Media Station
"The Lion King" was the first film to be given an "interactive story life" and Disney's first venture into the storybook realm. Media Station, a company that produced and designed interactive CD-ROM entertainment, was the main developer of the series"." While Disney Interactive planned to bring software development in-house to the studio, the business model for the "Disney's" "Animated Storybook" series saw Disney Interactive outsource the development work to Media Station, while handling the animation and design themselves at their Burbank head office. This left Disney in charge of the design, development, and marketing of the series, with Media Station and other companies acting as programming contractors without creative decision making. The series' distribution was handled by Disney's Buena Vista Pictures Distribution division. The developers aimed to have a "true and fair representation of the original property", having the films' directors and producers working alongside their artists and designers. The series was "designed to bring the theatrical experience home". Disney and Media Station co-designed the titles as a joint venture. Speaking about their work with other studios, Media Station founder David Gregory said "Working with Disney has given us the chance to work with the greatest content possible, and the challenge of living up to their standards. It's gotten our name in the channels". Media Station handled development for much of the series, as Disney Interactive did not yet have the technical resources to handle it themselves. In May 1996, however, Disney Interactive acquired Sanctuary Studios, which would continue to operate as an independent developer of educational content under Disney. Sanctuary's 35 staff in their local Victoria, British Columbia office became a small part of Disney Interactive's 300 employees, handling the programming, sound and graphic design, and art instead of Media Station. Some background art and animation was outsourced to Creative Capers Entertainment for these titles as well.