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The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, as equal partners. Gradually, a small animation studio became one of the biggest world motion picture and television production and distribution companies. The Walt Disney Company is owner of eleven theme parks and several television networks, including the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Disney's corporate headquarters and primary production facilities are located at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Original and until 1955, Walt Disney was motion picture producer. Disney Studio Entertainment, also known as the Walt Disney Studios, includes Disney's movie and animation studios that make films, music and Broadway-style stage shows. On October 16, 1923, Walt Disney signed a contract with M.J. Winkler to produce a series of “Alice Comedies.” 1924 - First Alice Comedy “Alice's Day at Sea” released. 1926 - At Roy's suggestion, the company changed its name to the Walt Disney Studio after moving into the new studio on Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district. 1927 - The Alice series ends. First “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit” cartoon. 1928 - Walt loses the Oswald series contract. First Mickey Mouse cartoon “Steamboat Willie” released at the Colony Theatre in New York. First cartoon with sound released on November 18. 1929 - First “Silly Symphony: The Skeleton Dance.” On December 16, the original partnership formed in 1923 is replaced by Walt Disney Productions, Ltd. Three other companies, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company, are also formed. 1930 - First appearance of Pluto. 1932 - First three-strip Technicolor short released: “Flowers and Trees.” First appearance of Goofy. 1934 - First appearance of Donald Duck. 1937 - Studio produces its first full-length feature film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The film is also the first American animated feature film in history, and is the highest-grossing film of all time. 1938 - On September 29, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company are merged into Walt Disney Productions. 1940 - Studio moves to the Burbank buildings where it is located to this day. Release of animated features “Pinocchio,” the first animated film to win both Best Original Score and Best Song Academy Awards, and “Fantasia,” the world's first film to be recorded in stereophonic sound (“Fantasound”). 1941 - A bitter animators' strike occurs. The studio begins making morale-boosting propaganda films for the government. 1942 - “Saludos Amigos” marks the beginning of a series of low-budget “package” animated films that would continue until 1950. “Bambi” is also released, after a six-year production period. 1944 - The company is short on cash; a theatrical re-release of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” generates much-needed revenue and begins a reissue pattern for the animated feature films. 1945 - The studio hires live actors for a feature film (“Song of the South”). 1949 - The studio begins production on its first all-live action feature, “Treasure Island.” The popular “True-Life Adventures” series begins. 1950 - “Cinderella” is released, ending the series of “package” animated films and reviving Disney feature animation. December 16, 1952 - Walt Disney forms WED Enterprises to design his theme park. April 6, 1953 - Walt Disney forms Retlaw Enterprises to control the rights to his name. It will later own and operate several attractions inside Disneyland, including the Monorail and the Disneyland Railroad. 1954 - The studio founds Buena Vista Distribution to distribute its feature films. Beginning of the Disneyland TV program, which runs for decades under several different titles. Disney becomes one of the first American theatrical TV producers to show his recent films on television, although most of them are first shown in truncated versions to fit a one-hour time slot. Others are divided into two or more one-hour segments over several weeks, so that they can be shown on Disney's TV show. 1955 - Disneyland Resort opens in Anaheim, California. “Lady and the Tramp,” the first animated film in history to be shot in widescreen, is released. November 12, 1957 - Walt Disney Productions went public. 1967 - Construction begins on Walt Disney World. The underlying governmental structure is signed into law. “The Jungle Book,” the last animated film involved with Walt Disney himself, is released. 1971 - The Walt Disney World Resort opens in Orlando, Florida. Roy Oliver Disney dies. Donn Tatum becomes chairman and Card Walker becomes president. 