IT ALL STARTED WITH A MOUSE

Walt Disney remains a cultural icon whose legacy of imagination and entertainment endures. His empire began when he created Mickey Mouse in 1928 and the cartoon character’s immediate popularity prompted Disney’s expansion into animated films.

Hit movies like Snow White (1937) Pinocchio (1940) Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942) made him a living legend.

Shy in private but outgoing in public, he used his fame to build the brand by diversifying into television and then theme parks with the opening of Disneyland in California in 1955.

Walt produced his long-cherished project Mary Poppins (1964) which won five Oscars and became Disney’s biggest hit of the decade.

In 1965 he began development of Disney World in Florida but didn’t live to see the amusement park open as he died from lung cancer later that year.

But his studio has continued ever since to turn our family entertainment by following its founder’s template for success.

As Walt famously said: “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”