Can you even imagine? A world where someone told Walt Disney he wasn’t creative enough. It sounds like a joke, but it’s literally what happened. In 1919, a newspaper editor in Missouri fired a young Walt Disney, telling him he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Yes, really. 💀
So what do you do after getting fired for having no imagination? If you’re Walt Disney, you start your own animation company, obviously. He launched Laugh-O-Gram Studios in 1922, making cartoon shorts for a local theater. The cartoons were a hit, but the business? Not so much. The company went bankrupt in just a year. It was a total disaster. 💔
But Walt wasn’t done. He and his brother Roy moved to Hollywood and started over. They created a new character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and it was an instant success! 🐰✨ But here’s the twist: their New York distributor secretly hired away all of Walt’s animators and, thanks to a sneaky contract, stole the rights to Oswald. Walt was left with nothing. Again.
This is where it gets wild. On a long, depressing train ride back to Hollywood after losing everything, Walt had to come up with something new. He sketched a simple, cheerful mouse. His wife, Lillian, convinced him to change the name from “Mortimer” to something friendlier. And just like that, Mickey Mouse was born in 1928. 🚂
Mickey’s first cartoon with sound, Steamboat Willie, was a groundbreaking sensation. The world had never seen anything like it. From that moment on, there was no stopping him. The guy who “lacked imagination” went on to win 48 Academy Awards and build a $122 billion empire. Talk about a glow-up. 👑
So next time someone doubts you, just remember Walt Disney. Rejection and failure aren’t the end. Sometimes, they’re the spark you need to create something legendary. As Walt himself said, “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me.” Now that’s a vibe. ⚡
How Walt Disney Started a $120 Billion Dollar Company After Being Fired - Monetization Nation
The Birth of a Mouse - The Walt Disney Family Museum
Walt Disney didn't actually draw Mickey Mouse. Meet the Kansas City artist who did - KCUR
