Portal:Disney

Introduction

The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, as an animation studio, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; it later operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before adopting its current name 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 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 sector, 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 from 1989 to 1999. In 2005, under the new CEO Bob Iger, the company continued to expand into a major entertainment conglomerate with the acquisitions of Pixar in 2006, Marvel Entertainment in 2009, Lucasfilm in 2012, and 21st Century Fox in 2019. 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’s namesake film studio division 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 operating 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+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Hotstar; and Disney Experiences, which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world. (Full article...)

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Mulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 19, 1998. Starring Ming-Na, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer and B. D. Wong in the English version, while Jackie Chan provided his voice for the Chinese dubs of the film. The 36th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and a part of the Disney Renaissance, the film is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan.

Mulan was the first of three features produced primarily at the Disney animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. Development for the film began in 1994, when a number of artistic supervisors were sent to China to receive artistic and cultural inspiration. Mulan was well-received by critics and the public, grossing $304 million, earning Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and winning several Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature. A 2005 direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II, followed.

Mulan is set in China during the Han Dynasty. The film's protagonist, Fa Mulan, is the only daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou. She impersonates a man and takes her father's place during a general conscription to counter a fictitious Hun invasion led by Shan Yu. Along with her guardian dragon Mushu, her captain, Li Shang, a lucky cricket, "Cri-kee," and her companions, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, she battles the invading Hun army.

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Credit: AmericaSings

Sleeping Beauty Castle as decorated for Disneyland's fiftieth birthday.

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

Image 1Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 2Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 3Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 4Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 5A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 6The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 7Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 8One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 9Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 10Disney in 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 11Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 12Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm in 1935 (from Walt Disney)
Image 13Monorail Red travels over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland in 2008. (from Disneyland)
Image 14Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 15Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 16The Sherman Brothers in 2002. They composed many Disney songs in the 1960s. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 17Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run) (from Disneyland)
Image 18Disney'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 19Disney receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 from President Lyndon B. Johnson. (from Walt Disney)
Image 20One of Disney's first animated characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which Disney regained the rights to in 2006. The initial run of Oswald shorts by Disney have all entered the public domain as of January 1, 2024. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 21Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 22Walt (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 23Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)
Image 24Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 25The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo (from Walt Disney World)
Image 26The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 27Disney in 1954 with Wernher von Braun (from Walt Disney)
Image 28Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 29Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 30Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 31Team 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 32An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 33An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 34Adventureland entrance
(from Disneyland)
Image 35The original animation building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 36Main Street, USA
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 37Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 38Disney (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)
Image 39Overlay 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 40Grave of Walt Disney at Forest Lawn, Glendale (from Walt Disney)
Image 41Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 42Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 43New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion) (from Disneyland)
Image 44Hollywood Studios' Park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 45Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 46The original logo of Walt Disney World from 1971 to the mid-1990s. This logo is still used on retro merchandise. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 47Characters from Alice in Wonderland host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist in 2005. (from Disneyland)
Image 48Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 49Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 50Mickey's Toontown
(Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway) (from Disneyland)
Image 51Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 52Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) (from Disneyland)
Image 53Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 54Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 55Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 56A Disney Cruise Line bus which takes guests to and from Terminal 8 from Orlando International Airport; as well as around Walt Disney World. (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 57Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 58Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 59Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 60Bayou Country
(Tiana's Bayou Adventure) (from Disneyland)
Image 61Walt 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 62View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 63The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.

Selected biography

Steve Ross Purcell is an American cartoonist, animator and game designer. He is most widely known as the creator of Sam & Max, an independent comic book series about a pair of anthropomorphic animal vigilantes and private investigators, for which Purcell received an Eisner Award in 2007. The series has since grown to incorporate an animated television series and several video games. A graduate of the California College of Arts and Craft, Purcell began his career creating comic strips for the college newsletter. He performed freelance work for Marvel Comics and Fishwrap Productions before publishing his first Sam & Max comic in 1987. Purcell was hired by LucasArts as an artist and animator in 1988, working on several titles within the company's adventure games era. Purcell collaborated with Nelvana to create a Sam & Max television series in 1997, and briefly worked as an animator for Industrial Light & Magic after leaving LucasArts. He is currently employed in the story development department at Pixar. His main work for the animation studio has been with the 2006 film Cars and spin-off materials such as shorts and video games. Despite his employment with Pixar, Purcell has continued to work with comic books and came together with Telltale Games in 2005 to bring about new series of Sam & Max video games.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that John Oliver dared Disney to sue him over his version of Mickey Mouse?
... that Disney+ released a promotional poster for the Doctor Who Christmas special "Joy to the World" with the title spelled incorrectly?
... that the ferry General Joe Potter at Walt Disney World is named in honor of Major General William Everett Potter?
... that cyclist Mike Allen compared participating in the Olympics to Disneyland?
... 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 the horses pulling the Disneyland Main Street Vehicles' streetcars include Belgians, Brabants, Clydesdales, Percherons, and Shires?

Selected quote

We believe it's the biggest advance in animation since Walt Disney started it all with the release of Snow White 50 years ago.

— Steve Jobs

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More Did you know...

...that Walt Disney's Riverfront Square in St. Louis, Missouri, was to have been entirely indoors, with artificial lighting simulating weather and time of day?

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

...that the creator of Disney Series Doug and 101 Dalmatians, Jim Jinkins, has created an independent company, Cartoon Pizza.
...that press releases for the Phineas and Ferb episode "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" detailed a cut subplot where the character Lawrence Fletcher searches for a rare bottle cap?

...that when Walt Disney was looking for a new character following Oswald, he rejected a female cow and male horse who later turn up as Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar?

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