Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films.

Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. Look fast early on for the name of Ward Kimball on the engine yard schedule sheet - this zany Disney animator was a tremendous train enthusiast. Boisterous radio comedian Jerry Colonna is the perfect singing narrator, his special brand of silliness completely in tune with the tone of the cartoon.

The American Tall Tale hero comes to comic life in this funny, fast moving little film. THE BRAVE ENGINEER Casey Jones won't let anything stop him from getting his mail train to Frisco on time.

The brave engineer