The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Studios corporate headquarters in Burbank, California

**The Walt Disney Company**, commonly known as **Walt Disney** or simply **Disney**, (common metonym: Mouse, also Mouse House) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the world's largest independent media conglomerate in terms of revenue, ahead of NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia which are owned by telecommunications giants Comcast and AT&T respectively.

The company was founded on October 16, 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as the **Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio**; it also operated under the names **The Walt Disney Studio** and **Walt Disney Productions** before officially changing its name to The Walt Disney Company in 1986. The company established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and theme parks.

Since the 1980s, Disney has created and acquired corporate divisions in order to market more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is known for its film studios which include The Walt Disney Studios (which includes Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Pixar, and Disney Animation Studios). Disney's other main divisions are Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Disney Media Networks, and Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, FX, National Geographic channels, and A&E Networks (a 50:50 joint venture with Hearst Communications); publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a group of 14 theme parks around the world. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. Cartoon character Mickey Mouse, created in 1928, is the company's mascot and one of the world's most recognizable characters.

## Corporate history

*See also: Timeline of The Walt Disney Company*

### 1923–1928: Silent film era

In early 1923, Kansas City, Missouri, animator Walt Disney created a short film entitled *Alice's Wonderland*, which featured child actress Virginia Davis interacting with animated characters. After the bankruptcy in 1923 of his previous firm, Laugh-O-Gram Studio, Disney moved to Hollywood to join his brother, Roy O. Disney. Film distributor Margaret J. Winkler of M.J. Winkler Productions contacted Disney with plans to distribute a whole series of *Alice Comedies* purchased for $1,500 per reel with Disney as a production partner. Walt and Roy Disney formed **Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio** that same year. More animated films followed after Alice. In January 1926, with the completion of the Disney studio on Hyperion Street, the Disney Brothers Studio's name was changed to the **Walt Disney Studio**.

After the demise of the *Alice* comedies, Disney developed an all-cartoon series starring his first original character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which was distributed by Winkler Pictures through Universal Pictures. The distributor owned Oswald, so Disney only made a few hundred dollars. Disney completed 26 *Oswald* shorts before losing the contract in February 1928, due to a legal loophole, when Winkler's husband Charles Mintz took over their distribution company. After failing to take over the Disney Studio, Mintz hired away four of Disney's primary animators (the exception being Ub Iwerks) to start his own animation studio, Snappy Comedies.

### 1928–1934: Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies

In 1928, to recover from the loss of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney came up with the idea of a mouse character named Mortimer while on a train headed to California, drawing up a few simple drawings. The mouse was later renamed Mickey Mouse (Disney's wife, Lillian, disliked the sound of 'Mortimer Mouse') and starred in several Disney produced films. Ub Iwerks refined Disney's initial design of Mickey Mouse. Disney's first sound film *Steamboat Willie*, a cartoon starring Mickey, was released on November 18, 1928 through Pat Powers' distribution company. It was the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon released, but the third to be created, behind *Plane Crazy* and *The Gallopin' Gaucho*. *Steamboat Willie* was an immediate smash hit, and its initial success was attributed not just to Mickey's appeal as a character, but to the fact that it was the first cartoon to feature synchronized sound. Disney used Pat Powers' Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee de Forest's Phonofilm system. *Steamboat Willie* premiered at B. S. Moss's Colony Theater in New York City, now The Broadway Theatre. Disney's *Plane Crazy* and *The Gallopin' Gaucho* were then retrofitted with synchronized sound tracks and re-released successfully in 1929.

Disney continued to produce cartoons with Mickey Mouse and other characters, and began the Silly Symphony series with Columbia Pictures signing on as Symphonies distributor in August 1929. In September 1929, theater manager Harry Woodin requested permission to start a Mickey Mouse Club which Walt approved. In November, test comics strips were sent to King Features, who requested additional samples to show to the publisher, William Randolph Hearst. On December 16, the Walt Disney Studios partnership was reorganized as a corporation with the name of **Walt Disney Productions, Limited** with a merchandising division, Walt Disney Enterprises, and two subsidiaries, Disney Film Recording Company, Limited and Liled Realty and Investment Company for real estate holdings. Walt and his wife held 60% (6,000 shares) and Roy owned 40% of WD Productions. On December 30, King Features signed its first newspaper, New York Mirror, to publish the Mickey Mouse comic strip with Walt's permission.

In 1932, Disney signed an exclusive contract with Technicolor (through the end of 1935) to produce cartoons in color, beginning with *Flowers and Trees* (1932). Disney released cartoons through Powers' Celebrity Pictures (1928–1930), Columbia Pictures (1930–1932), and United Artists (1932–1937). The popularity of the Mickey Mouse series allowed Disney to plan for his first feature-length animation. The feature film *Walt Before Mickey*, based on the book by Diane Disney Miller, featured these moments in the studio's history.

