Portal:Disney

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Introduction

The Walt Disney Company is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company 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 Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios. 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 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+, Star+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Hotstar; and Disney Experiences, which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article

Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears was an animated series set in medieval England relating the adventures of a community of humanoid bears who call themselves "the Gummies." (In their language, the word simply means "our people.") The bears live in the forest, where they have appointed themselves the secret defenders of the human kingdom of Dunwyn. The eccentric and intensely loyal Gummi Bears have a special power that helps them in dangerous situations. Many of their adventures involve two human friends, Calvin and Princess Calla, the only humans aware of the bears' existence. The show was created by The Walt Disney Company, and loosely inspired by the gummi bear candies; Disney CEO Michael Eisner was struck with inspiration for the show when his son requested the candies one day. The series premiered on NBC on September 14, 1985, and continued to air on ABC, running for 65 half-hour installments over six seasons, concluding on December 7, 1991, as part of the Disney Afternoon television syndication package.

More selected articles • Read more

Selected image

Credit: Protostar

The entrance to Disney California Adventure at Anaheim, showing the large letters spelling CALIFORNIA

More selected pictures • Read more...

General images - load new batch

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

Image 1The original logo of Walt Disney World from 1971 to the mid-1990s (from Walt Disney World)
Image 2Hollywood Studios' park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 3Adventureland entrance
(2006) (from Disneyland)
Image 4Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 5Walt (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 6The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 7Team 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 8Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 9Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 10Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 11Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 12The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 13Critter Country
(Splash Mountain; 1989–2023) (from Disneyland)
Image 14Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 15A Disney Cruise Line bus which takes guest to and from Terminal 8 from Orlando International Airport; as well as around Walt Disney World. (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 16Alice and characters from her movie host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist. (from Disneyland)
Image 17Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 18Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 19The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.
Image 20Disney'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 21Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 22An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 23Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 24Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 25Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 26Main Street, U.S.A.
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 27Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 28Mickey's Toontown
(pictured in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 29Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 30Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 31Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 32A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 33Overlay 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 34Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 35The Sherman Brothers, who composed many of the Disney songs throughout the 1960s (pictured in 2002) (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 36Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 37Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 38Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 39Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 2008) (from Disneyland)
Image 40View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 41Walt 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 42Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 43Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 44One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 45Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 46Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 47Disney in 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 48New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion in the background and Fantasmic! viewing area in the foreground in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 49Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)
Image 50One of Disney's first animated characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which Disney lost the rights to until 2006. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 51Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 52Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 53Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 54The original animation building at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 55Monorail Red travels over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland. (from Disneyland)
Image 56The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 57Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run in 2019) (from Disneyland)
Image 58Grave of Walt Disney at Forest Lawn, Glendale (from Walt Disney)
Image 59An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)

Selected biography

John Alan Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering. Lasseter's first job was with The Walt Disney Company, where he became an animator. Next, he joined Lucasfilm, where he worked on the then-groundbreaking use of CGI animation. After the Graphics Group of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm was sold to Steve Jobs and became Pixar in 1986, Lasseter oversaw all of Pixar's films and associated projects as executive producer and he directed Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Cars, and Cars 2. He has won two Academy Awards, for Animated Short Film (Tin Toy), as well as a Special Achievement Award (Toy Story).

More selected biographies • Read more

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that, for the Space 220 Restaurant, Disney reached out to NASA engineers to understand what a space elevator might look like?
... that Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company alleging that the release strategy for Black Widow breached her contract?
... that before the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Manhattan opened, its workers were sent to Walt Disney World for training?
... 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?
... that in response to Disney's stance on Florida's House Bill 1557, also known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, Pixar employees stated that Disney removes LGBT references from the studio's films?

Selected quote

I have a feeling that Zurg is planning his most diabolical scheme yet.

— Buzz Lightyear

More selected quotes • More at Wikiquote

More Did you know...

...that Joyce Carlson, designer of the Disney theme park attraction "It's a Small World", was the first female employee to achieve a fifty-year service record with Disney?

...that it took 16 years for the pilot episode of Phineas and Ferb to be picked up?

...that Walt Disney had long wanted to make a film based on the Uncle Remus storybook, but it wasn't until the mid-1940s that he had found a way to give the stories an adequate film equivalent, in scope and fidelity.
...Disneyland cost $17 million dollars to build?
... that in 1989, a black-and-white drawing from Walt Disney's "Orphan's Benefit" (USA 1934), depicting Donald Duck being punched by an orphan, raised $280,000 at Christie's London, England.

More did you know facts

Topics

Recognized content

Extended content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Disney}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.