Tag Archives: Walt Disney

December 2025 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of December for writers and readers

Read a New Book Month

  • December 1 – National Christmas Lights Day; World AIDS Day
  • December 2 – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
  • December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
  • December 4 – Wildlife Conservation Day
  • December 5 – Walt Disney’s Birthday; International Volunteer Day; World Soil Day
  • December 6 – Ira Gershwin’s Birthday; Joyce Kilmer’s Birthday
  • December 7 – International Civil Aviation Day; National Letter Writing Day
  • December 9 – John Milton’s Birthday; Christmas Card Day; International Anti-Corruption Day; International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide; National Llama Day
  • December 10 – Emily Dickinson’s Birthday; Dewey Decimal System Day; Human Rights Day; International Animal Rights Day; Nobel Prize Day
  • December 11 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Birthday; International Mountain Day; International UNICEF Day
  • December 12 – International Day of Neutrality; International Universal Health Coverage Day
  • December 13 – National Day of the Horse (U.S.)
  • December 14 – Nostradamus’ Birthday
  • December 14-22 – Hanukkah
  • December 15 – Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof’s Birthday; Bill of Rights Day (U.S.)
  • December 16 – Jane Austen’s Birthday; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Birthday; National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
  • December 17 – National Maple Syrup Day (U.S.); Wright Brothers Day (U.S.)
  • December 18 – International Migrants Day; National Twin Day (U.S.)
  • December 20 – International Human Solidarity Day
  • December 21 – Crossword Puzzle Day; Look on the Bright Side Day; National Short Story Day; Summer Solstice (Southern Hemisphere); Winter Solstice (Northern Hemisphere)
  • December 22 – National Short Person Day
  • December 23 – Robert Bly’s Birthday; Harriet Monroe’s Birthday; National Roots Day
  • December 24 – Mary Higgins Clark’s Birthday; Jolabokaflod (Iceland)
  • December 25 – Christmas Day
  • December 26 – Boxing Day
  • December 26 – January 1 – Kwanzaa
  • December 27 – International Day of Epidemic Preparedness
  • December 28 – National Call a Friend Day; National Short Film Day
  • December 30 – National Bacon Day
  • December 31 – Henri Matisse’s Birthday; No Interruptions Day

Famous December Birthdays

Other December Events

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December 2024 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of December for writers and readers

Read a New Book Month

  • December 1 – National Christmas Lights Day; World AIDS Day
  • December 2 – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
  • December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
  • December 4 – Wildlife Conservation Day
  • December 5 – Walt Disney’s Birthday; International Volunteer Day; World Soil Day
  • December 6 – Ira Gershwin’s Birthday; Joyce Kilmer’s Birthday
  • December 7 – International Civil Aviation Day; National Letter Writing Day
  • December 9 – John Milton’s Birthday; Christmas Card Day; International Anti-Corruption Day; International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide; National Llama Day
  • December 10 – Emily Dickinson’s Birthday; Dewey Decimal System Day; Human Rights Day; International Animal Rights Day; Nobel Prize Day
  • December 11 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Birthday; International Mountain Day; UNICEF Birthday
  • December 12 – International Day of Neutrality; International Universal Health Coverage Day
  • December 13 – National Day of the Horse (U.S.)
  • December 14 – Nostradamus’ Birthday
  • December 15 – Bill of Rights Day (U.S.)
  • December 16 – Jane Austen’s Birthday; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Birthday; National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
  • December 17 – National Maple Syrup Day (U.S.); Wright Brothers Day (U.S.)
  • December 18 – International Migrants Day; National Twin Day (U.S.)
  • December 20 – International Human Solidarity Day
  • December 21 – Crossword Puzzle Day; Look on the Bright Side Day; National Short Story Day; Summer Solstice (Southern Hemisphere); Winter Solstice (Northern Hemisphere)
  • December 22 – National Short Person Day
  • December 23 – Robert Bly’s Birthday; Harriet Monroe’s Birthday; National Roots Day
  • December 24 – Mary Higgins Clark’s Birthday; Jolabokaflod (Iceland)
  • December 25 – Christmas Day; Hanukkah begins
  • December 26 – Boxing Day; Kwanzaa begins
  • December 27 – International Day of Epidemic Preparedness
  • December 28 – National Call a Friend Day; National Short Film Day
  • December 30 – National Bacon Day
  • December 31 – Henri Matisse’s Birthday; No Interruptions Day

Famous December Birthdays

Other December Events

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“Steamboat Willie” Goes for a Ride

Steamboat-willie

On this day in 1928, Walt Disney premiered the first cartoon with synchronized sound, “Steamboat Willie.”  Crude by today’s standards, it was innovative for its time.  Walt Disney himself performed all the voices, although the dialogue is often hard to understand.  The cartoon was a parody of the Buster Keaton film, “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” which was a reference to a 1911 song, “Steamboat Bill,” performed by Arthur Francis Collins.  The film lasts all of 7 minutes and 23 seconds and came out as the film industry was making the inevitable and sometimes difficult transition to sound.  “Steamboat Willie” also marks the first appearance of that Disney icon, Mickey Mouse.  With an estimated budget of $4,986, there were some initial concerns about the believability of cartoon characters producing their own sound.  Thus, Disney arranged for a preview of the film even before the sound track was produced.  The audience responded positively to it and subsequent audiences liked it even better with the sound.  The film would later become the subject of controversy because of perceived animal cruelty, including one scene where Willie swings a cat around by its tale.  But, it was just a product of its time.  Regardless, it remains a landmark of early sound cinema and a true pioneer in both animation and overall filmmaking.

A poster produced for the film’s 50th anniversary.

A poster produced for the film’s 50th anniversary.

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Drawing Wrong Conclusions

Disney-Rejection-Letter-1-620x802

Image.

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