### 1934–1945: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and World War II

Deciding to push the boundaries of animation even further, Disney began production of his first feature-length animated film in 1934. Taking three years to complete, *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*, premiered in December 1937 and by 1939 became highest-grossing film of that time. *Snow White* was released through RKO Radio Pictures, which had assumed distribution of Disney's product in July 1937, after United Artists attempted to attain future television rights to the Disney shorts. Using the profits from *Snow White*, Disney financed the construction of a new 51-acre (210,000 m2) studio complex in Burbank, California. The new Walt Disney Studios, in which the company is headquartered to this day, was completed and open for business by the end of 1939. The following year on April 2, Walt Disney Productions had its initial public offering.

The studio continued releasing animated shorts and features, such as *Pinocchio* (1940), *Fantasia* (1940), *Dumbo* (1941), and *Bambi* (1942). After World War II began, box office profits declined. When the United States entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor, many of Disney's animators were drafted into the armed forces. The U.S. and Canadian governments commissioned the studio to produce training and propaganda films. By 1942, 90% of its 550 employees were working on war-related films. Films such as the feature *Victory Through Air Power* and the short *Education for Death* (both 1943) were meant to increase public support for the war effort. Even the studio's characters joined the effort, as Donald Duck appeared in a number of comical propaganda shorts, including the Academy Award-winning *Der Fuehrer's Face* (1943).

### 1946–1954: Post-war and television

With limited staff and little operating capital during and after the war, Disney's feature films during much of the 1940s were "package films", or collections of shorts, such as *The Three Caballeros* (1944) and *Melody Time* (1948), which performed poorly at the box office. At the same time, the studio began producing live-action films and documentaries. *Song of the South* (1946) and *So Dear to My Heart* (1948) featured animated segments, while the *True-Life Adventures* series, which included such films as *Seal Island* (1948) and *The Vanishing Prairie* (1954), were also popular. Eight of the films in the series won Academy Awards.

The release of *Cinderella* in 1950 proved that feature-length animation could still succeed in the marketplace. Other releases of the period included *Alice in Wonderland* (1951) and *Peter Pan* (1953), both in production before the war began, and Disney's first all-live action feature, *Treasure Island* (1950). Other early all-live-action Disney films included *The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men* (1952), *The Sword and the Rose* (1953), and *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea* (1954). Disney ended its distribution contract with RKO in 1953, forming its own distribution arm, Buena Vista Distribution.

In December 1950, Walt Disney Productions and the Coca-Cola Company teamed up for Disney's first venture into television, the NBC television network special *An Hour in Wonderland*. In October 1954, the ABC network launched Disney's first regular television series.

### 1955–1965: Disneyland

In 1954, Walt Disney used his *Disneyland* series to unveil what would become Disneyland, an idea conceived out of a desire for a place where parents and children could both have fun at the same time. On July 18, 1955, Walt Disney opened Disneyland to the general public. On July 17, 1955, Disneyland was previewed with a live television broadcast hosted by Robert Cummings, Art Linkletter and Ronald Reagan. After a shaky start, Disneyland continued to grow and attract visitors from across the country and around the world. A major expansion in 1959 included the addition of America's first monorail system. For the 1964 New York World's Fair, Disney prepared four separate attractions for various sponsors, each of which would find its way to Disneyland in one form or another. During this time, Walt Disney was also secretly scouting out new sites for a second Disney theme park. In November 1965, "Disney World" was announced, with plans for theme parks, hotels, and even a model city on thousands of acres of land purchased outside of Orlando, Florida.

Disney continued to focus its talents on television throughout the 1950s. Its weekday afternoon children's television program *The Mickey Mouse Club*, featuring its roster of young "Mouseketeers", premiered in 1955 to great success, as did the *Davy Crockett* miniseries, starring Fess Parker and broadcast on the *Disneyland* anthology show. Two years later, the *Zorro* series would prove just as popular, running for two seasons on ABC. Despite such success, Walt Disney Productions invested little into television ventures in the 1960s, with the exception of the long-running anthology series, later known as *The Wonderful World of Disney*.

Disney's film studios stayed busy as well, averaging five or six releases per year during this period. While the production of shorts slowed significantly during the 1950s and 1960s, the studio released a number of popular animated features, like *Lady and the Tramp* (1955), *Sleeping Beauty* (1959) and *One Hundred and One Dalmatians* (1961), which introduced a new xerography process to transfer the drawings to animation cels. Disney's live-action releases were spread across a number of genres, including historical fiction (*Johnny Tremain*, 1957), adaptations of children's books (*Pollyanna*, 1960) and modern-day comedies (*The Shaggy Dog*, 1959). Disney's most successful film of the 1960s was a live action/animated musical adaptation of *Mary Poppins*, which was one of the all-time highest-grossing movies and received five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews and Best Song for Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman for "Chim Chim Cher-ee". The theme park design and architectural group became so integral to the Disney studio's operations that the studio bought it on February 5, 1965, along with the WED Enterprises name.

