Magical Cartoonist
by Cynthia Sherwood
Without the creativity of one man, there would be no “happiest place on earth,” also known as Disneyland. Walt Disney was a creative genius who looked out on a huge orange grove and imagined building a “magic kingdom.”
Disney was born in 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. As a child, he enjoyed drawing and even sold his pictures to neighbors. When he was sixteen, he joined the Red Cross and drove an ambulance in France during World War One. After the war ended, Disney started making short cartoons in Kansas City, but soon ran out of money. He decided to find his fortune in Hollywood. He came to California with a suitcase and $20 in his pocket.
It took a while, but Disney began to enjoy success with his cartoons. He created Mickey Mouse, the most famous cartoon character ever. Then in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered. It was the first full-length animated movie, and a huge success. Disney made many more movies that we still watch today, including Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Bambi.
It was in the 1940s that Walt Disney first had his brainstorm about a fun park for families. His idea grew bigger and bigger, and he realized he needed a lot of space for his park. He wanted it to have everything—a mountain, rockets, spinning teacups, and a fairy castle!
Years after Walt Disney first had the idea, Disneyland opened in 1955 in a former orange grove in Anaheim, California. Admission cost a dollar. By its tenth anniversary, 50-million visitors had come to the Magic Kingdom.
Disney died in 1966, a few years before the opening of his next dream project, Disney World.
If you ever visit one of the parks, go to a Disney movie, or watch the Disney Channel, you can think of the man with amazing ideas who started it all.
De acuerdo al texto, responda las siguientes preguntas:
1. List two things that Walt Disney did before he began making cartoons. ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
2. Place these events in sequential order. Label them with numbers 1-5 to show
which happened first, second, third, fourth, and fifth.
________ Disneyland opened in California.
________ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered.
________ Disney moved to Hollywood, California.
________ Walt Disney worked as an ambulance driver in France.
________ Walt Disney lived in Kansas City and made short cartoons.
3. How many years ago was Disneyland first opened to the public?______________________________________________________
4. Which statement is an opinion?
a. Disney made many movies that we still watch today.
b. In the 1940s, Disney had a brainstorm about a fun park for families.
c. Disneyland opened in a former orange grove.
d. Walt Disney was a creative genius.
