Happy National Dog Day! Walt loved dogs and gifted his dog of 14 years, Sunnee, to his wife Lillian in a very special way. Do you know what film recreated the special memory?
He bought a book on dogs and while reading it to Lilly, the Chow Chow caught her attention. She decided that if she had to have a dog, she would be fine with a Chow. The next day, Walt went out and bought a Chow puppy but kept it a secret until Christmas.
From that moment on, Lilly was smitten with the dog they named Sunnee, never letting him leave her sight. Walt shared that he “never saw anyone so crazy about an animal.” This story later became the inspiration for Walt's film Lady and the Tramp when Lady pops out of the hatbox on Christmas.
Walt Disney loved dogs and he had many special ones as pets over the decades. The first dog he and his new wife Lillian got when they lived at Lyric Avenue proved to be very special as Walt himself revealed: "When we got our first home, I wanted a dog.
Other Chow-loving celebs include homemaking maven Martha Stewart, actor Clark Gable and even President Calvin Coolidge. Walt Disney himself famously owned a Chow, which was given as a puppy to his wife, Lilly. Walt tucked the puppy, Sunnee, into a hatbox and gave it to Lilly as a Christmas present.
Pluto debuted in animated cartoons and appeared in 24 Mickey Mouse films before receiving his own series in 1937. All together Pluto appeared in 89 short films between 1930 and 1953.
Walt formed his first animation company in Kansas City in 1921. He made a deal with a distribution company in New York, in which he would ship them his cartoons and get paid six months down the road. He was forced to dissolve his company and at one point could not pay his rent and was surviving by eating dog food.
Of course, probably the most famous Disney dog to come to mind is Mickey's pal Pluto. One of his first on-screen appearances, where he was referred to as Rover, actually had him as Minnie's pet.
Walt Disney liked to say that it all started with a mouse, but his affection extended to all animals. That deep affection has informed much of what the studio has produced over the last nine decades, from animated films to the invention of the nature documentary to an animal-filled theme park.
That's because the film is completely Xeroxed. The technology, invented by American physicist Chester Carlson in the 1940s, completely streamlined the animation process, and ultimately saved Disney's beloved animation department.
One such character is Bruno, the lovable Bloodhound that was given as a gift to Cinderella when she was younger by her father. After Cinderella's father died, Bruno and Cinderella had to grow into adulthood under the harshness of Lady Tremaine, the evil stepmother.
Roscoe and Desoto are among the top named Disney dog villains of all time given their thug nature and desire to eat Oliver, a stray kitten. Roscoe and Desoto were two Doberman Pinscher thugs who belonged to Mr. Sykes, the loan shark in the animated feature.
Pluto first appeared in the 1930 Mickey Mouse cartoon The Chain Gang as a bloodhound on the trail of escaped prisoner Mickey Mouse. The bloodhound character was adapted into Minnie Mouse's dog, Rover. His name was later changed to Pluto and his owner to Mickey Mouse, making him Mickey's best pal.
Walt Disney had a love of animals that started when his family moved to a 45-acre farm in Missouri when he was a child. It was on that farm that Walt Disney first learned to draw animals. Without his love of animals there may have never been a Disney World — or even an Oswald or a Mickey Mouse!
Throughout the film, several dogs, some that are not Dalmatians, made appearances. While there weren't as many real dogs as in the other two adaptions, Cruella brought the dogs to life through a mixture of real and digitally depicted canines.
Legend has it that he wrote one last message before being hospitalized prior to his death, says Disney historian Jim Korkis. Titled “TV Projects in Production: Ready for Production or Possible for Escalation and Story,” the note listed four names: Ron Miller, 2 Way Down Cellar, Kurt Russell and CIA—Mobley.
Before Mickey Mouse, there was his predecessor: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. For the first time, we're seeing footage of the first Disney character. The silent film in black and white dates back to 1928, when a young Walt Disney created Oswald.
Undeniably the most famous dog in history is Toto. Toto, whose real name was Terry, was abandoned as a puppy. Luckily for her, however, she was adopted by German immigrant Carl Spitz, the unofficial dog-trainer of Hollywood.
A statue of Balto was erected in Central Park, New York in December 1925. Through Disney's film adaptation of the legendary Serum Run, Togo gets his well deserved credit for his achievements. Togo was also voted “The World's Most Heroic Animal” by Time Magazine in 2011.
Toto in 'The Wizard of Oz'
There are few more iconic Hollywood canines out there than Toto, the brindle Cairn Terrier who starred alongside Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz.
Disney was a shy, self-deprecating and insecure man in private but adopted a warm and outgoing public persona. He had high standards and high expectations of those with whom he worked. Although there have been accusations that he was racist or antisemitic, they have been contradicted by many who knew him.
Disney's Animal Kingdom distinguishes itself from the rest of Walt Disney World's theme parks by featuring traditional attractions as well as hundreds of species of live animals. Special designs and provisions were incorporated throughout the park to protect the animals' welfare.
"He liked fried potatoes, hamburgers, western sandwiches, hotcakes, canned peas, hash, stew, roast beef sandwiches." His favorite meal was a can of Gebhardt's chili mixed with a can of Dennison's chili, which he often ate at his desk.