Raised on a farm in Marceline , Missouri , Walt Disney spent hours beneath an old cottonwood tree, studying the mice and bugs. He called it his "Dreaming Tree" and later said that his "belly botany" inspired Mickey Mouse and Jiminy Cricket characters. During a 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture, Walter Elias Disney firmly established himself as a legend: his name represents imagination, optimism and self-made success in the American tradition.