Annotated Bibliography Croce, Paul Jerome. "A Clean and Separate Space: Walt Disney in Person and Production." Journal of Popular Culture 25.3 (1991): 91-103. Academic Search Complete. 27 Jan. 2017. Croce’s article takes readers behind the scenes to explain how Walt Disney’s personality influenced his work projects. For example, Disney had grown tired of unclean and disorganized urban areas. In efforts to combat these unappealing living conditions, he created the idea of EPCOT or Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. EPCOT was originally planned to be a community with permanent residents, focusing on modeling a more efficient lifestyle with the improvements of technology. However, Walt died before he could follow through with his plans, leaving EPCOT as a theme park with technological elements. Another example offered by the article that contributed to the correlation between his personality and his work was the influence of Walt’s father. Walt embodied many of the characteristics his father, Elias Disney, had, including his need to constantly go after new projects. Elias Disney was never one to stay in one place for a significant amount of time; he was constantly changing jobs and moving his family around with him. Like his father, Walt Disney went through many career adjustments and was always thinking about what he could do next. After observing the article, there are three major factors that contribute to its credibility: a notable publisher, in- text citations, and a list of sources. It shows that the piece was published by Wiley Blackwell, a publisher that has published a large collection of journals relevant to business, medicine, and technology. Because this article was published through this company, it has been peer-reviewed, making it more of a scholarly source than articles found on various websites on the internet. The article also offered numerous in-text citations to show where the author obtained his information. By doing this, the author proved that he was not plagiarizing nor forming his own opinions about the subject and stating them as a fact. In addition to his in-text citations, the author compiled a list of sources that he used to find his information, creating a works cited page. With this works cited page, not only does he give credit to his sources, but he also increases his article’s credibility. The majority of the public actually knows very little about the man who created the Disney empire. They know he was responsible for many beloved characters such as Mickey Mouse and friends; they’ve heard of Disneyland and Walt Disney World; and they’ve seen at least one Disney movie in their lifetime. However, they don’t know what inspired this one man’s seemingly impossible dream. In my biography paper, I intend to discuss why Walt Disney wanted to tackle these projects and what enabled him to do so. For support, I will use these examples offered by the article as they offer reasoning behind Walt’s actions and .

1. Annotated Bibliography
Croce, Paul Jerome. "A Clean and Separate Space: Walt Disney
in Person and Production." Journal of Popular Culture 25.3
(1991): 91-103. Academic Search Complete. 27 Jan. 2017.
Croce’s article takes readers behind the scenes to explain how
Walt Disney’s personality influenced his work projects. For
example, Disney had grown tired of unclean and disorganized
urban areas. In efforts to combat these unappealing living
conditions, he created the idea of EPCOT or Experimental
Prototype Community of Tomorrow. EPCOT was originally
planned to be a community with permanent residents, focusing
on modeling a more efficient lifestyle with the improvements of
technology. However, Walt died before he could follow through
with his plans, leaving EPCOT as a theme park with
technological elements. Another example offered by the article
that contributed to the correlation between his personality and
his work was the influence of Walt’s father. Walt embodied
many of the characteristics his father, Elias Disney, had,
including his need to constantly go after new projects. Elias
Disney was never one to stay in one place for a significant
amount of time; he was constantly changing jobs and moving
his family around with him. Like his father, Walt Disney went
through many career adjustments and was always thinking about
what he could do next. After observing the article, there are
three major factors that contribute to its credibility: a notable
publisher, in- text citations, and a list of sources. It shows that
the piece was published by Wiley Blackwell, a publisher that
has published a large collection of journals relevant to business,
medicine, and technology. Because this article was published
through this company, it has been peer-reviewed, making it
more of a scholarly source than articles found on various

