Sometimes pioneers come along and change everything. One such individual was clearly Walt Disney. During his lifetime, he not only altered the trajectory of animation, but he also helped the medium — once strictly dismissed as kid’s stuff — earn credibility. He was truly a magic maker who continues to touch lives everywhere despite having passed away in 1966. But his influence reached far beyond movies — Disney was a theme park legend whose destinations truly are the happiest places on Earth. The Disney company continues to be an industry leader (thanks in part to endless blockbusters from Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar), and that’s not even getting into how the corporation’s TV shows, musical releases and merchandise thrill millions.
Think of it this way: At every second of every day, someone somewhere on Earth is enjoying a Disney-related movie, TV show, song, book, or toy. All of this wonder can be traced directly back to Walt Disney himself. He was a weaver of dreams, who has arguably contributed more to entertainment than any other individual in the history of showbiz.
For this weekend’s Open Thread, we want you to open up your mental Disney vaults and let us know what your favorite live-action and animated films from the company are. You can either try to limit it to one of each (example – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Tron) or just give us a list of all the pictures that you love…because we more than understand that just naming a few is something of a Herculean task! And don’t forget to tell us why you enjoy these movies so much.
It may be something of a cliche at this point, but Disney taught us all the power of following your dreams. This is just one of the reasons why his work is so eternally joyous!