After Walt Disney arrived in California in 1923 with just $40, he quickly started building his empire. He began working out of his uncle Robert Disney's garage in Burbank, animating the Alice Comedies. This historic structure still exists just a few miles south of DISNEYLAND in Garden Grove, CA.
After Universal Studios agreed to distribute the Alice Comedies, Walt Disney joined forces with his brother to form the Disney Brothers Studio, officially becoming the company that exists today. They relocated a short distance away to a building that remains standing today.
Walt Disney produced the Alice Comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit at this location before Universal Studios stole the rights to Oswald from him. Not one to give up easily, Mr. Disney created the most popular cartoon character in history- Mickey Mouse. Mickey's huge success afforded Walt Disney the opportunity to finally move into a studio that was more befitting a future Hollywood mogul. The famed Hyperion Studios are no longer standing, replaced by a supermarket.
As big as the Hyperion studio was, it wasn't big enough to house Mr. Disney's growing staff by 1937. Production of his first animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had to be undertaken at various locations throughout the area. Luckily, the success of the film provided the funding to build a studio complex big enough to house all of Walt's staff- the current Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.
