Walt Disney founded his first professional film studio at a building designed by noted Kansas City architect, Nelle Peters, in May of 1922. He incorporated his new company with the Missouri Secretary of State's office. He called it “Laugh-O-gram Films”.

1922 was a pivotal, "make-or-break" year for Walt Disney, then a 20-year-old artist living in Kansas City. In May 1922, he officially incorporated Laugh-O-Gram Films with $15,000 raised from local investors. During this year, he produced a series of modern, comedic animated shorts based on classic fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood and Puss in Boots. It was during this period that he worked closely with his friend and legendary animator Ub Iwerks. Notably, the studio's office was where Walt famously befriended a small house mouse that would later serve as the primary inspiration for Mickey Mouse. However, 1922 was also marked by financial struggle; while the cartoons were creatively successful, the distribution company Disney contracted with failed to pay him the full amount promised. This set the stage for the studio's bankruptcy the following year and Walt's subsequent move to Hollywood, where he would eventually find global success with his brother Roy.