1976 - “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (1954 film) becomes the first movie made by the studio to be shown on TV complete in one evening, as opposed to the way the Disney films were divided into weekly segments on his television show. 1977 - Roy Edward Disney, son of Roy and nephew of Walt, resigns from the company citing a decline in overall product quality and issues with management. 1978 - The studio licenses several minor titles to MCA Discovision for laserdisc release. Only TV compilations of cartoons ever see the light of day through this deal. 1979 - Don Bluth and a number of his allies leave the animation division. The studio releases its first PG-rated films, “Take Down” and “The Black Hole.” 1980 - Tom Wilhite becomes head of the film division with the intent of modernizing studio product. A home video division is created. 1981 - Plans for a cable network are announced. Dumbo hits the shelves for video retail, making it the first animated Disney feature available on video. 1982 - Epcot Center opens at Walt Disney World. Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron W. Miller succeeds Card Walker as CEO. 1983 - As the anthology series is canceled, Disney Channel begins operation on U.S. cable systems. Tom Wilhite resigns his post as head of the film division. Tokyo Disneyland opens in Japan. 1984 - Touchstone Films is created after the studio narrowly escapes a buyout attempt by Saul Steinberg, and releases their first film “Splash.” Roy Edward Disney and his business partner, Stanley Gold, remove Ron W. Miller as CEO and president, replacing him with Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. The Walt Disney Classics and Masterpiece video collection starts up. 1985 - The studio begins making cartoons for television beginning with Adventures of the “Gummi Bears” and “The Wuzzles.” “The Black Cauldron,” the studio's first PG-rated animated film, is released, but is a box office failure. The home video release of “Pinocchio” becomes a best-seller. February 6, 1986 - The company's name is changed from Walt Disney Productions to The Walt Disney Company. Disney's first R-rated film, “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” is released under the Touchstone brand. 1987 - The company and the French government signed an agreement for the creation of the first Disney Resort in Europe, the Euro Disney. The company opened up a Hall of Fame with Fred MacMurray as the first induction. 1989 - Disney offers a deal to buy Jim Henson's Muppets and have the famed puppeteer work with Disney resources. The Disney-MGM Studios open at Walt Disney World. “The Little Mermaid” sparks a Disney animation renaissance. 1990 - Jim Henson's death sours the deal to buy his holdings. The anthology series is canceled for the second time. 1991 - “Beauty and the Beast” is released, becoming the first animated film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. 1992 - The controversial Euro Disney Resort opens outside Paris, France. “Aladdin” is released for the first time ever and becomes the animated movie with the most Golden Globe nominations, as well as the only traditionally animated movie to be nominated for the MTV Movie Award for best picture. 1992 - The Disney Company is granted permission for a National Hockey League expansion franchise. The team is named the 'Mighty Ducks of Anaheim' to co-incide with the release of 'The Mighty Ducks.' 1993 - The Walt Disney Co. acquires Miramax Films. “Winnie the Pooh” merchandise outsells Mickey Mouse merchandise for the first time. The policy of periodic theatrical re-issues ends with this year's re-issue of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” but is augmented for video. 1994 - Frank Wells is killed in a helicopter crash. Jeffrey Katzenberg resigns to co-found his own studio, DreamWorks SKG. Plans for Disney's America, a historical theme park in aymarket, Virginia, are abruptly dropped. No explanation is given, and Disney announces a search for an alternate location. Euro Disneyland is renamed Disneyland Paris. “The Lion King,” the highest-grossing traditionally animated film in history (unadjusted for inflation), is released. October, 1995 - The company hires Hollywood super agent, Michael Ovitz, to be president. The world's first computer animated feature film “Toy Story,” produced by Pixar Animation Studios, is released by Disney, and becomes the year's top-grossing film. 1996 - The company takes on the Disney Enterprises name and acquires the Capital Cities/ABC group, renaming it ABC, Inc. To celebrate the pairing, ABC's first Super Soap Weekend is held at Walt Disney World. Disney makes deal with Tokuma Shoten for dubbing and releasing of Studio Ghibli films in the U.S. In December, Michael Ovitz, president of the company, leaves “by mutual consent.” 