An Empire Founded on a Mouse

1     As a young artist, Walt Disney often worked late in his studio. One night he heard some mice in the wastebasket. He caught them and kept them in small cages on his desk. One of these little mice became his particular friend and gave him the idea for the famous cartoon character Mickey Mouse, a clean mouse in a clean world. In 1928 Mickey Mouse first appeared in a cartoon film.     When sound was starting to be used in movies, Disney immediately made his Mickey Mouse talk on the movie screen. 

Mickey became a great success and has since won the hearts of millions. Mickey Mouse was followed by Donald Duck, Pluto the Dog, the Three Little Pigs, and then the Seven Dwarfs and Snow White. Every one of these Disney characters has brought great amusement and laughter to children and adults alike. Walt founded his Disney empire on his popular cartoon characters.

2     One of Disney’s favorite dreams was to create a new kind of amusement park — a place where parents and children could all go and have fun together. In 1955 his first amusement park, Disneyland, opened in California. In late 1971, a bigger amusement park, Disney World, was completed in Orlando, Florida. Walt Disney himself did not live long enough to visit his Florida park. He died in December 1966. However, his death did not bring his dreams to an end. His empire is still growing. It has expanded to Japan in Asia and France in Europe. In 2005, China had its first Disneyland built in Hong Kong. Now it has become much easier for us Chinese to meet those lovely cartoon characters in real life.