Hump Day History

On this day in 1923, Walt and Roy Disney opened their Cartoon Studio in Hollywood, CA.

Walt had worked with a film ad company in Kansas City, where he had launched his Laugh-O-Gram Studio.  After it went bankrupt, he moved to Los Angeles where his brother was recovering from tuberculosis.

There, Walt was able to sell one of his Laugh-O-Gram short films, Alice's Wonderland.

With a contract to make six more, the Disney Bros founded their company and asked their collaborator, Ub Iwerks, as well their Alice, Virginia Davis, to join them in California.

Disney also launched a series based on a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

But it was 1928 when the real winner was released, and forged the path for one of the most recognizable cartoon characters in history.

Mickey Mouse shorts were so successful for the studio that Walt believed in a feature film.  Starting in 1934, the project went well over budget, but when Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937, it was a hit and Disney has certainly survived.