1997 - The anthology series is revived again. The home video division releases its first DVDs. The Southern Baptist Convention votes to boycott The Walt Disney Company over opposition to the latter offering equal health and other benefits to gays and lesbians, as well as Disney allowing outside organizers to have “Gay and Lesbian Days” at Walt Disney World. Disney ignored the boycott, which failed and was withdrawn by the SBC on June 22, 2005. 1998 - Disney's Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World. “Kiki's Delivery Service,” the first Studio Ghibli film under the Disney/Ghibli deal, is released on video. 2000 - Disney-owned TV channels are pulled from Time Warner Cable briefly during a dispute over carriage fees. Robert Iger becomes president of The Walt Disney Company. Disney begins their Gold Classic Collection and Platinum Edition DVD line, replacing their Classic and Masterpiece Collection series. 2001 - Disney's California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea open to the public. Disney begins releasing Walt Disney Treasures DVD box sets for the collector's market. Disney buys Fox Family for $3 billion in July, giving Disney programming and cable network reaching 81 million homes. 2001 - Fort Worth billionaire Sid Bass is forced to sell his Disney holdings. Bass didn't own his shares outright but had bought them on margin was unknown and a shock when it was revealed. Losing Bass is a blow to Eisner - Bass had been a major backer of Eisner and he had recruited Eisner to Disney. 2002 - Walt Disney Studios open near Disneyland Paris (renamed Disneyland Park). The entire area is now called Disneyland Resort Paris. Disney finishes negotiations to acquire Saban Entertainment, owner of children's entertainment juggernaut Power Rangers. Miramax acquires the USA rights to the Pokemon movies starting with the fourth movie. 2002 - Disney teams up with famous video game company Squaresoft (later known as Square-Enix) to release their first ever role-playing game with various Disney characters, Kingdom Hearts. Disney begins joint venture business with Sanrio for Sanrio's greeting cards. 2002 - Disney's movie “Treasure Planet” is released in theaters. 2003 - Roy E. Disney resigns as the chairman of Feature Animation and from the board of directors, citing similar reasons to those that drove him off 26 years earlier. Fellow director Stanley Gold resigns with him. They establish “SaveDisney” to apply public pressure to oust Michael Eisner. Pixar computer animated film “Finding Nemo” is released by Disney, becoming the highest-grossing animated film in history until 2004's DreamWorks film “Shrek 2.” Live-action film “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” is released, becoming the first film released under the Disney label with a PG-13 rating. 2004 - Comcast makes an unsuccessful hostile bid for the company. CEO Michael Eisner is replaced by George J. Mitchell as chairman of the board after a 43% vote of no confidence. Disney turns down distributing controversial documentary film “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which ends up making $100 million. On February 17, Disney buys the Muppets (excluding the Sesame Street characters). July 8, 2005 - Roy E. Disney rejoins the company as a consultant with the title of Director Emeritus. 2005 - “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is released in the U.S. breaking many box office records. The film “King Kong” was also released the same weekend. July 17, 2005 - Disneyland celebrates its 50th anniversary. Hong Kong Disneyland officially opens on September 12. October 1, 2005 - Bob Iger replaces Michael Eisner as CEO. This day, Miramax co-founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein left the company to form their own studio. January 20, 2006 - The Disney Channel movie “High School Musical” becomes most successful movie at its time with 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast in the U.S. Soundtrack was released on January 10, 2006, and was the best selling album of 2006, selling 6,469 copies in its first week and climbed to #1 on the Billboard album chart in early March and again in late March of 2006. January 23, 2006 - The company announces a deal to purchase Pixar Animation Studios in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. The deal is finalized on May 5. In the process, former Pixar CEO, and current Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, becomes the single largest individual Disney shareholder, holding 7% of outstanding shares. