Walt AND Roy Disney

Many Disney and non Disney fans alike may not understand that Disney is a shared success story between two brothers. It's true. Walt had an older brother who was just as much a part of the Disney success as his dreamer brother.
I believe that Walt Disney succeeded not only because of his never ending ideas and dreams, but because his brother named Roy worked behind the scenes to help him reach those dreams.

Not many people know that.

You see, while Walt kept his head in the clouds dreaming up stories and characters, Roy was working on the financial side so that Walt's dreams would become a possibility. Could Walt have accomplished all that he wanted to do if it were not for his brother, Roy?

I say no. That is a hard sell.

Roy Disney allowed Walt to keep his dreams alive and venture forth without all the realistic headaches that always come with business ventures. The realities are what keep many people from reaching their dreams...Creative minds need to be free from the constraints of reality. Roy was creative in a different way. With numbers, business decisions, lawyers, and capital. Without someone doing the nitty gritty detail work, ...dreams are really just that...a dream.

Roy was the accountant, the financer, the paper pusher, the number cruncher, the pull the strings behind the curtain kind of guy....seriously folks, Walt needed Roy just as much as Roy needed Walt. Roy made it possible that Walt could keep focused on the creative without being bogged down by the reality of constant constraint of capital/ investors/ fundraising and all the details on paper that could inhibit a mind such as Walts.

The brothers got into many fights over dreams vs. reality....Walt wasn't thinking within the bounderies of money, restrictions, and guidlines. He was all about story, and the magic of storytelling....but in the end, they were a perfect match.
They are what I would call a team with a "perfect formula". On one side, you have the creative inventor....on the other side...the clever business mind.
Without the best of both worlds, you really don't have much.

Most of all, these loving brothers trusted each other in their respective roles. Their family bond as brothers, helped them get through the toughest of times.
Roy believed in Walts dream, and Walt knew Roy could help him get there.

I don't think Walt would have succeeded without Roy....and I think Roy should be given due credit for his part in creating the incredibly successful Disney Empire.


Flora and Elias Disney. (Mom and Dad)

 

 

 

Walt the Dreamer.

 

 

 

Roy the Realist.

 

 

A true Dream Team