Reading Activities

Reading Activity 1

Walt Disney

Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901. Disney became one of the best-known motion picture producers in the world. He is particularly noted for being a film producer and a popular showman, as well as an innovator in animation and theme park design.

Disney is famous for his contributions in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. His first success was through the series, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit which was created by the Disney studio for Charles Mintz of Universal Studios. When Disney asked for a larger budget for his popular Oswald series, Mintz refused and Disney had to quit. Later, Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney started from scratch and co-founded Walt Disney Productions, now known as The Walt Disney Company. Today, this company has annual revenues of approximately U.S. $35 billion. This succes is largely due to a number of the world's most famous fictional characters he and his staff created including Mickey Mouse, a character for which Disney himself was the original voice.

Disney won 26 Academy Awards out of 59 nominations, including a record four in one year, giving him more awards and nominations than any other individual. He is also the namesake forDisneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the United States, as well as the international resorts in Japan, France, and China.

Disney died of lung cancer in Burbank, California, on December 15, 1966. The following year, construction began on Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. His brother Roy Disney inaugurated The Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971.

The reading passage was taken from this website:

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/reading-walt-disney.php

Answer the following question

Why has The Walt Disney Company been so successful?