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest” is released, breaking multiple box office records, including highest-grossing opening day and opening weekend. The film also becomes the third film in motion picture history to gross over $1 billion, when unadjusted for inflation. 2006 - The company sets record for number of people visited its parks. This year, 112,000,000 people visited Disney parks. 2006 - Disney reacquires the rights to the Walt Disney-era Oswald the Lucky Rabbit films from NBC Universal. June 9, 2006 - Disney releases the “Cars,” computer animated movie by Pixar. 2007 - Disney released their first non-movie or TV show related media, “Spectrobes,” a video game for the Nintendo DS. 2007 - The revival of the Disney/Amblin Entertainment partnership and the Roger Rabbit franchise which may lead to new theme park appearances, new theme park rides for the Disney MGM Studios area, the Roger Rabbit sequel and lots more. 2007 - The company buys supermarket Sweep. 2007 - The company partners with Club Penguin. August, 2007 - The Disney Channel movie, “High School Musical 2” airs. The film set a new basic cable record upon its premiere, with a total of 17,240,000 viewers tuning in, almost 10 million more than the debut of “High School Musical,” making it the highest rated basic cable broadcast of all time. June 27, 2008 - Disney will release the “Wall-E,” computer animated movie by Pixar. SENIOR EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT Bob Iger (President and CEO) Roy E. Disney (Director Emeritus) Thomas O. Staggs (Senior Executive Vice President and CFO) Alan N. Braverman (Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel) John Lasseter (Chief Creative Officer) CURRENT DIVISION HEADS Walt Disney International - Andy Bird Walt Disney Parks and Resorts - Jay Rasulo Walt Disney Imagineering - Bruce Vaughn Walt Disney Creative Entertainment - Anne Hamburger Walt Disney Studios - Dick Cook (Studio Chairman) Pixar Animation Studios - Ed Catmull Walt Disney Animation Studios - Ed Catmull Buena Vista Music Group - Bob Cavallo Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group - Oren Aviv Walt Disney Theatrical - Thomas Schumacher Disney Consumer Products - Andy Mooney Disney-ABC Television Group - Anne Sweeney ESPN and ABC Sports - George Bodenheimer CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD 1945-1960: Walt Disney 1945-1971: Roy O. Disney (Co-Chair 1945-1960) 1971-1980: Donn Tatum 1980-1983: E. Cardon Walker 1983-1984: Raymond Watson 1984-2004: Michael Eisner 2004-2006: George J. Mitchell 2007-present: John E. Pepper, Jr. VICE CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD 1984-2003: Roy E. Disney 1999-2000: Sanford Litvack CEOs 1968-1971: Roy O. Disney 1971-1976: Donn Tatum 1976-1983: E. Cardon Walker 1983-1984: Ron W. Miller 1984-2005: Michael Eisner 2005-present: Robert Iger COOs 1984-1994: Frank Wells 1999-2000: Sanford Litvack (acting COO) 2000-present: Robert Iger The formal position of Chief Operating Officer wasn't created until Wells and Eisner came in with Eisner taking the titles of Chairman and CEO and Wells, President and COO. THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Bryson, John S. Chen, Judith Estrin, Robert Iger (President, CEO), Steve Jobs, Fred Langhammer, Aylwin Lewis, Monica Lozano, Robert Matschullat, Leo J. O'Donovan, John E. Pepper, Jr. (Chairman), Orin C. Smith ACQUIRED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1992-1996) DiC (1995-2000 Schoolhouse Rock! (1996) Doug (1996) Studio Ghibli film dubs (except 'Grave of the Fireflies') (1996) Sailor Moon (by DiC when Disney owned it) (1995-1997) The Gremlins by Roald Dahl 'Buck Rogers' film rights (1997) Clare Milne's name (Christopher Robin's daughter) (1999) Power Rangers (September 2001) Sanrio greeting cards (2002) The Muppets (2004) Abadazad (June 2006) Pixar, its library and website (2006) Club Penguin, Club Penguin website, Club Penguin fansites (2007) PUBLISHING ASSETS Disney Adventures, ESPN The Magazine, Hyperion INTERACTIVE ASSETS Disney.com Disney Interactive Studios ABC.com ABCNews.com ESPN.com Go.com Movies.com BUENA VISTA MUSIC GROUP Walt Disney Records Lyric Street Records Hollywood Records Mammoth Records BUENA VISTA MOTION PICTURES GROUP Buena Vista Distribution The Walt Disney Studios Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios Touchstone Pictures DisneyToon Studios Pixar Animation Studios Miramax Films Miramax Family Films Hollywood Pictures ABC OWNED TELEVISION STATIONS KABC, KFSN, KGO, KTRK, WABC, WJRT, WLS, WPVI, WTVD, WTVG American Broadcasting Company ABC1, ABC Family, ABC News, ABC News Now, ESPN on ABC ESPN Networks (80% owned) ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, ESPN Now, ESPN Plus, ESPN PPV, ESPN360, NASN OTHER CABLE TELEVISION