>> 1920 – While employed doing cut-out animation as his day job, Walt Disney read books about cell animation, bought a camera, and became a self-taught cell animator.
>> 1921 – Walt gets laid off but uses his new self-taught skill to form Laugh-O-Gram Studio.
<< 1923 – Walt signs a lousy distribution deal, and Laugh-O-Gram goes bankrupt; he moves to Hollywood and gets an animation job for a film company.
>> 1926 – Walt’s employer wanted an animated character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit created, so he formed Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio and worked as a subcontractor.
<< Early 1927  – The market for animated shorts in theaters was saturated with animals, so Oswald had a tough time standing out and making money.
<< Later, in 1927 – Walt redesigned Oswald into the drawing in this post, but his contract was terminated before he could show it to anyone.
>> Early 1928: Walt repurposes the unseen sketches of Oswald into a mouse and debuts Mickey Mouse in test screenings of “Plane Crazy, ” but no distributors picked it up.
>> Later, in 1928, after seeing “The Jazz Singer, ” Walt decided to make history with synchronized sound and released “Steamboard Willie,” starring Mickey Mouse, the first car, which was an enormous success.
>> Early 1929 – “Plane Crazy” is re-released with synchronized sound and is a successful follow-up.
>> Later, in 1929, Mickey Mouse Clubs started forming in theaters around the country, and Walt got into the merchandising business.
^^ 1993 – Ryan Gosling, Brittany Spears, and Justin Timberlake debut as Mousekateers (not part of Walt Disney’s career pivot – adding to the timeline so I can level up my pop culture knowledge).
🗓️ January 1st, 2024: The copyright expires on the silent version of Steamboat Willie, and an early version of one of the most recognizable and valuable pieces of intellectual property in history enters the public domain.

By 1927, Walt Disney could have made a career change and become a stockbroker, which likely wouldn’t have panned out very well two years later. Instead, he pivoted by taking several steps while keeping one foot planted in the entertainment industry. Leveraging his experiences (Laugh-O-Gram, Oswald, and Plane Crazy 1.0) while adding new skills (cell animation and musical direction) enabled Walt Disney to pivot quickly and become successful while navigating uncertainty.