Sunday, October 10, 2010

Design from Without

Everyone knows who Walt Disney is. Just his last name brings up memories of cartoons and theme parks. Walt Disney created an international empire, but where did his inspiration come from?
            Walt Disney gets his inspirations from his environment and places he visited. His most famous character, Mickey Mouse, is internationally recognized and is what made his cartoons famous. Mickey was inspired by a pet mouse he had when he was younger. Originally Mickey was named Mortimer Mouse and looked like a mouse. Disney wanted to make a character that appealed to everyone and he realized that the public loved cute and little animals. He changed Mortimer’s name to Mickey and made Mickey more human-like.
            His inspiration for Disneyland came when he visited Tivoli park in Denmark. Disney’s kids went on the merry go round and Walt Disney had to sit and watch. Disney got the inspiration to create a park that was family oriented that both parents and their kids could enjoy. The park was also disgusting and dirty and Disney wanted to create a park that was also clean.
            Another icon of Disney is Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland. The castle is based off of Neuschwanstein castle in Fussen, Germany. Disney loved all the spires of the castle and wanted to make a castle just like it in Disneyland. He loved it so much, he made it the main focal point of the park.
            Another source of inspiration for Walt Disney is The Brothers Grimm’s old folk tales. The Brothers Grimm wrote the Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, The Frog Prince and many other stories, which is where Disney got the story lines for some of his most famous animations.

            Walt Disney took ideas from things he had seen and imagined them in his park or as movies. He then tweaked the designs and made it his own design that fit in with the family-friendly theme of his company and made his movies and theme parks appeal to all ages.

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