2. websites on the internet. The article also offered numerous in-
text citations to show where the author obtained his
information. By doing this, the author proved that he was not
plagiarizing nor forming his own opinions about the subject and
stating them as a fact. In addition to his in-text citations, the
author compiled a list of sources that he used to find his
information, creating a works cited page. With this works cited
page, not only does he give credit to his sources, but he also
increases his article’s credibility.
The majority of the public actually knows very little about the
man who created the Disney empire. They know he was
responsible for many beloved characters such as Mickey Mouse
and friends; they’ve heard of Disneyland and Walt Disney
World; and they’ve seen at least one Disney movie in their
lifetime. However, they don’t know what inspired this one
man’s seemingly impossible dream. In my biography paper, I
intend to discuss why Walt Disney wanted to tackle these
projects and what enabled him to do so. For support, I will use
these examples offered by the article as they offer reasoning
behind Walt’s actions and aspirations. Additionally, the article
provides information regarding Walt’s early life that influences
his personality. It can be inferred that these early influences
directly impacted his future work affairs, which I intend to
explain in the biography paper. Ultimately, I will use this
information to fully explain how those influences correlate with
his work, define who Walt Disney was, and prove that there is
more to the “man behind the mouse” than the public is aware of.
Greco, JoAnn. "Walt Disney (1901-1966): Linking Vision with
Reality." Journal of Business
Strategy (1999): Academic OneFile. Web. 27 Jan. 2017.
This article exemplifies just how prominent Walt Disney is in
American culture. Greco explains that he established his own
place in family entertainment, grabbing the attention of millions
in America, as well as all over the world. He reimagined the art

3. of animation, along with creating one of the world’s most
recognizable cartoon characters, Mickey Mouse. In addition to
his success in animation, he designed and inspired some of
America’s (and the world’s) most popular theme parks including
Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Prior to his world
popularity, however, Disney struggled to find his way into the
industry. The article explores the beginning of his journey,
emphasizing on the hardships Disney had faced. While he may
have had to overcome many obstacles, he continued towards his
goal, becoming a perfect example of the “American Dream.”. In
regards to the article’s reliability, it proves to be scholarly and
credible. While the author may have had her own opinions about
Walt Disney, she chose to incorporate more factual information,
rather than opinions, in order to prove her thesis. The source is
also credible as her information can be supported from outside
resources. As this article is essentially a biography of Walt
Disney, the author was careful to stay true to the Disney story.
Fortunately, the author did not integrate unproven myths or
theories regarding his life, including the popular urban legend
of his body being frozen after his death. Had the article
mentioned these types of subjects, the source would have no
longer been considered a credible source. As mentioned before,
the facts are what make this article strong and are truly the main
contributors to the author’s purpose.
Disney is known for encouraging people of all ages to follow
their dreams. While they use mostly animated characters to
prove that dreams can come true, they also have one major
example of someone who was able to accomplish their dream:
Walt Disney. In my biography paper, I plan to look back on
Walt’s journey towards accomplishing his dream, using the
examples offered by this article. As stated in the summary, the
article consists of several facts regarding his rocky road to
stardom and features some of his most famous
accomplishments. Starting from the beginning of his adventure,
I will be sure to include both his achievements and his adversity
into the biography paper in order to help readers fully

4. appreciate the hard work that allowed him to achieve his dream
and create magic for families across America.
Izard, Ralph S. “Walt Disney: Master of Laughter and
Learning.” Peabody Journal of Education
45.1. (1967): 36-41. JSTOR. 27 Jan. 2017.
In this article, Izard explores the balance of entertainment and
education within Walt Disney’s endeavors. While Disney
focused on entertainment, he was also enthusiastic about the
importance of education. Walt Disney was fascinated with the
natural world as well as its animal inhabitants, and wanted to
somehow incorporate it into his projects. From this, he
developed the True-Life Adventure Series. Here, he would send
naturalistic photographers and cameramen to observe and
capture footage of the natural lifestyle of animals. A soundtrack
played in the background of the footage, and a narrator would
explain what the animals were and what they were doing in the
movie. In this way, he was able to both entertain and inform the
audience. Walt’s efforts made a positive impact on America,
along with the rest of the world, as it encouraged viewers to
understand the importance of nature and to support
conservation. Today, the Walt Disney Company continues to
support his love for nature and the environment with active
conservational projects. Reliability-wise, it can absolutely be
considered as a scholarly source. There is nothing in the article
that implies that it is biased and it is careful to use factual
information to support its claims. To increase its credibility, the
article takes advantage of primary sources, using actual quotes
made by Walt Disney in past interviews. This is more reliable
than hearsay evidence, as those claims cannot be accurately
supported. Furthermore, the author uses in- text citations to
give credit to outside sources, and posts their full citations in
footnotes. These footnotes not only contribute to the reliability
of the source, but also provide readers with access to other

