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While the studio's cartoons were gaining popularity in movie houses, they also generated interest in related merchandise. As Walt recounted, "A fellow kept hanging around my hotel waving $300 at me and saying that he wanted to put the mouse on paper tablets for school children. As usual, Roy and I needed money, so I took the $300." This was the start of Disney's consumer products business. Soon there were Mickey Mouse dolls, dishes, toothbrushes, radios, figurines -- almost everything imaginable bore Mickey's likeness. The first Mickey Mouse book was published in 1930, as was the first Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip.
One night in 1934, Walt brought his animators together to tell them they were going to make an animated feature film, and proceeded to act out the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. At the time, this was a radical concept. Most people thought that a cartoon couldn't hold an audience's attention beyond the usual eight-minute running time. It took three years and severely taxed the resources of the studio, but at Christmas time, 1937, the film was finished, and it was a spectacular hit. Snow White became the highest grossing film of all time, a record it held until it was surpassed by Gone With the Wind. Work immediately began on other feature projects and the company moved to its current site in Burbank, California. But, with the advent of World War II, the company lost access to most of its foreign markets. Consequently, its next two features, Pinocchio and Fantasia, which were released in 1940, were unable to recoup their production costs. Both were masterpieces that would be phenomenally profitable in subsequent releases in the decades to come, but their immediate effect was to put the studio at some financial risk. Then came Dumbo in 1941, which was produced on a very limited budget and was profitable. This was followed by Bambi, which was another expensive film and came in 1942 after the U.S. had entered the war. For the next number of years, Walt would have to restrain his animation ambitions. However, it is remarkable to consider how far he had taken the art form in little more than a decade. From the "rubber hose" animation of Steamboat Willie to the extraordinary imagery and emotional storytelling of the company's first five feature length films, the studio had revolutionized animation forever.
During the war, Walt Disney made two films about South America, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros, at the request of the State Department. His studio also concentrated on producing propaganda and training films for the military. When the war ended, it was difficult for the Disney Studio to regain its pre-war footing. Several years went by during which the studio released "package" feature films, such as Make Mine Music and Melody Time, containing groups of short cartoons. Walt also moved into live action production, with Song of the South and So Dear to My Heart, which also included animated segments. Walt further branched out with the award-winning True-Life Adventure series, featuring dramatic nature photography of a style never seen before.
1950 saw three landmark achievements – the studio's first completely live action film, Treasure Island, the return to classic animated features with Cinderella and the first Disney television show at Christmas time. Unlike the heads of the other Hollywood studios, Walt saw the potential of television and, after another Christmas special, in 1954 he launched the Disneyland anthology series, famously featuring the first television mini-series – Davy Crockett. The Disneyland series would eventually run on all three networks and go through six title changes, but it remained on the air for 29 years, making it the longest-running prime-time television series in history. The Mickey Mouse Club, one of television's most popular children's series, debuted in 1955, and made stars of a number of talented Mouseketeers.
Walt Disney was always anxious to try something new. And so, as his motion pictures and television programs achieved steady success, he looked for other entertainment mountains to climb. One area that intrigued him was amusement parks. As a father, he had taken his two young daughters to zoos, carnivals, and parks, but he always ended up sitting on a bench as they rode the merry-go-round and had all the fun. He felt that there should be a place where parents and children could have a good time together. This was the genesis of Disneyland. After several years of planning and construction, the new park opened July 17, 1955.
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