Portal:Disney References

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Introduction

The Walt Disney Company is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company 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 Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios. 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 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+, Star+, 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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The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise, now owned by The Walt Disney Company, that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters. The Muppets originated in the short-form television series Sam and Friends, which aired from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on Sesame Street (1969–present), and attained celebrity status and international recognition through The Muppet Show (1976–1981), which received four Primetime Emmy Award wins and twenty-one nominations during its five-year run.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Muppets diversified into theatrical films, including The Muppet Movie (1979); The Great Muppet Caper (1981); and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). Disney began involvement with them in the late 1980s, during which Henson entered negotiations to sell The Jim Henson Company. The Muppets continued their media presence on television with Muppet Babies (1984–91), as well as The Jim Henson Hour (1989) and Muppets Tonight (1996–98), both of which were similar in format to The Muppet Show; and three theatrical films: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), Muppet Treasure Island (1996) and Muppets from Space (1999). Disney acquired the Muppets from the Henson family in February 2004, allowing the characters to gain broader public exposure than in previous years. Under Disney, subsequent projects included two theatrical films: The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014); a short-lived primetime series (2015–2016); a reboot of Muppet Babies (2018–2022); the short-lived streaming television series Muppets Now (2020); and the Halloween special Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021).

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Credit: Coolcaesar

A headquarters of Disney Channel in Burbank, California.

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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 1Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 2Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 3Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
( Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run in 2019) (from Disneyland)
Image 4Disney'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 5Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 6Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 7Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 8One of Disney's first animated characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which Disney lost the rights to until 2006. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 9A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 10Main Street, U.S.A.
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 11Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)
Image 12Mickey's Toontown
(pictured in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 13An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 14Grave of Walt Disney at Forest Lawn, Glendale (from Walt Disney)
Image 15The original logo of Walt Disney World from 1971 to the mid-1990s (from Walt Disney World)
Image 16Frontierland
( Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 2008) (from Disneyland)
Image 17Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 18Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 19Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 20Fantasyland
( Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 21Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 22The " Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 23Alice and characters from her movie host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist. (from Disneyland)
Image 24The original animation building at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 25Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 26Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 27 Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 28Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 29Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 30Disney in 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 31Critter Country
( Splash Mountain; 1989–2023) (from Disneyland)
Image 32Walt (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 33Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 34Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 35Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 36The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 37New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion in the background and Fantasmic! viewing area in the foreground in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 38Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 39The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.
Image 40Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 41One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 42Tomorrowland
( Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
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. (from Disneyland)
Image 45The Sherman Brothers, who composed many of the Disney songs throughout the 1960s (pictured in 2002) (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 46An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 47View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 48Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 49Overlay 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 50Hollywood Studios' park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 51Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 52Walt 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 53Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 54Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 55Team 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 56A Disney Cruise Line bus which takes guest to and from Terminal 8 from Orlando International Airport; as well as around Walt Disney World. (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 57The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 58Adventureland entrance
(2006) (from Disneyland)
Image 59Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)

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, for the Space 220 Restaurant, Disney reached out to NASA engineers to understand what a space elevator might look like?
... that some TikTokers make videos about whether to smash or pass Disney characters?
... that before Foster City was built on Brewer Island, unsuccessful proposals included a hog farm, two military air bases, two civilian airports, and an entertainment complex larger than Disneyland?
... 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?

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Let me go! Let me go! Please... don't hurt me! I'll do anything! Anything!

— Gaston, Beauty and the Beast

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More Did you know...

...that producers hope to use Good Luck Charlie "to debunk the myth that Disney never has the mom in the picture"?

...that child actor Joey Pollari was 15 years old when he appeared in the Disney XD film, Skyrunners?

...that as a result of her performance in Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Actress and the 1965 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
... that Elsa the Snow Queen, a protagonist in Walt Disney's Frozen, was originally written as a villain?
... 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.

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