RIP Walt Disney

ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
Original Poster
December 15, 1966


It would take more time than anybody has around the daily news shops to think of the right thing to say about Disney.

He was an original. Not just an American original, but an original, period. He was a happy accident, one of the happiest this century has experienced. And judging by the way it’s behaving, in spite of all Disney tried to tell it about laughter, love, children, puppies, and sunrises, the century hardly deserved him. He probably did more to heal -- or at least soothe -- troubled human spirits than all the psychiatrists in the world. There can’t be many adults in the allegedly civilized parts of the globe who did not inhabit Disney’s mind and imagination for at least for a few hours and feel better for the visitation.

It may be true, as somebody said, that while there is no highbrow in a lowbrow, there is some lowbrow in every highbrow. But what Disney seemed to know was that while there is very little grown-up in every child, there is a lot of child in every grown-up. To a child, this weary world is brand-new, gift wrapped. Disney tried to keep it that way for adults.

By the conventional wisdom, mighty mice, flying elephants, Snow White and Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy and Doc -- all these were fantasy, escapism from reality. It’s a question of whether they are any less real, any more fantastic than intercontinental missiles, poisoned air, defoliated forests, and scrap iron on the moon. This is the age of fantasy, however you look at it, but Disney’s fantasy wasn’t lethal.

People are saying we will never see his like again.

Eric Sevareid- CBS News
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vonpluto

vonpluto

Well-Known Member
"News out of Burbank that's going to sadden the whole world....."

66davis1.jpg


:(
 
Dave Disney

Dave Disney

Active Member
Every time we leave Disney I give Walt's window (at the end of Main Street above the ice cream parlour) a wave, a smile and a quiet thank you. It's nice to take a minute today and remember the Man that created the Mouse.:rolleyes:
 
EPCOT Explorer

EPCOT Explorer

New Member
SirGoofy said:
Well, to be fair he would be long gone by this time anyway.

He would be 108!:eek:
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I actually read a article once that said if he did NOT smoke, and based on his family History, he would have lived into his 90's...Meaning the 1990's. :o Wow. Disney alive in our lifetimes would have been amazing. So much would be different.
 
ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
Original Poster
EPCOT Explorer said:
:shrug:

Yeah, I know. :lol: Still makes it a stupid choice.


This isn't the place for this kind of talk, though. this is a thread to honor Walt. :o
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A lot of the dangers of smoking weren't as well known when Walt started to smoke and there wasn't a huge outcry against smoking as there is now.

It still amazes me that when Walt passed, he had only Disneyland open...WDW was still going to take another 4+ years before it even opened.

We are very lucky, with as many issues as the Disney company has had, that it has grown the way it has..I think yes, Walt would not be sure about some of the decisions, but if we told him there were 5 (soon to be 6) cities across the globe with 11 (soon to be 12) parks bearing his name, and over 30 hotels...he would be quite shocked and impressed.

If Walt hadn't smoked and had survived, I do believe he would find a way to build his EPCOT city plan and while I do think it would probably be subject to a lot of modifications, I think it could eventually be a success....and past that, the entire "landscape" of the company would be drastically different. I think it would still be a smaller company with a more core focus, instead of the multimedia giant it has become.
 

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