The Story of Walt Disney in Kansas City
Walt Disney seated at a drawing board at Laugh-O-Gram Films/Disney Studio in Kansas City, Missouri. Courtesy LaBudde Special Collections at the University of Missouri – Kansas City
Walt Disney’s journey as an animator began not in Hollywood, but in Kansas City, where he lived and worked during the formative years of his career. Moving to the city in 1911 at age 9, Disney lived at 3028 Bellefontaine Avenue, attended Benton Elementary, and took Saturday art classes at the Kansas City Art Institute.
He also practiced sketching animals using books from the Kansas City Public Library, early signs of the creativity that would later define his work.
After World War I, Disney returned to Kansas City and got his first job in commercial art at the Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio, where he met Ub Iwerks. The two briefly started a small commercial art business before Walt found work at the Kansas City Film Ad Company, where he learned animation techniques using paper cutouts. It was here that he became fascinated with animation and began experimenting with drawn cartoons.
Walt Disney's Laugh-O-Gram office, located in the second story of the McConahay Building at 31st Street and Forest Avenue. Courtesy - LaBudde Special Collections at the University of Missouri – Kansas City
In 1922, Disney launched his own studio, Laugh-O-Gram Films, located on the second floor of the McConahay Building at 31st and Forest. He assembled a team that included Iwerks and other young artists like Friz Freleng and Rudy Ising—many of whom went on to major animation careers. At Laugh-O-Gram, they created animated versions of fairy tales, including Little Red Riding Hood and Goldie Locks and the Three Bears.
Staged shot with a fake camera on the roof of the Laugh-O-Gram building. Walt Disney holding a gun over Carman Maxwell; Ub Iwerks is "directing"; Adolph Kloepper behind the camera; Rudolf Ising standing in the background. Courtesy LaBudde Special Collections at the University of Missouri – Kansas City
The studio also produced the innovative pilot film Alice’s Wonderland, which featured a live-action girl interacting with cartoon characters—an early version of the mixed-media storytelling Disney would later perfect. But despite its creativity, the studio struggled financially. A key distribution deal fell through, and by mid-1923, Laugh-O-Gram Films was bankrupt.
During this period, Walt was so low on funds that he lived in the studio, sleeping on site and bathing at Union Station. According to Disney, it was here he befriended a tame mouse, which he later credited as the inspiration for Mickey Mouse.
In August 1923, Walt boarded a train to Los Angeles with just $40, a suitcase, and his reel of Alice’s Wonderland. That decision marked the beginning of his Hollywood career—but Kansas City was where he learned to animate, to lead a team, and to keep going despite setbacks.
A group of people working in the Laugh-O-Gram office, located in the second story of the McConahay Building at 31st Street and Forest Avenue. Posters for 'Jack and the Beanstalk', and for 'Goldie Locks and the Three Bears' are shown. Courtesy LaBudde Special Collections at the University of Missouri – Kansas City
Today, the Laugh-O-Gram building still stands at 31st and Forest, a visible reminder of Walt Disney’s early dreams and failures. While his name is now synonymous with global entertainment, it was in Kansas City that Disney developed the skills and vision that would change animation forever.
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