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The Walt Disney Company (also known as or simply as Disney) is a global media company that publishes video games through their affiliate company Disney Interactive Studios. Most of their video games are based on their movies and franchises, and only one, Spectrobes, is not based on a franchise.
The company has a Japanese division known as Walt Disney Japan Ltd.(JP)(CN)
Early History[]
The company was founded as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on October 16, 1923 by Walt and Roy Disney following the bankruptcy of their previous company, Laugh-O-Gram Studio. For many years they created short films and movies featuring Mickey Mouse and other characters. One of their more notable movies include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Frozen. They have also created many theme parks, such as Disneyland, all of the parks at Walt Disney World, and others.
Disney's relations with Nintendo[]
In 1959, Hiroshi Yamauchi, then president of Nintendo, and Walt Disney Productions met and came to an agreement to manufacture playing cards with Disney characters on them.[1] The contract included much more than just playing cards, however. Nintendo was also given the rights to produce various products in Japan with Disney characters on them. This partnership ultimately resulted in Nintendo being accepted in the Kyoto Stock Exchange and the Osaka Stock Exchange due to the overwhelming popularity of the products. Interestingly, the first Nintendo TV adverts centered around Nintendo's Disney themed playing cards. Products included in this interesting and, for Nintendo, unprecedented arrangement are:
- Disney playing cards: Certainly the most noteworthy product Nintendo manufactured were the playing cards that featured several Disney characters including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, and the 101 Dalmatians.
- Board games: Many Disney themed board games were released, most of them centered around Mickey Mouse and his friends. Other Disney properties that got the board game treatment include Peter Pan, The Sword in the Stone, 101 Dalmatians, The Seven Dwarfs, Lady and the Tramp, and others. A Disneyland Game based on the California theme park was also released.
- Disney Fricker: Disney themed rice seasoning that was very successful in Japan, surprising considering Nintendo's terrible track record when it came to food related products.
- Alarm Clocks: Several Disney themed alarm clocks were released by Nintendo that featured Bambi, The Seven Dwarfs and Lady and the Tramp.
Later on, many Disney-themed video games would be created for Nintendo's gaming systems by third party developers and publishers. Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck hold the distinction of being some of the few licensed characters (the others being Popeye and Snoopy) to feature in Nintendo's Game & Watch line, through the Mickey Mouse and Mickey & Donald titles, released on October 9, 1981 and November 12, 1982 respectively.
Uniracers[]
After the release of the SNES game Uniracers, the now Disney-owned studio Pixar (note: at the time they were not involved with Disney) sued Nintendo, claiming that the main character (a unicycle) was too similar to a character that was featured in a Pixar short (developers of Uniracers claimed that the similarities are due to the fact that both are meant to look like a unicycle). Pixar won the lawsuit and Nintendo of America was forced to remove the product from stores.
Mii character cameos[]
A Mii character walking alongside Mickey Mouse in the Disney Magical World 2 video game
Dance Dance Revolution Disney Grooves, Disney Channel All Star Party, Disney Magical World, and Disney Magical World 2 all feature Mii characters as playable and/or background characters. This makes the Mii characters the first Nintendo characters to ever interact with Disney properties in-universe.
Wreck-It Ralph[]
Nintendo also lent some of its characters to Disney for the 2012 film Wreck-It Ralph, Bowser being the most prominent, as well as a Super Mushroom making a small appearance in the scene where Ralph is looking for a medal. During the production of its sequel, Disney expected to include Mario at various scenes, but the plan was ultimately scrapped due to Nintendo not allowing the use of its character for the film (around the same time, Illumination and Universal Pictures was already in negotiations with Nintendo to produce The Super Mario Bros. Movie).
Walt Disney and Shigeru Miyamoto comparisons[]
Miyamoto has been referred to as the "Walt Disney of video games" by multiple press outlets. The following are just some of whom have labeled with this title.
- New York Times (various comparisons to Walt Disney)
- San Francisco Chronicle, October 2008 ("Shigeru Miyamoto, 55, has often been described as the Walt Disney of video games.")
- Telegraph, June 2008 ("If there is such a man as a modern-day Walt Disney, then he is surely Shigeru Miyamoto.")
- Time Magazine ("Chief game designer for Nintendo, Miyamoto has been called the Walt Disney of electronic gaming.")
