Portal:Disney

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Introduction

The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923 as an animation studio, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing it to its current name in 1986. In 1928, Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film Steamboat Willie. The film used synchronized sound to become the first post-produced sound cartoon, and popularized Mickey Mouse, who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon.

After becoming a major success by the early 1940s, Disney diversified into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. However, following Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company's profits, especially in the animation division, began to decline. In 1984, Disney's shareholders voted Michael Eisner as CEO, who led a reversal of the company's decline through a combination of international theme park expansion and the highly successful Disney Renaissance period of animation in the 1990s. In 2005, under new CEO Bob Iger, the company continued to expand into a major entertainment conglomerate with the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. In 2020, Bob Chapek became the head of Disney after Iger's retirement. However, Chapek was ousted in 2022 and Iger was reinstated as CEO.

The company is known for its film studio division, the Walt Disney Studios, which includes Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation, and Searchlight Pictures. Disney's other main business units include divisions in television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme park resorts, consumer products, publishing, and international operations. Through these divisions, Disney owns and operates the ABC television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Hotstar; and Disney Experiences, which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world. (Full article...)

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American film produced by Amblin Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company (released on its Touchstone Pictures banner), which blends traditional animation and live action. The film takes place in a fictionalized version of Los Angeles set in 1947, where animated characters (always referred to as "Toons") are real beings who live and work alongside humans in the real world, most of them as actors in animated cartoons.

At $70 million, Roger Rabbit was one of the most expensive films to date at the time of its release. The film proved a sound investment, earning over $150 million during its original theatrical release. The film is notable for offering a unique chance to see many cartoon characters from different studios interacting in a single film and for being one of the last appearances by voice artists Mel Blanc and Mae Questel from animation's Golden Era. In addition, Who Framed Roger Rabbit won four Oscars at the 61st Academy Awards ceremony in 1989.

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Credit: Janke

Randy Cartwright at the Disney Studio in 1991.

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These are images of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, The Walt Disney Company, and Walt Disney in their respective articles.

Image 1Characters from Alice in Wonderland host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist in 2005. (from Disneyland)
Image 2Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 3The Sherman Brothers in 2002. They composed many Disney songs in the 1960s. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 4Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 5Grave of Walt Disney at Forest Lawn, Glendale (from Walt Disney)
Image 6Disney (left) with his brother Roy O. Disney (right) and then Governor of Florida W. Haydon Burns (center) on November 15, 1965, publicly announcing the creation of Disney World (from Walt Disney)
Image 7One of Disney's first animated characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which Disney regained the rights to in 2006. The initial run of Oswald shorts by Disney have all entered the public domain as of January 1, 2024. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 8The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 9Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 10Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 11Adventureland entrance
(2006) (from Disneyland)
Image 12Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 13Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run in 2019) (from Disneyland)
Image 14Disney receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 from President Lyndon B. Johnson. (from Walt Disney)
Image 15New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion) (from Disneyland)
Image 16Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 17An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 18The original logo of Walt Disney World from 1971 to the mid-1990s (from Walt Disney World)
Image 19Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 20Team Disney – The Michael D. Eisner Building, the main building at the Walt Disney Studios, which houses the offices of Disney's CEO and several other senior corporate officials. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 21Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 22Monorail Red travels over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland in 2008. (from Disneyland)
Image 23Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 2008) (from Disneyland)
Image 24Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 25Disney next to a cat and a drawing of Mickey Mouse (by Harris & Ewing), 1931 (from Walt Disney)
Image 26Walt (right) dressed as a gaucho next to Donald Duck in Argentina while on the company's South American goodwill trip in 1941. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 27Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm in 1935 (from Walt Disney)
Image 28Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 29Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 30A Disney Cruise Line bus which takes guests to and from Terminal 8 from Orlando International Airport; as well as around Walt Disney World. (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 31Overlay of Walt Disney's original 1966 plans for Disney World and the proposed EPCOT city (orange) and contemporary situation (blue) (from Walt Disney World)
Image 32Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 33Main Street, U.S.A.
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 34Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 35The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.
Image 36Disney in 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 37An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 38Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 39Disney in 1954 with Wernher von Braun (from Walt Disney)
Image 40Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 41The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 42The original animation building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 43One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 44Walt Disney (left) with his brother Roy O. Disney (right) and then Governor of Florida W. Haydon Burns (center) on November 15, 1965, publicly announcing the creation of Disney World (from Walt Disney World)
Image 45Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 46View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 47Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 48A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 49Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 50The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo (from Walt Disney World)
Image 51Bayou Country
(Tiana's Bayou Adventure) (from Disneyland)
Image 52Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 53Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 54Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 55Disney's video streaming subscription service Disney+ was launched in 2019, which has a total of over 135 million subscriptions as of June 2022. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 56Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 57Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 58Hollywood Studios' park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 59Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 60Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 61Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 62Mickey's Toontown
(pictured in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 63Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 64Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)

Selected biography

Alan Cyril Wagner (October 1, 1931 — December 18, 2007) was an American television executive, radio personality, writer, and opera historian and critic. He served as the East Coast vice president of programming at CBS from 1976 until 1982, when he became the first president of the Disney Channel. Born in Harlem, New York City, Wagner grew up in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University. He served in the United States Navy during the mid 1950s, notably appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956 performing a stand-up comedy bit with a group of fellow seamen. A passionate advocate for opera, Wagner became the host of the WNYC radio program Living Opera in 1957 after his contract with the Navy came to an end. The program aired for two-hours every Sunday morning, featuring excerpts from opera recordings and interviews with performers and other personalities from the opera world. Wagner would also often relate humorous and interesting backstage stories that he had experienced or had heard about. He left Living Opera in 1968 after hosting the program for eleven years.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the ferry General Joe Potter at Walt Disney World is named in honor of Major General William Everett Potter?
... that Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company alleging that the release strategy for Black Widow breached her contract?
... that John Oliver dared Disney to sue him over his version of Mickey Mouse?
... that a revival of the comedy series Lizzie McGuire was ordered in 2019, but canceled mid-production after Disney deemed it not family-friendly enough?

Selected quote

Golf? Are they in season?

— Goofy

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More Did you know...

...that Dan Povenmire was at a Wild Thyme restaurant in South Pasadena, California, when he first drew the character Phineas Flynn?

...that Michael Eisner credited research economist Harrison Price with being "as much responsible for the success of the Walt Disney Co. as anybody except Walt Disney himself"?

...that Disneyland has only ever had three unscheduled closures: In 1963 due to President Kennedy's Assassination; In August 1970 due to an invasion by Yippies and September 11, 2001.
...that in May 1992, entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter reported that about 25% of Euro Disney's workforce — approximately 3,000 men and women — had resigned their jobs because of unacceptable working conditions.
...that when Walt Disney was looking for a new character following Oswald, he rejected a female cow and male horse who later turn up as Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar?

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