5. relevant sources.
In his lifetime, Walt Disney accomplished the impossible and
more. He never stopped looking for more opportunities to
expand his company and to contribute to society in some way.
In my paper, I want to touch on as many projects that Walt took
part in, including those that are less remembered today. For
instance, I will use the article’s example about his aspirations to
include nature into entertainment as a perfect representation of
just how outside the box Walt Disney was willing to go. I
intend to use this information to prove that Walt Disney did
more than just stay with the animation field, and recognize him
for his positive contribution not only to entertainment, but to
the planet.
Watts, Steven. "Walt Disney: Art and Politics in the American
Century." Journal of American History 82.1 (95): p84-110.
Academic Search Complete. 27 Jan. 2017.
The article, “Walt Disney: Art and Politics in the American
Century” focuses on Walt Disney’s growth in animation, as well
as political influence. Walt Disney fused new elements into his
animations, emphasizing on modernism and naturalism. For
instance, while many of his animations were warm and kid-
friendly, he liked to incorporate darker scenes into them. Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs, for example, included a terrifying
scene of Snow White running through a dark forest with trees
appearing as monsters. Apart from the modernistic approach,
Walt sought out to create the most natural-looking animations
as possible. For example, the article claims that Walt brought in
a real deer for animators to observe during the production of
Bambi, insisting that the character needed to act and appear as
close to an actual deer as possible. In addition to these
elements, Walt dabbled in composing cartoons symbolizing
American politics and current events. The Three Little Pigs, for
instance, provided a sense of hope for Americans struggling
during the Great Depression; the character of the wolf

6. symbolized their hardships during that time. As for its
credibility, this article had various contributors to help establish
it as a reliable source. For instance, the author used a lot of
information from outside sources, including old interviews,
manuscripts, books, and pictures. When quoting or paraphrasing
the outside information, he used parenthetical citations and
added the full citation of the source into a footnote at the
bottom of the page. The footnotes also included a thank you to
those who helped him write the article. He recognizes those who
made any comments on his essay, those who helped to edit it,
and those who helped him gather research material. This
footnote supports his credibility as it directly acknowledges and
gives credit to everyone who helped develop his article.
. When writing my biography paper, I plan to address what
makes Walt Disney different than any other animator of his
time. Using the examples given by the article, I will discuss his
take on modernism and how he created more natural looking
cartoon characters compared to older animations. This
advancement in animation helps support the point that Walt was
always on the verge of doing something original and different,
constantly opening up new doors. Additionally, I will use the
information from the article to help me examine how politics
and current events in America were represented in certain
cartoons, concentrating on how it contributed to his success.
Ultimately, all of these components will help me express his
distinct uniqueness, his growth to fame, and the foundation that
created the Disney magic we have today.

7. Once Upon an American Dream
It was on the day of December 5th, 1901 in Chicago,
Illinois that one of the most iconic men in history was born
(Croce 91). I was given the privilege of watching this man
grow up over the years as I was placed in his hand as soon as he
was old enough to write; of course, one would always find him
drawing rather than writing. I knew, even at an early age, that
he was talented when it came to drawing. Before I met his
grasp, I had become accustomed to amateur users who couldn’t
even draw a stick figure. Unlike those before him, he was
careful and detailed; he was always drawing humorous
expressions, characters, and other doodles. Little did I know
his passion for drawing would soon lead him to a whole new
world of opportunities. As for me, I would be with him every
step of the way to watch him grow into the ingenious man who
America will always love, the man who changed the art of
animation, and the man who encouraged the world to wish upon
a star: Walt Disney.
Our journey together began in the small town of
Marceline, Missouri in 1906. Although we were only there for a
short time, two years to be exact, Walt and I made our mark
(Croce 92). He’d sit outside the barn, paper in his lap and me in
his hand, drawing for hours. Furthermore, “at the age of seven,
he was already selling drawings to his Marceline, Missouri
neighbors” (Greco). We loved that little town, and Walt would
go on to honor it in his future projects; he replicated the barn
from Marceline on his California estate, and fused other
elements from the town into Main Street in Disneyland in an
effort to capture small town-Midwestern life (Croce 92).
In 1910, we moved again to another town in Missouri
called Kansas City. Here, Walt would take me with him to
classes at the Kansas City Art Institute (Croce 92). In the early
days of his training, “he realized that he was better at

