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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 in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing it to 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 major 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 division, 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 in the 1990s. In 2005, under new CEO Bob Iger, the company continued to expand into a major entertainment conglomerate with the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. 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 is known for its film studio division, the Walt Disney Studios, which 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 in television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme park resorts, consumer products, publishing, and international operations. Through these divisions, Disney owns and operates 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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Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears was an animated series set in medieval England relating the adventures of a community of humanoid bears who call themselves "the Gummies." (In their language, the word simply means "our people.") The bears live in the forest, where they have appointed themselves the secret defenders of the human kingdom of Dunwyn. The eccentric and intensely loyal Gummi Bears have a special power that helps them in dangerous situations. Many of their adventures involve two human friends, Calvin and Princess Calla, the only humans aware of the bears' existence. The show was created by The Walt Disney Company, and loosely inspired by the gummi bear candies; Disney CEO Michael Eisner was struck with inspiration for the show when his son requested the candies one day. The series premiered on NBC on September 14, 1985, and continued to air on ABC, running for 65 half-hour installments over six seasons, concluding on December 7, 1991, as part of the Disney Afternoon television syndication package.

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Credit: Bdesham

Epcot Center at night

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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 1Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 2Disney (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 3The original animation building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 4Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 5Disney'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 6Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 7A 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 8Walt (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 9Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 10Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 11Mickey's Toontown
(pictured in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 12Adventureland entrance
(2006) (from Disneyland)
Image 13Walt 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 14Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 15Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 16Team 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 17Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 18Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 19Disney in 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 20The original logo of Walt Disney World from 1971 to the mid-1990s (from Walt Disney World)
Image 21One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 22The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 23Disney receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 from President Lyndon B. Johnson. (from Walt Disney)
Image 24A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 25Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 26Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 27Hollywood Studios' park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 28New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion) (from Disneyland)
Image 29View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 30The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo (from Walt Disney World)
Image 31Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 32The Sherman Brothers in 2002. They composed many Disney songs in the 1960s. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 33Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 34Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 35Overlay 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 36Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 37Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)
Image 38An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 39Bayou Country
(Tiana's Bayou Adventure) (from Disneyland)
Image 40Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 41Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 42Disney next to a cat and a drawing of Mickey Mouse (by Harris & Ewing), 1931 (from Walt Disney)
Image 43Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 44Monorail Red travels over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland in 2008. (from Disneyland)
Image 45Grave of Walt Disney at Forest Lawn, Glendale (from Walt Disney)
Image 46Main Street, U.S.A.
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 47Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run in 2019) (from Disneyland)
Image 48Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 49Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 50Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 51Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 52The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 53Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 54Disney in 1954 with Wernher von Braun (from Walt Disney)
Image 55The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.
Image 56One 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 57Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 58Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm in 1935 (from Walt Disney)
Image 59Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 60Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 61Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 62Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 2008) (from Disneyland)
Image 63Characters from Alice in Wonderland host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist in 2005. (from Disneyland)
Image 64An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)

Selected biography

John Alan Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering. Lasseter's first job was with The Walt Disney Company, where he became an animator. Next, he joined Lucasfilm, where he worked on the then-groundbreaking use of CGI animation. After the Graphics Group of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm was sold to Steve Jobs and became Pixar in 1986, Lasseter oversaw all of Pixar's films and associated projects as executive producer and he directed Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Cars, and Cars 2. He has won two Academy Awards, for Animated Short Film (Tin Toy), as well as a Special Achievement Award (Toy Story).

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company alleging that the release strategy for Black Widow breached her contract?
... that John Oliver dared Disney to sue him over his version of Mickey Mouse?
... that some TikTokers make videos about whether to smash or pass Disney characters?
... that the ferry General Joe Potter at Walt Disney World is named in honor of Major General William Everett Potter?
... 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?

Selected quote

Come on, Goofy, it's a beautiful day! Let's go out and shoot some golf!

— Mickey Mouse

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More Did you know...

...that for scenes in the Phineas and Ferb episode "Jerk De Soleil" where the character Candace had a deep voice, co-creator Dan Povenmire had to step in for the normal voice actress?

...that when Sonny with a Chance actor Demi Lovato bowed out of season three, show-within-a-show So Random! was spun-off into its own sketch comedy series?

...that Walt Disney started sketching Disney Characters in 1908?
...that the earliest accounts of the stories of Mulan state that she lived during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534).
...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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