Winsor Mccay And Disney Comparison

In the world of animation, there is no doubt that Winsor McCay and Walt Disney are two of the most innovative and creative animators of the twentieth century. These dedicated, hardworking individuals pushed through their struggles and showed how determined they were to achieve their goals and dreams. Their histories, origins, and styles may be different, but the messages and gifts that they bestowed upon the world remain of the same importance. Even though their films captivated different audiences and reached their peaks in opposite ends of the Silent Era, McCay and Disney both created animated marvels that the world would treasure for generations to come. Both of these animators have legacies that continue to live on today and their films

Zenas “Winsor” McCay was born in 1869 in Spring Lake, Michigan to Robert and Janet McCay. His exact date of birth is unknown, due to a fire destroyed his birth certificate in May of 1893. Later in life, McCay told his friends that he was born on September 26, but that was never proven to be true. McCay began to develop a passion for drawing at an early age. He was very good at drawing only from his memory and was able to draw things that he never had seen before. One of the first drawings McCay drew was of the aftermath of one of the fires that scorched his home town. During his youth, McCay’s father (Robert) showed very little interest in his son’s artistic capabilities. When McCay reached the age of nineteen, he was sent by his father to Clearly Business College in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Despite his father’s wishes, McCay rarely attended classes. Instead, he would go to Detroit to show off artistic talents at the dime museum, drawing portraits for a mere twenty-five cents apiece. McCay began to gain recognition and soon gained the attention John Goodison, who was a professor at the

He spent most of his youth living in Marceline, Missouri. Disney first developed a passion for drawing when he was hired to draw a neighborhood doctor’s horse. From that moment on, Disney began to draw every chance he got. In 1911, the Disney family moved to Kansas City. And Walt attended McKinley High School. During his time at school, Disney worked as the cartoonist for the school newspaper and soon after that he took night classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Disney tried to enlist in the army in 1918 but was prohibited to join due to being underage. He served in the Red Cross after he made changes to his birth certificate. After the war, Disney returned to Kansas City and starting in 1919, he spent some time working at the Pesmen-Ruben Commercial Art Studio. During his time there, Disney created illustrations for commercial advertising, as well as programs for theaters. It was at this studio that Disney became friends with Ub Iwerks. Due to a decline in revenue, Disney and Iwerks were laid off from the Pesmen-Ruben Commercial Art Studio after the holidays in 1920. Disney created a new business with coworker Fred Harman, who Walt knew from one of his former jobs. After much struggle, Disney and Harman finally achieved enough success and opened Laugh-O-Grams Studios in the spring of 1921. They hired Iwerks and Rudolf Ising to work at the