8. presenting entertaining sketches than at drafting fine art”
(Croce 92). I too enjoyed helping him create his cartoons and
funny faces more than his portraits, and I definitely would not
be the only one to find them entertaining.
Walt continued to improve on his drawing skills
throughout the years, practicing whenever and wherever he
could. I remember when Walt and I left for France to drive an
ambulance during World War I (Croce 92). He kept me in his
back pocket, and would pull me out whenever he had free time.
When those times came, “[we] drew comic characters on the
sides of the truck there, [and we] would also put together a
portfolio of sketches…” (Croce 92). He intended on using this
portfolio to get hired as a commercial artist when we returned to
the U.S. (Croce 93). When we returned, Walt, being the driven
and ambitious man he always was, decided to start his own
commercial art studio in Kansas City with the help of our friend
Ub Iwerks (Croce 93). Unfortunately, the art studio was not
successful. After a couple years of Walt slamming me down on
his desk out of frustration, he filed for bankruptcy and decided
it was time to move on to something else (Greco). To escape his
failed studio, Walt moved to Hollywood to join his brother Roy,
having only $40, me, and a few other drawing materials.
(Greco).
Although most people would have given up on their
dreams by now, Walt wasn’t planning on being one of them. In
1923, “[borrowing $500 from an uncle, the brothers set up a
makeshift film studio…” (Greco). While there were still trials
and tribulations, including losing the rights to their character
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the studio proved to be more stable
and successful than his first one (Jackson 442). Although losing
Oswald was a heavy loss, another character that would soon
become a major staple in American culture was still waiting to
be created. I remember the first time Walt drew him. We were
on a train heading back to Hollywood, and I could sense that
Walt was deep in his thoughts (Vanpelt). Out of nowhere, he
snatched me out of his jacket pocket and began pressing me

9. onto a notepad. I couldn’t make anything out of what he was
scribbling until I saw the complete product. It all became clear
to me as I stared at a thin tail, a nose, and two defined oval-like
ears; it was a mouse!
Walt named his new character Mortimer Mouse. However,
his wife, Lillian, wasn’t too fond of the name and had another
in mind: Mickey Mouse (Vanpelt). As much as I liked Walt’s
first drawing of the character, Mickey needed some
improvements. Ub Iwerks, our old friend, ended up being the
animator who drew Mickey the best (Croce 96). Together, Walt
and Iwerks designed a perfect Mickey, featuring him in his first
cartoon, “Plane Crazy,” and the “world’s first fully
synchronized sound cartoon, ‘Steamboat Willie’” (Greco).
Mickey and his cartoons were a success, opening up new doors
for Disney and his animators.
Although, Mickey Mouse was a major accomplishment,
Walt wasn’t satisfied. He constantly wanted to make
improvements and look towards the future. As I lay on his desk,
I watched “Disney [work] tirelessly to perfect the art of
animation. In successive years, he debuted Technicolor
animation, multi-planing (which added greater depth and
dimension to animated landscapes), and, most remarkably, the
world’s first full-length animated feature, the Oscar winning,
the $1.5 million groundbreaker, ‘Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs’” (Greco). Snow White would be 90 minutes of
Technicolor animation and because the technique was so new,
animators questioned if it would even be possible (Pierce). To
train his animators, “Walt hired instructors from the Chouinard
Art Institute to give lessons in drawing, action analysis, and
color theory…Walt wanted both to prepare his animators for
challenges presented by the current feature and to deepen their
appreciation of art as it might apply to later films” (Pierce).
While the film proved to be one of Walt’s biggest challenges
yet, the sweet and kind-hearted Snow White, her prince
charming, and the silly, yet somehow relatable seven dwarfs
won over America’s heart, granting the film success.

10. Although Walt was popular in the animation industry, with
some films more successful than others, he was always working
towards the next big thing. He embodied his father in this way
as he too was never in one place for very long, constantly
moving his family around with him. Walt’s brother Roy often
said that ‘Pa always [had] ants in his pants. He could never stay
in one place long enough to warm a seat’” (Croce 91).
According to Walt, he had spent enough time in the animation
department, and it was time to put me down and explore other
fields. Still staying within the film industry, “[Walt] sought out
to make movies which pleased his own family—the whole
family rather than just a part of it” (Izard 36). This led to the
making of True-Life Adventure movies. For this series, “[Walt]
sent a group of naturalist photographers to record animals in
their habitat…the aim of the picture in this series was to show
the animals in their habitat doing what came natural to them”
(Izard 37). It was because of these films that “Walt Disney was
honored not merely as an entertainer, but frequently more as an
educator. In 1955 he was awarded the Audubon Medal for
distinguished service to conservation” (Izard 39). I’d often hear
him say, “…that in all his years of picture-making, [the] True-
Life Adventure movies provided him the most satisfaction”
(Izard 37). It was true that although Walt’s journey began with
his passion for animation, The True-Life Adventure series, with
no animation, always held a special place in his heart.
In addition to the film industry, Disney dabbled in other
fields in entertainment, including amusement park development.
However, he would create something entirely different than
what America was used to seeing. Once again, he would snatch
me back up in his hand to draw out any ideas he had for his new
and original project: a theme park. Walt’s idea of “Theming” a
park “involved incorporating a uniformity of style that would
keep every last detail connected to the entertaining images of
Disney’s creations” (Croce 95). In other words, this park would
become the place where Disney magic comes to life. In the
park, Mickey Mouse and many other characters could interact

