Walt Disney Pictures

**Walt Disney Pictures** (also known simply as **Disney**, otherwise known as **Disney Live-Action & Animation**) is an American-based film studio part of The Walt Disney Studios. It is known not only for mainly producing animated feature films, but also live-action features.

Walt Disney Pictures was established as a division of Walt Disney Productions (now The Walt Disney Company) on April 1, 1983, and the first film to bear the "Walt Disney Pictures" banner was *Never Cry Wolf*. Prior to that, "Walt Disney Productions" was the credit used for the company's live action films, with its very first one, *Treasure Island*, making its theatrical premiere in 1950. The first Disney film to be shot in widescreen was *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea*, released in 1954. The first Disney animated film to be shot in widescreen was *Lady and the Tramp*, released in 1955.

It includes films produced by other Disney divisions under Walt Disney Pictures including Walt Disney Animation Studios (since 1986), Pixar (since 1995), and Lucasfilm (since 2012). Additionally, it includes distribution of films produced by The Walt Disney Studios under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, although not involved in co-productions with the aforementioned labels, including Marvel Studios; 20th Century Studios; Regency Enterprises; and Searchlight Pictures (international only) with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures currently handling distribution. Between 2019 and 2020, Walt Disney Pictures handling distribution of Pathe's productions in the UK such as *Judy* and *Misbehaviour* under the film studio's distribution deal through 20th Century Studios. The latter expired and transferred back to Warner Bros on June 30, 2021 after ten years.

## Other films distributed under the Walt Disney Pictures banner

While these films are considered to be produced under the Walt Disney Pictures banner such as Pixar and Lucasfilm, films produced by other divisions under The Walt Disney Studios are neither a co-production nor co-labelled with Walt Disney Pictures. However, it did distributed the films produced by the aforementioned Disney units under Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures since 2012:

* Marvel Studios (since 26th April 2012)
* Lucasfilm (since 17th December 2015)
* 20th Century Studios (since 17th April 2019)
	+ Searchlight Pictures

### Current distribution deals

* Scott Free Productions (1995–2001, 2020-present)
* Mandeville Films (1996–present)
* Mayhem Pictures (2002–present)
* New Regency (2019–present)
* Lightstorm Entertainment (2019–present)
* TSG Entertainment (2019–present)
* Original Film (2019–present)
* Gloria Sanchez Productions (2021–present)

### Former distribution deals

* Jerry Bruckheimer Films (1993-2014)
* Studio Ghibli (1996-2017)
* DreamWorks Pictures (2011-2016)
* Pathe (2019-2020)

## PG-13-rated films under the Walt Disney Pictures banner

While the banner maintains a family friendly image, generally releasing G and PG rated films, some of the films under the Walt Disney Pictures banner received a PG-13 rating from the MPA for more mature content, something Touchstone Pictures was capable of doing until its closure in 2016 (with its operations ceasing on December 21, 2017):

* *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* (2003)
* *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest* (2006)
* *Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End* (2007)
* *Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time* (2010)
* *Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides* (2011)
* *John Carter* (2012)
* *The Lone Ranger* (2013)
* *Saving Mr. Banks* (2013)
* *The Finest Hours* (2016)
* *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales* (2017)
* *Hamilton* (2020)
* *Mulan* (2020)
* *Cruella* (2021)
* *Jungle Cruise* (2021)
* *The Beatles: Get Back — The Rooftop Concert* (2022)
* *Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny* (2023) (co-production with Lucasfilm)
* *The Haunted Mansion* (2023)

The first PG-13 rated film released by Walt Disney Pictures was *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*. Additionally, *Tales from Earthsea*, a Studio Ghibli film, is the first and so far only animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures to receive the rating. The rights to that film was reverted *Hamilton* is notable for being the first Walt Disney Pictures film to contain some strong language, although two instances of it were censored to avoid an R rating. The 2020 live-action remake of *Mulan* was the first live-action Disney remake to receive a PG-13 rating, with *Cruella* later following suit.

In the UK, Disney films are rated by the British Broad of Film Classification (BBFC) as U, PG, and either 12 for home video releases, or 12A for theatrical releases.

## Film franchises

Short films
1. *Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom* (1953)
2. *Ben and Me* (1953)
3. *Grand Canyonscope* (1954)
4. *How to Have an Accident in the Home* (1956)
5. *Jack and Old Mac* (1956)
6. *A Cowboy Needs a Horse* (1956)
7. *The Story of Anyburg, U.S.A.* (1957)
8. *The Truth About Mother Goose* (1957)
9. *Paul Bunyan* (1958)
10. *Donald in Mathmagic Land* (1959)
11. *How to Have an Accident at Work* (1959)
12. *Noah's Ark* (1959)
13. *Goliath II* (1960)
14. *Aquamania* (1961)
15. *The Saga of Windwagon Smith* (1961)
16. *Donald and the Wheel* (1961)
17. *The Litterbug* (1961)
18. *A Symposium on Popular Songs* (1962)
19. *Freewayphobia* (1965)
20. *Steel and America* (1965)
21. *Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree* (1966)
22. *Donald's Fire Survival Plan* (1966)
23. *Scrooge McDuck and Money* (1967)
24. *Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day* (1968)
25. *It's Tough to Be a Bird* (1969)
26. *Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too* (1974)
27. *The Small One* (1978)
28. *Vincent* (1982)
29. *Fun with Mr. Future* (1982)
30. *Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore* (1983)
31. *Mickey's Christmas Carol* (1983)

## Notes

1. ↑ New Regency began a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox in 1997. This deal was absorbed by Disney, when it acquired Fox in 2019 and was subsequently renewed by Disney and New Regency in 2021.
2. ↑ Lightstorm Entertainment began a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox in 1995. This deal was absorbed by Disney, when it acquired Fox in 2019.
3. ↑ Gloria Sanchez Productions began a first-look deal with 20th Century Studios in 2021.

## References

1. ↑ Kit, Borys (August 16, 2012). 'The Muppets' Producer Mandeville Re-Ups With Disney (Exclusive).
2. ↑ Graser, Marc (November 6, 2011). Disney reups Mayhem Pictures deal.
3. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (December 13, 2021). New Regency Extends Film Distribution Deal With Disney.
4. ↑ Cameron's Lightstorm Docks At Fox (en-US) (December 18, 1995).
5. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 16, 2021). Will Ferrell & Jessica Elbaum's Gloria Sanchez Productions Inks First-Look Feature Deal With 20th Century Studios (en-US).
6. ↑ Spiegel, Josh (May 27, 2020). The long, ugly history between Disney and Studio Ghibli.
7. ↑ Bjornson, Greta (June 22, 2020). Lin-Manuel Miranda Explains How 'Hamilton' Will Be Censored on Disney+.

## External links

* Walt Disney Pictures at Wikipedia
* Official Website