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All of us love Disney cartoons and Disneyland. Where and how did they happen? Disney is actually the last name of Walter Disney who was born on 5th December, 1901 near Chicago, USA. As a young boy, Walt was good at drawing and painting. His neighbours and family friends liked his works and used to buy them. Walt later studied at Chicago Art Institute and worked as a cartoonist after that. He then went into the animation business and created cartoon films called Laugh-O-Grams. True to their name, they made people laugh and were a big hit. He made shows of fairytales also. Sadly, he started losing a lot of money and had to close down his business. But Walt didn’t stop trying. He moved to Hollywood.

In 1929, he and his brother started a company called Silly Symphonies. They made many successful shows together. Remember Mickey Mouse and his friends Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto? In 1937, they released the film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It became their first animated film and a huge success. Walt then opened Disney Studios but it was not easy though. The animators went on strike and left but Walt was not discouraged. He continued to make great animated films. Who can forget Cinderella, Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan? We still enjoy them, don’t we?

Five years later, Walt opened Disneyland in Los Angeles, California. The place came to be known as ‘the happiest place in the world’. Here, children explored various lands, enjoyed rides and met Disney characters. Their parents were happy to go with them. Just like parents and children do to this day. Nowadays children can visit Disneyland in Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai too.

Walt never gave up, no matter what happened. He taught us that dreams come true if we follow them. Walter Disney died on December 15, 1966 at the age of 65. Disneyland lives on.