“If you can dream it, you can do it” – a famous quote by Walt Disney which has been taught to not only children, but also resonates with adults. No matter what age you are, watching a Disney film releases a childlike purity in us, unleashing creativity, creates fantasies and teaches us great morals about life. With 32 million followers on Instagram, the magic continues to fill our homes, hearts and heads, but who was the master mind influencer behind the magic, and how has the name Disney become a million-dollar brand?
The real magic began in 1901 on December the 5th when a baby boy was born in Chicago and was named Walt Disney. What was just a name spoken by his family, has now become a global phenomenon associated with dreams, visions, imagination, and every other magical word in the dictionary.
Growing up in a poor household, at the age of 19, Disney started an animation company which eventually went bankrupt. After spending years making no income and experiencing many ups and downs, he found inspiration from a friendly visitor – Mickey Mouse. He drew Mickey giving him a costume, added colour with a hint of comedy, before he soon became a popular and familiar name around the world. “If you can dream it, you can do it” was just one of the phrases the man behind the mouse had conjured up with, depicting the troubles he had to go through to achieve wonderous triumphs.
Walt Disney made sure he could do it better and more effectivity than anyone else in the industry, adding sound and colour to his work. Although receiving bad press on his idea of creating an animated film, he continued to push through mixing animation and comedy together. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released, and it was hailed a masterpiece.
Born an influencer, Disney had and has changed the way each person watches a movie. The adaptations of his films have revolutionised the filming world with upmost respect of the man behind the mission. It was Disney’s passion which led him to be the success he still is today and his vision that inspired his workers, friends and the world to believe that anything is possible with a hint of magic and imagination. An influencer of his time and an influencer of today, Walt Disney is an innovator, magician and the smile behind our dreams.
