and less
inclined to see a fairy-tale picture. In spite of its wonderful
effects (made possible in part by the use of the multiplane camera),
"Pinocchio" did not repeat the success of "Snow White" at the box
office. (More
about "Pinocchio")
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1940
"FANTASIA"
"Fantasia" was Walt's most ambitious and experimental picture
to date. The feature-length animated film, with music by the famous
conductor Leopold Stokowski, sought to blend classical music with
virtuoso animated imagery, such as a dinosaur-age battle accompanying
Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," shown here. "Fantasia"
was even produced with an early version of stereophonic sound.
The end result was dazzling, but "Fantasia" lost money in theaters.
Today, it is recognized as one of Walt's greatest masterpieces.
(More
about "Fantasia")
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