HRES355JUL15

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending July 15, 2005

House Resolution 355 Celebrating Walt Disney's contributions to our nation.

BRIEF

2005. Fifty years since it all began.

More on the Disney phenomena and the “happiest place on Earth” below…

Sponsor: Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-CA-47^th)

Vote: Passed House by voice vote (July14, 2005)

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

MORE INFORMATION

Whereas in the summer of 1923, Walt Disney independently produced a cartoon called Alice's Wonderland, and he decided that he could use it as his `pilot' film to sell a series of Alice comedies to a distributor;

Whereas a New York distributor, M.J. Winkler, contracted to distribute the Alice comedies on October 16, 1923, and this date is credited as the birth of the Disney company;

Whereas the company was originally known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, with Walt Disney and his brother, Roy, as equal partners, the company soon changed its name, at Roy's suggestion, to the Walt Disney Studio;

Whereas today, the list of Disney classic animated films reads like an all-time favorites list of children everywhere: Cinderella, Pinocchio, Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, 101 Dalmations, The Jungle Book, Aladdin, The Lion King, Toy Story, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Monsters Inc., The Emperor's New Groove, A Bug's Life, and many others;

Whereas Disney has also produced timeless live action family films including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and The Santa Clause;

Whereas the Walt Disney Foundation strives to promote discourse, writing, and scholarship about the life, work, and philosophy of Walt Disney;

Whereas 2005 is the 50th anniversary of Disneyland;

Whereas Walt Disney's dream of `a place where parents and children could have fun together', became a reality with the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and subsequently in the opening of additional theme parks, cruise lines, and resorts worldwide;

Whereas when Walt Disney formally dedicated Disneyland on July 17, 1955, he stated that he hoped the park would be `. . . a source of joy and inspiration to all the world';

Whereas Walt Disney's original venture in Anaheim has expanded from a single theme park with one hotel into a full-scale Resort with two world-class theme parks, 2,200 hotel rooms and 40 restaurant and retail locations;

Whereas the success of Walt Disney's dream has launched an industry and sparked an empire of fun that now spans the globe, attracting millions of visitors on three continents every year;

Whereas Walt Disney opened Disneyland with 1,280 cast members in 1955 and today Walt Disney Parks and Resorts employs more than 100,000 cast members worldwide;

Whereas in the spirit of Walt Disney millions of dollars in cash, in-kind gifts, and volunteer services are provided to hundreds of non-profit groups, touching the lives of thousands of people; and

Whereas Walt Disney's creation of Disneyland was, perhaps, the single greatest family entertainment achievement of the 20th century--introducing an entirely new concept in outdoor entertainment and establishing an icon of fun and magic known around the world: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) celebrates Walt Disney's contributions to our Nation; and

(2) congratulates Disneyland, `the Happiest Place on Earth', on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary.

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