### 2005–present: Bob Iger era; mergers and acquisitions

*See also: Acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney*

On July 8, 2005, Walt Disney's nephew, Roy E. Disney, returned to the company as a consultant and as non-voting director emeritus. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts celebrated the 50th anniversary of Disneyland Park on July 17 and opened Hong Kong Disneyland on September 12. Walt Disney Feature Animation released *Chicken Little*, the company's first film using 3D animation. On October 1, Iger replaced Eisner as CEO. Miramax co-founders Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein also departed the company to form their own studio. On July 25, 2005, Disney announced that it was closing DisneyToon Studios Australia in October 2006 after 17 years of existence.

On January 23, 2006, it was announced that Disney would purchase Pixar in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.4 billion. The deal was finalized on May 5; Steve Jobs, who was Pixar's CEO and held a 50.1% ownership stake in the company, transitioned to Disney's board of directors as its largest individual shareholder, with a 7% stake. Ed Catmull took over as President of Pixar Animation Studios. Former Executive Vice-President of Pixar, John Lasseter, became Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, its division Disneytoon Studios, and Pixar Animation Studios, as well as assuming the role of Principal Creative Advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering.

In February 2006, Disney acquired the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from NBC Universal (including the character's intellectual property and the 26 Oswald cartoons produced by Walt Disney) as part of an exchange of minor assets. In return, Disney released sportscaster Al Michaels from his contracts with ABC Sports and ESPN, so he could join NBC Sports and his long-time partner John Madden for NBC's new NFL *Sunday Night Football*. In April 2007, the Muppets Holding Company was moved from Disney Consumer Products to the Walt Disney Studios division and renamed The Muppets Studio, as part of efforts to re-launch the division. In February 2007, the company was accused of human rights violations regarding the working conditions in factories that produce their merchandise. On August 31, 2009, Disney announced a deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion, in a deal completed on December 31, 2009.

Director Emeritus Roy E. Disney died of stomach cancer on December 16, 2009. At the time of his death, he owned roughly 1% of all of Disney which amounted to 16 million shares. He was the last member of the Disney family to be actively involved in the company. In October 2009, Disney Channel president Rich Ross, hired by Iger, replaced Dick Cook as chairman of the company and, in November, began restructuring the company to focus more on family friendly products. Later in January 2010, Disney decided to shut down Miramax after downsizing Touchstone, but one month later, they instead began selling the Miramax brand and its 700-title film library to Filmyard Holdings. In March, ImageMovers Digital, which Disney had established as a joint venture studio with Robert Zemeckis in 2007, was shut down. In April 2010, Lyric Street, Disney's country music label in Nashville, was shut down. The following month, Haim Saban reacquired the *Power Rangers* franchise, including its 700-episode library. In September 2012, Saban reacquired the *Digimon* franchise, which, like *Power Rangers*, was part of the Fox Kids library that Disney acquired in 2001. In January 2011, Disney Interactive Studios was downsized.

In April 2011, Disney broke ground on Shanghai Disney Resort. Costing $4.4 billion, the resort opened on June 16, 2016. Later, in August 2011, Bob Iger stated on a conference call that after the success of the Pixar and Marvel purchases, he and the Walt Disney Company are looking to "buy either new characters or businesses that are capable of creating great characters and great stories." Later, in early February 2012, Disney completed its acquisition of UTV Software Communications, expanding their market further into India and Asia. On October 30, 2012, Disney announced plans to acquire Lucasfilm in a deal valued at $4.05 billion. Disney announced an intent to leverage the *Star Wars* franchise across its divisions, and planned to produce a seventh installment in the main film franchise for release in 2015. The sale was completed on December 21, 2012. On March 24, 2014, Disney acquired Maker Studios, an active multi-channel network on YouTube, for $500 million. The company was later turned into a new venture called Disney Digital Network in May 2017.

On February 5, 2015, it was announced that Tom Staggs had been promoted to COO. On April 4, 2016, Disney announced that Staggs and the company had mutually agreed to part ways, effective May 2016, ending his 26-year career with the company. In August 2016, Disney acquired a 33% stake in BAMTech, a streaming media provider spun out from Major League Baseball's media division. The company announced plans to eventually use its infrastructure for an ESPN over-the-top service.

In September 2016, Disney was considering placing a bid for American online news and social networking service Twitter, But they dropped out partly due to concerns over abuse and harassment on the service.

