Portal:Disney

Introduction

The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Founded on October 16, 1923, as an animation studio by brothers Walt and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Disney 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. Josh D'Amaro became CEO of Disney in 2026.

Disney operates the largest television and film studio in Hollywood. Walt Disney Studios 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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article

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.

More selected articles • Read more

Selected image

Credit: Bdesham

Epcot Center at night

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 1An aerial shot of the Magic Kingdom from the Seven Seas Lagoon in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 2Hollywood Studios' Park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 3Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 4Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 5The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.
Image 6Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 7Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 8Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 9Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 10Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room was the first attraction to use Audio-Animatronics (from Disneyland)
Image 11Mickey's Toontown
(Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway) (from Disneyland)
Image 12Disney (middle row, right) in a Winkler Pictures advertisement, 1927 (from Walt Disney)
Image 13Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain) (from Disneyland)
Image 14View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 15Disney's grave at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (from Walt Disney)
Image 16A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 17Characters from Disney Animation's Alice in Wonderland host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist in 2005. (from Disneyland)
Image 18The Sherman Brothers in 2002. They composed many Disney songs in the 1960s. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 19Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (from Disneyland)
Image 20Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 21One 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 entered the public domain in 2024. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 22Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 23Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 24Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 25The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 26Overlay 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 27Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 28Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 29Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida c. 1963–1964 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 30The resort's Friendship Boats can be found providing transportation between Disney's Hollywood Studios (pictured), EPCOT, and the EPCOT Resort Area. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 31The window of Walt Disney's personal apartment, located on the second-story of the firehouse building (from Disneyland)
Image 32Main Street, USA
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 33Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run) (from Disneyland)
Image 34Team 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 35Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 36Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm in 1935 (from Walt Disney)
Image 37Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 38Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 39Adventureland entrance
(from Disneyland)
Image 40Disney (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 41Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 42Disney Wish docked at the pier at Castaway Cay, August 2022 (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 43Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) (from Disneyland)
Image 44The original animation building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 45Disney with his family at Schiphol Airport, 1951 (from Walt Disney)
Image 46Disney'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 47The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 48Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 49Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 50An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)

Selected biography

Walter Elias Disney (/ˈdɪzni/; December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film producer, he holds the record for most Academy Awards earned and nominations by an individual, having won 22 Oscars from 59 nominations. He was presented with two Golden Globe Special Achievement Awards and an Emmy Award, among other honors. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Disney was the first person to be nominated for Academy Awards in six different categories, a record he shares with Alfonso Cuaron and George Clooney (although Kenneth Branagh later surpassed all three with nominations in seven categories).

Born in Chicago in 1901, Disney developed an early interest in drawing. He took art classes as a boy and got a job as a commercial illustrator at the age of 18. He moved to California in the early 1920s and set up the Disney Brothers Studio with his brother Roy. With Ub Iwerks, he developed the character Mickey Mouse in 1928, his first highly popular success; he also provided the voice for his creation in the early years. As the studio grew, he became more adventurous, introducing synchronized sound, full-color three-strip Technicolor, feature-length cartoons and technical developments in cameras. The results, seen in features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio, Fantasia (both 1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942), furthered the development of animated film. New animated and live-action films followed after World War II, including the critically successful Cinderella (1950) and Mary Poppins (1964), the latter of which received five Academy Awards.

In the 1950s, Disney expanded into the amusement park industry, and in July 1955 he opened Disneyland in Anaheim, California. To fund the project he diversified into television programs, such as Walt Disney's Disneyland and The Mickey Mouse Club. He was also involved in planning the 1959 Moscow Fair, the 1960 Winter Olympics, and the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1965, he began development of another theme park, Disney World, the heart of which was to be a new type of city, the "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT). Disney was a heavy smoker throughout his life and died of lung cancer in December 1966 before either the park or the EPCOT project were completed.

More selected biographies • Read more

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that the art of Villains Are Destined to Die was said to be "almost in-between the Disney happy-ending fairy tales and the original Grimm's stories"?
... that the horses pulling the Disneyland Main Street Vehicles' streetcars include Belgians, Brabants, Clydesdales, Percherons, and Shires?
... that cyclist Mike Allen compared participating in the Olympics to Disneyland?
... that a popular song has been used by Apple, the White House, an MLB stadium, and a Disney film?
... that early designs for Aloy were scrapped after market testing revealed that players felt she had an unbelievable "Disney princess" quality?
... that a Wookiee holiday first depicted in the Star Wars Holiday Special was commemorated at Disney's theme parks 44 years later?

Selected quote

If you can't say somethin' nice [pauses, both for drama and because both Thumper and the actor who played him couldn't remember his line], don't say nothin' at all.

— Thumper, Bambi, 1942

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 Disney Channel veteran Selena Gomez (pictured) sings the theme song for the new Disney series, Shake It Up?

...that Newsies is based on the true story of the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City.
...that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest set several records in its first three days, with an opening weekend of $136 million.
... that the most valuable cartoon movie poster was a poster for the Walt Disney short, Alice's Day at the Sea (USA 1924), was sold in London England at $36534.00 in 1994.

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.