NETWORKS Disney Channel Jetix SOAPnet Toon Disney A&E Television Networks (37.5%) Lifetime Entertainment Services (50%) TELEVISION PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION ABC Studios Disney-ABC Domestic Television Disney-ABC International Television Walt Disney Television Walt Disney Television Animation RADIO STATIONS KDIS, KDIS, KDIZ, KESN, KKDZ, KMIC, KMIK, KMKI, KMKY, KSPN, KSPN, WDDY, WEAE, WEPN, WFDF, WMKI, WMVP, WQEW, WSDZ, WWMK RADIO NETWORKS ABC News Radio, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes Radio, Radio Disney MISCELLANEOUS ASSETS Reedy Creek Energy Services, The Muppets Studio WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS Disneyland Resort Disneyland Disney's California Adventure Walt Disney World Resort Magic Kingdom Epcot Center Disney-MGM Studios Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Disney's Blizzard Beach Tokyo Disney Resort Tokyo Disneyland Tokyo DisneySea Disneyland Resort Paris Disneyland Park Walt Disney Studios Park Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Hong Kong Disneyland Disney Cruise Line Disney Wonder Disney Magic Castaway Cay Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group (or Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, Inc.): Disney's movie studio, which includes the Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Miramax labels Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios: Disney's animation studios, which operate independently of each other Walt Disney Studios Pictures Distribution: distributes and markets company's motion pictures in the United States Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International: distributes company's motion pictures internationally Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment: distributes company's motion pictures to rental and retail markets Disney Music Group: releases original music and movie soundtracks under four labels Buena Vista Theatrical Group: produces Broadway-style shows Disney Live Family Entertainment: produces Disney on Ice MEDIA NETWORKS The Walt Disney Company's media networks unit is centered around the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network, which it acquired through a merger with Capital Cities/ABC in 1996. Properties include: Walt Disney Television ABC Studios (formerly Touchstone Television) ABC Entertainment Disney-ABC Domestic Television (formerly Buena Vista Television) ESPN SOAPnet Walt Disney Internet Group The Walt Disney Company owns a group of cable networks including: Disney Channel, ABC Family, Toon Disney, The ESPN group, and SOAPnet. The company holds substantial interest in Lifetime (50%), A&E (37.5%), and Jetix Europe N.V. (74%). Disney also owns 25% of the GMTV company that operates the Breakfast Programmes on ITV, in the United Kingdom and 50% of Super RTL in Germany. Through ABC, The Walt Disney Co. owns 30 local television stations, 2 local radio stations, ESPN Radio and Radio Disney. Although the ABC Radio Network was sold with other properties to Citadel Broadcasting, (which carries such radio personalities as Sean Hannity and Paul Harvey and distributes news bulletins by ABC News), Disney shareholders now own 57% of Citadel. Disney-ABC Domestic Television, which is a part of the Media Networks unit, produces such syndicated television programs as 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' 'Live with Regis and Kelly,' and 'Ebert & Roeper.' The Walt Disney Company operates its Hyperion publishing company and Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) through Media Networks. Hyperion has recently published books by actor/author Steve Martin and bestselling author Mitch Albom. WDIG includes the Go.com web portal, Infoseek search engine which it purchased in 1998, and leading websites such as Disney.com, ESPN.com, ABCNews.com and Movies.com. In March 2007, the company launched a new web site Disney Family for parents, especially mothers. CONSUMER PRODUCTS Disney Consumer Products Disney Store Jim Henson's Muppets Disney Interactive Studios (formerly Buena Vista Games) DISNEY REGIONAL ENTERTAINMENT ESPN Zone Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Creative Entertainment REVENUE 2004 - $30.8 billion, 2006 - $35.3 billion. Operating income: 2006 - $6.491 billion (15.9% operating margin). Net income: 2006 - $3.374 billion (10.4% net margin) Employees: about 130,000 Symbol at New York Stock Exchange: DIS The Walt Disney Company is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. . . . . The Walt Disney Company - 500 S Buena Vista St, Burbank, California 91521. Tel: (818) 560-1000, fax: (818) 840-1930 © Preems.com |
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