Walt Disney Got Rejected Over 300 Times Before Turning Disney Into What it is Today

BusinessNovember 30, 2020

Although demoralizing, being rejected is an inevitable part of life. What you do after receiving rejections is what matters in the end. Walt Disney’s inspiring story to success is proof of this.

Turning Down Disney

Ritu Manoj Jethani/Shutterstock — Disney is considered to be one of the pioneers of the American animation industry

Given just how large the Disney brand has become over the years, it might be hard to imagine it as the underdog. But once upon a time, its creator had to go through a lot of hoops just to fulfill his creative vision for it.

Some sources even say that Disney was rejected more than 300 times by various financiers when he was looking for funding to create Disneyland. And even before that, Disney was deemed not creative enough by a local newspaper he worked for.

Facing these confidence-killing setbacks could have easily discouraged the animator from pursuing his ideas. Fortunately, he stood his ground and remained faithful to his vision.

Now, Disneyland is one of the most popular theme parks in the world and the Kansas City newspaper that fired him ended up being owned by the Disney company after they purchased ABC.

Relentless Pursuit

Javi Az/Shutterstock — Disney created the character Mickey Mouse in the late 1920’s

Of course, Disney’s journey to success was far from smooth sailing. He reportedly had to live off of eating beans and racking up a ton of debt as his first cartoon business failed and his acting career didn’t take off.

His ticket to fame ended up being the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. His loveable creation proved to be popular among audiences and soon enough was appearing in various cartoons produced by the Walt Disney Studios.

Not content with simply creating formulaic cartoons, Disney ushered his company at the forefront of the golden age of animation by creating animated feature-length movies. Among the classics that put Disney on the map are ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, ‘Fantasia’, and ‘Dumbo’.

The Walt Disney Company

Swedishnomad.com – Alex W/Shutterstock — Disneyland has recorded 726 million visits since it opened its doors in the 1950s

It’s safe to say that the Walt Disney Company owes its current success to the foundations its creator laid out while he was alive. Today, the Disney brand operates six Disneyland theme parks across the world.

It continues to produce industry-standard films and shows to this day and dominate the box office with its releases. In total, the Walt Disney Company reportedly manages assets of $193.8 billion including the rights to the Marvel films and the Star Wars franchise.