Disney

I recently finished reading the biography of Walt Disney. What stood out most in my mind was how Disney actually related to animation. I think the general feeling is that Walt Disney was an animation guru who directed all of the Disney animations and really made the idea of animation what it is today. The feeling is that Walt's greatest achievement and his goal was to do what he did with animation.

What I found after reading his biography is a much different feeling. Walt was obsessed with animation, but only for the periods when he was truly enthusiastic about his animation.

Walt was actually a person who would become extremely intend on whatever he was interested in at the time. He would devote his entire mind and all of his force into whatever it was that truly interested and challenged him. Because of this tendency to throw himself into his endeavors with such gusto, he often not only succeeded, but outshone everyone else in the field.

Walt's interested varied over his lifetime. Comics, animation, film, music, trains, the future, city planning, traveling, family and drawing are just a few of the things that at different points in his life, Walt engulfed himself in completely. It just so happened that Walt's most major and first success was the animation interest. It is only because of the timing of this event that lead the Disney Company to be known primarily for it's animation.

The author of the biography I read, had the belief that Walt had some issue with reality and control, which he felt was the reason Walt loved animation. I felt throughout the entire book that the author was wrong. I know in myself that I have the same tendencies to throw myself into whatever interests me at a certain point. And I know this is simply how I am. It is not the result of some childhood incident about gaining control.

In that way, I felt I related fairly well to Disney. I may be able to narrow focused for moments of my life, but I am definitely going to follow a very convoluted route throughout my life. Thankfully, I am going to be very enthusiastic about it.

Kyler