Wizard Among Muggles:

Walt Disney:

We know that Muggles are not able to cast magic. However, their world is not completely separated from magic. In fact, they always face magical people without knowing them. They spend a large amount of money entertaining themselves through the magic of cinema or television. One of the greatest companies in the entertainment industry is Walt Disney. They made a lot of movies and animations for almost a century, and they basically defined our childhood. But what if I told you that the founder of this great company could be a Wizard?

Walter Elias Disney was a filmmaker and film producer from Chicago, Illinois. Muggles consider him one of the pioneers of the American animation industry for his great contributions to developing the production of cartoons. He also holds the record for the most Academy Awards earned and nominations by an individual. But his magical powers were more than just making Mickey Mouse alive. He was a well-known character in the Wizarding world since he tried to retell Muggles a lot of magic-related stories throughout his cartoons. Since the enactment of the International Statute of Secrecy, all Muggles’ history of magical folk has been altered, and they only know magic through their tales and fictions. Walter Disney knew that these tales all originated from magical history. Therefore, he tried his best to use them in his cartoons, hoping that one day Muggles would stop fearing magic and Wizards or Witches.

All the classic Disney cartoons have magical references. We’ve seen a magical mirror in the "Snow White" movie that was able to show its master whether they were the prettiest individuals in the world or not. Is it too familiar? Can you recall a magical object with similar abilities? That’s right, it is probably a reference to The Mirror of Erised. Well, at least an altered version of it. You can see how magic plays a part in "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty," and there are for sure references to magical creatures in the "Peter Pan" movie.

"The Sword in the Stone" is probably one of Walt Disney’s cartoons with the highest number of references to the magical world. This cartoon is about one of the most famous tales in the history of magic. It is about how the great Merlin helped Arthur become king. You can see owls, magic wands, and a lot of other familiar things in this movie.

Walter Disney died in 1966, but his legacy continues today. Even after his death, there are a lot of magical references in his company’s movies, like “The Black Cauldron," "Return to Oz," "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and many other movies. The opening of Disney animations is a picture of a magical castle, which is very similar to Hogwarts. Could it be a coincidence? Or is it just another attempt to show Muggles that magic is not as bad as they used to think it is? Nowadays, Muggles are less afraid of magic and more interested in it than they were in the past. Perhaps Walter Disney’s efforts were not in vain after all.

- Isadore Oakwood, Journalist, Editor, Hogwarts Monthly Magazine.