Disney's effect on Nintendo employees[]
- Shigeru Miyamoto has on multiple occasions stated that he grew up watching animated Disney movies. In an interview with GameInformer in April of 2008, Miyamoto mentioned that he hoped people would maybe decide to purchase Wii Fit instead of go to Disneyland. In one interview in London, Miyamoto mentioned how he wondered why parents often allow their children to watch Disney movies without thinking twice about it but will often question a Nintendo video game.
- Satomi Asakawa has stated that Disney's Alice in Wonderland is one of his favorite animated movies of all time. He also stated that after graduating college in Japan, he wanted to get a job working at Pixar or work on a movie similar to The Nightmare Before Christmas (a Disney movie).
- Keisuke Nishimori has stated that after watching Toy Story he wanted to get a job at Pixar, a now Disney-owned company.
- Composer Toru Minegishi has stated that Alan Menken, the man who created the music for many of Disney's classic musicals, is one of his favorite composers. He stated that Disney's music helped him create the songs for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
- Yoichi Kotabe has stated that he grew up watching Disney animation.
- Hideki Konno, in an interview with Nintendo Power, was asked which 3D movies he was interested in. Among the movies he mentioned were Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3 and Tron Legacy. All three of these movies were distributed by Disney.
Notable creations[]
Video games[]
See also: Category:Disney games
Kingdom Hearts series[]
The Kingdom Hearts series is a crossover franchise between all Disney properties and a few Square Enix franchises (mainly Final Fantasy, but The World Ends with You has also made an appearance in Dream Drop Distance). The series is lead by Tetsuya Nomura and developed by Square Enix with creative freedom given to them by Disney. Disney otherwise does not get involved aside from some consultation. Sora, the protagonist in the series, is playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Disney characters are not present in the Sora DLC.
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - GBA
- Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory - Nintendo Switch
- Kingdom Hearts Re: coded - Nintendo DS
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days - Nintendo DS
- Kingdom Hearts : Dream Drop Distance - Nintendo 3DS
Channels[]
Disney operated 3 kids channels: Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD. Disney XD aired Pokémon the Series during the Sun and Moon era. Several regions aired other series of the Pokémon anime such as Black and White (in Asia). For the movies, I Choose You! and The Power of Us was also aired.
Acquisitions[]
Over the years, Disney has bought numerous media companies including some of the world's biggest media franchises. These include:
- Lucasfilm, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.
- Marvel
- The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House franchises
- 20th Century Studios (formally 20th Century Fox) franchises including Alien, Avatar, Anastasia, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Ice Age (under Blue Sky Studios) and more.
20th Century Studios games[]
Connections[]
- Eric Bauza voiced all the Beagle Boys in the DuckTales reboot and Scrooge McDuck in Legend of the Three Caballeros.
- Cam Clarke voiced Simba in Timon and Pumbaa and Flounder in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea.
- Peter Cullen voiced Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh cartoons from 1983 to 2009, and Monterey Jack in the early episodes of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.
- John DiMaggio voiced Dr. Drakken and Motor Ed on Kim Possible.
- Jeannie Elias voiced Huey Duck in Quack Pack.
- Jennifer Hale has voiced Cinderella since 2001.
- Kate Higgins has voiced Aurora since 2010.
- Roger Craig Smith voiced Captain America in various games and animation and reprised Sonic the Hedgehog in Wreck-It Ralph and its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet.
- Kyle Hebert and Reuben Langdon reprised Ryu and Ken Masters in Wreck-It Ralph.
- Rob Paulsen voiced Gladstone Gander in the original DuckTales, Steelbeak on Darkwing Duck, PJ on Goof Troop, Banzai the hyena in Timon and Pumbaa, Hathi in the first season of Jungle Cubs, and Ian Wazselewski on Teacher's Pet.
- Tara Strong voiced Spot Chicken on 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Melody in The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, Bebe and Cece Proud on The Proud Family, and Angel from Lilo & Stitch: The Series.
- Frank Welker voiced Bubba the Cave Duck, Big Time Beagle, and Baggy Beagle on the original DuckTales (all of which he reprised for DuckTales Remastered), Joanna in The Rescuers Down Under, Waffles and Chainsaw on Goof Troop, Abu and Rajah in Aladdin, Fall-Apart Rabbit and Toots on Bonkers, Bronx on Gargoyles, the Chameleon on the Mighty Ducks animated series, and the Grubs on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
- The Walt Disney Company at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The Walt Disney Company at The Disney Wiki, the Fandom wiki on Disney.