11. with guests and movie-based rides would be created for families
to feel like they are a part of the adventure (Croce 95). This
park opened in 1955 and was named Disneyland: “the happiest
place on earth.”
Disneyland became a huge success, and it wasn’t long until
I was back in Walt’s hand scribbling out new ways to expand
his kingdom. Eventually, the Florida project went into effect.
The Florida project featured EPCOT or Experimental Prototype
Community of Tomorrow. Walt believed that current urban life
faced many issues and to prove that, he wanted to create a more
efficient community (Croce 92). Thus, the idea of EPCOT was
born. “Disney had enthusiastic hopes for this planned, utopian
community that would create a better life through the genius of
American business and technology” (Croce 92). Strangely
enough, Walt’s passion and trust in future technology sparked
people to believe that he went as far as to have his body frozen
after his death! (Roberts). (I’ve heard Walt plan and praise
many things, and I can attest that this was not one of them).
Unfortunately, in 1966, Walt passed away before EPCOT’s
original plans could be established. Instead, four parks would be
included in the Florida project. The Magic Kingdom, a park
loosely based on Disneyland, was the first to open in 1971,
followed by EPCOT. EPCOT opened in 1982 and featured some
of its original elements, including World Showcase. World
Showcase allowed guests to take a journey around the world,
giving them a taste of different cultures. Disney-MGM Studios
(now known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios) would open in
1989 and Disney’s Animal Kingdom would open in 1998,
forming Walt Disney World. Today, the Disney Parks welcome
thousands of guests every year and are constantly expanding
and finding more ways to spread magic.
While I may not have played a huge part in Walt’s journey
to success, I am honored to have been along for the ride. As I
lay in a corner of a desk gathering dust, my lead almost empty
and my eraser sanded down, I can only think about my time
with Walt. He accomplished what had seemed to be impossible,

12. and proved to Americans that the American Dream was
achievable. He began as a struggling cartoon artist, fighting his
way up to the top as he reimagined the art of animation and
family entertainment. Furthermore, he encouraged people of all
ages to believe in their wishes and to follow their dreams. As
this is still a trend within the Disney community today, I
consider it to be his greatest contribution to American society.
Ultimately, I believe, along with many others, that Walt Disney
brought magic into our world, and I’m grateful to have been his
wand.
Works Cited
Croce, Paul Jerome. "A Clean and Separate Space: Walt Disney
in Person and Production." Journal of Popular Culture 25.3
(1991): 91-103. Academic Search Complete. Web.
Greco, JoAnn. "Walt Disney (1901-1966): Linking Vision with
Reality." Journal of Business
Strategy (1999): Academic OneFile. Web.
Izard, Ralph S. "Walt Disney: Master of Laughter and
Learning." Peabody Journal of Education
45.1 (1967): 36-41. JSTOR. Web.
Jackson, Kathy Merlock. “Mickey and the Tramp: Walt
Disney’s Debt to Charlie Chaplin.” The Journal of American
Culture. Blackwell Publishing Inc, 27 Oct. 2003. Academic
Search Complete. Web.
Pierce, Todd James. “Wow, We’ve Got Something Here: Ward
Kimball and the Making of
Snow White.” New England Review, vol. 37, no. 1, 2016, p.
123+. Academic OneFile.Web.
Roberts, Sophie. “Was Walt Disney’s Body Really

13. Cryogenically Frozen After He Died?” The
Sun. The Sun, 21 Nov. 2016. Web.
Vanpelt, Lauren. “Mickey Mouse—A Truly Public Character.”
Arizona State University College
of Law, Spring 1999.Web.
http://www.public.asu.edu/~dkarjala/publicdomain/Vanpelt
-s99.html