Portal:Disney

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article

Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional character and the central protagonist of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series created by screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, portrayed by Johnny Depp. He is first introduced in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). He later appears in the sequels Dead Man's Chest (2006), At World's End (2007), and On Stranger Tides (2011). Jack Sparrow was originally conceived as a supporting character. He was brought to life by the actor Johnny Depp, who based his characterization on The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and cartoon character Pepé Le Pew. The series Pirates of the Caribbean was inspired by a Disney theme park ride, and in 2006, when the ride was revamped, the character of Jack Sparrow was introduced to it. Jack Sparrow is also the subject of a children's book series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow, which chronicles his teenage years and the character has also appeared in numerous video games. In the context of the films, Sparrow is one of the Brethren Court, the Pirate Lords of the Seven Seas. He can be treacherous and survives mostly by using wit and negotiation rather than weapons or force, preferring to flee most dangerous situations and fight only when necessary. Sparrow is introduced seeking to regain his ship, the Black Pearl, from his mutinous first mate, Hector Barbossa, and attempts to escape his blood debt to the legendary Davy Jones while battling the East India Trading Company.

More selected articles • Read more

Selected image

Credit: Coolcaesar

Pixar Animation Studios is an American CGI animation film studio based in Emeryville, California, United States. Pixar became a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company in 2006. The studio has earned twenty-four Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammys, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide.

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

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).

More selected biographies • Read more

Did you know (auto-generated)

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

Selected quote

Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised. Usually it implies some risk — especially in new undertakings. Courage to initiate something and to keep it going, pioneering and adventurous spirit to blaze new ways, often, in our land of opportunity.

— Walt Disney

More selected quotes • More at Wikiquote

More Did you know...

...that Go.com partnered with Goto.com in 2001, even though a judge had ordered Go.com to pay Goto.com $21.5 million earlier for having a similar logo?

...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 Donald và bạn hữu (Vietnamese for "Donald and friends") is a bilingual weekly Disney comics magazine in Vietnamese and English published by Tre Publishing House in co-operation with The Saigon Times under license from the Walt Disney Company.
... that Disney CEO Michael Eisner was struck with inspiration for the show, Adventures of the Gummi Bears when his son requested gummi bear candies one day.

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.