On March 23, 2017, Disney announced that Iger had agreed to a one-year extension of his term as CEO through July 2, 2019, and had agreed to remain with the company as a consultant for three years after stepping down. In August 2017, Disney announced that it had exercised an option to increase its stake in BAMTech to 75%, and would launch a subscription video-on-demand service featuring its entertainment content in 2019, which will replace Netflix as the subscription VOD rights holder of all Disney theatrical film releases. In November 2017, Lasseter announced that he was taking a six-month leave of absence from Pixar and Disney Animation after acknowledging "missteps" in his behavior with employees in a memo to staff. According to various news outlets, Lasseter had a history of alleged sexual misconduct towards employees.

In November 2017, it was reported by CNBC that Disney had been in negotiations to acquire 21st Century Fox. The negotiations had reportedly resumed around Disney acquiring several of Fox's key media assets. Rumors of a nearing deal continued on December 5, 2017, with additional reports suggesting that the FSN regional sports networks would be included in the resulting new company (assets that would likely be aligned with Disney's ESPN division). On December 14, Disney and 21st Century Fox announced their intention to merge in a deal worth $52.4 billion in stock. The merger included many of Fox's entertainment assets—including filmed entertainment, cable entertainment, and direct broadcast satellite divisions in the UK, Europe, and Asia—but excluded divisions such as the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, the Fox News Channel, the Fox Business Network, Fox Sports 1 and 2, and the Big Ten Network, all of which were spun off into an independent company before the merger was complete. The deal officially closed on March 20, 2019.

Beginning in March 2018, a strategic reorganization of the company saw the creation of two business segments, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International. Parks & Consumer Products was primarily a merger of Parks & Resorts and Consumer Products & Interactive Media. While Direct-to-Consumer & International took over for Disney International and global sales, distribution and streaming units from Disney-ABC TV Group and Studios Entertainment plus Disney Digital Network. Given that CEO Iger described it as "strategically positioning our businesses for the future", *The New York Times* considered the reorganization done in expectation of the 21st Century Fox purchase.

On June 8, 2018, Disney announced that Lasseter would be leaving the company by the end of the year, but would take on a consulting role until then. On June 19, 2018, Pete Docter and Jennifer Lee were announced as Lasseter's replacements as chief creative officers of Pixar and Disney Animation, respectively. On June 28, 2018, Disneytoon Studios was shut down, resulting in the layoffs of 75 animators and staff.

## Company units

*Further information: List of assets owned by The Walt Disney Company*
The Walt Disney Company operates four primary business units, which it calls "business segments": **Studio Entertainment**, **Media Networks and Direct-To-Consumer & International Businesses,** and **Parks Experiences & Consumer Products,** which includes the company's theme parks, cruise line, travel-related assets, consumer products and publishing divisions. Studio Entertainment includes the company's primary business unit, The Walt Disney Studios, which includes its film, music recording label, and theatrical divisions. Media Networks includes ESPN, Inc. and the Disney/ABC Television Group, and consists of the company's broadcast, cable, radio and publishing and digital businesses. The Direct-To-Consumer division includes digital subscription streaming services and international holdings, including international television channels. Marvel Entertainment is also a direct CEO reporting business, while its financial results are primarily divided between the Studio Entertainment and Consumer Products segments.

The company's main entertainment holdings include The Walt Disney Studios, Disney Music Group, Disney Theatrical Group, Disney-ABC Television Group, Radio Disney, ESPN Inc., Disney Interactive, Disney Consumer Products, Disney India Ltd., The Muppets Studio, Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Studios, UTV Software Communications, Lucasfilm, and Disney Digital Network. The company's resorts and diversified related holdings include Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Shanghai Disney Resort, Disney Vacation Club, Disney Cruise Line, and Adventures by Disney.

## Disney Media Networks

### Key people

Peter Rice (Co-chairman)
James Pitaro (Co-chairman)

### Divisions

Walt Disney Television
ESPN

### Subsidaries

A&E Networks (50%)

Disney Media Networks division operates the company's various television networks, cable channels, associated production and distribution companies and owned and operated television stations. Media Networks also manages Disney's interest in its joint venture with Hearst Communications for A+E Networks, and ESPN Inc. It is the only division with two leaders or "co-chairs": the presidents of ESPN and Disney-ABC Television Group.

## Financial data

### Revenues

Disney ranked No. 55 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

## See also

* Lists of films released by Disney
* Disney University
* Disneyfication
* Buena Vista
* *Mandeville-Anthony v. The Walt Disney Company*, a federal court case in which Mandeville claimed Disney infringed on his copyrighted ideas by creating *Cars*
* List of conglomerates
* Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

## External links

* Official website

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