100 Years of Disney

In this episode, 100 Years of Disney . . .

I can't remember a time in my life when the name Disney was not part of my vocabulary. This year, 2023, marks the 100th-anniversary celebration of Disney. And it all started with a man and a mouse.

A little context: Mickey Mouse made his movie debut in 1923 in the seven-minute cartoon Steamboat Willie, produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studios and released by Pat Powers under Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the debut of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse, although both appeared several months earlier in a test screening of Plane Crazy.

Steamboat Willie was the third of Mickey's films to be produced. Still, it was the first to be distributed because Disney, having seen The Jazz Singer, had committed himself to delivering one of the first fully synchronized sound cartoons.

For me, it was Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961-1969) that captured my attention. Each week Walt Disney introduced the program that enchanted millions of NBC television viewers. Granted, back then, we did not have a color TV, but that didn't matter every week, our family gathered around the TV to see what was happening at Disneyland; some episodes even mixed live-action and animation, showing Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Chip' n' Dale, Professor Owl, and Jiminy Cricket talking with Walt himself.

The concept that intrigued me most would become DisneyWorld in Florida. Walt Disney's original plans also included an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT), a planned community intended to serve as a testbed for new city-living innovations. The idea of a self-sufficient modern city intrigued me as a young college student and would compel me when asked in 1988, "Where would you like to go for our honeymoon?" Without hesitation, Disney World in Florida was my response.

It was 1985 when I moved to Los Angles to attend the Geological Institute of America (GIA). As a student, I was privileged to visit Disneyland for the first time. Wow! Time passes quickly; our last visit was over 14 years ago to celebrate my good friend Mike's 60th birthday. It seems like yesterday; maybe that's why they call Disneyland "The Magic Kingdom."

I'm sure much has changed since then; we will see. Friday, February 17, 2023, we will once again pass through the hallowed gates at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, to celebrate that historic 100th-anniversary milestone.

My listening friends, can you recall a time when the name Disney was not part of your conscious vocabulary?

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

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