Happy Birthday Walt Disney!

Imagine my excitement seeing that today is (or would have been) Walt Disney's 110th birthday. Seeing his bright smile on IMDb's Born Today section was the beginning of what is now a wonderful day. And can you blame me for being so cheerful? This is the man who created an animated icon, the father of Mickey Mouse! He is the creatively ingenious mind behind Walt Disney World, my absolute favorite place on earth! (It's the happiest place on earth for a reason. Or is that for Disneyland? Most magical place on earth then?) Well, he was the brains behind both marvelous lands. He brought about millions of smiles around the world with his whimsical creations of animation, such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and even the inspiration of Pixar, if you think about it. (Don't think about it too hard, I don't want you to hurt yourself.) Although many of these (actually all of the ones I named) were released after his passing in 1966, would they be created without him? Seriously, it is his name on the logo of Walt Disney Pictures. (Seeing that logo appear before each Disney film brings tears to my eyes.) Not only is he the unofficial master of animation, and who could even compete with him in that category, but his studio conjured fantastic franchises, specifically the Pirates of the Caribbean saga, among other great non-cartoon films. He has produced a whopping 656 titles, directed 114, starred in 124 (mainly as the voice of his golden boy, Mickey Mouse), animated 13 shorts, and has a record-shattering 22 Oscar wins, out of his total of 59 nominations, another record. Of his abundant Oscar collection, he's received Honorary Awards for the creation of Mickey Mouse, his "significant screen innovation" that is Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and his contribution to advancement in sound for Fantasia. As for the others, they were for delightful animated shorts and some documentaries--so many I can't even name them all! He is, by description, one of the most prolific, influential people in history. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Walt Disney.