Portal:Disney

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 complex in Burbank, California. Disney’s New York operations, including ABC, are headquartered at 7 Hudson Square. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, as an animation studio by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; it later 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.

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...)

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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

An entrance to Walt Disney Studios complex 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 1The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo (from Walt Disney World)
Image 2Disney'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 3An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 4Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 5Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 6The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.
Image 7Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 8A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 9Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 10Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 11Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 12Walt 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 13Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 14Disney receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 from President Lyndon B. Johnson. (from Walt Disney)
Image 15Overlay 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 16Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run) (from Disneyland)
Image 17The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 18Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) (from Disneyland)
Image 19Main Street, USA
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 20The Sherman Brothers in 2002. They composed many Disney songs in the 1960s. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 21Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 22New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion) (from Disneyland)
Image 23Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 24Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 25Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 26Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 27Disney in 1954 with Wernher von Braun (from Walt Disney)
Image 28Walt (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 29Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm in 1935 (from Walt Disney)
Image 30Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 31View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 32Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 33Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 34Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 35The original animation building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 36Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 37Adventureland entrance
(from Disneyland)
Image 38One 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 has entered the public domain as of January 1, 2024. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 39Bayou Country
(Tiana's Bayou Adventure) (from Disneyland)
Image 40Team 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 41Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)
Image 42An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 43The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
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 46Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 47Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 48The original logo of Walt Disney World from 1971 to the mid-1990s. This logo is still used on retro merchandise. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 49Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 50Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 51Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 52One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 53Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 54Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 55Characters from Alice in Wonderland host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist in 2005. (from Disneyland)
Image 56Disney (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 57A 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 58Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 59Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 60Mickey's Toontown
(Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway) (from Disneyland)
Image 61Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 62Hollywood Studios' Park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)

Selected biography

Dan Povenmire (b. 1963) is an American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor associated with several animated television series, best known as the co-creator of the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb in which he also voices the show's villain, Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Povenmire grew up in Mobile, Alabama, where he was a talented art student who spent summers outdoors and making movies. Povenmire attended the University of South Alabama before deciding to pursue a film career and transferring to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Povenmire has been a long-time contributor to the animation business, working on several different animated television series such as The Simpsons, Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants. He was a longtime director on the prime time series Family Guy, where he was nominated for an Annie Award in 2005. He left the series to create Phineas and Ferb with Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Povenmire has been nominated for several awards for his work on the show, including a BAFTA, an Annie, and three Emmy Awards.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... 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 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 a reviewer for Rolling Stone said that a 2024 concert tour by Weezer resembled a cross between an Iron Maiden concert and the Disneyland attraction Star Tours?
... that Disney+ released a promotional poster for the Doctor Who Christmas special "Joy to the World" with the title spelled incorrectly?

Selected quote

Gummis, as you know, The Great Book of Gummi will never be finished. It contains history of Gummi bears the world over, and now we have made a contribution. Zummi writes on blank page. Today, we helped a young boy save his kingdom.

— Zummi, "A New Beginning" - Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears

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More Did you know...

...that Walt Disney's Riverfront Square in St. Louis, Missouri, was to have been entirely indoors, with artificial lighting simulating weather and time of day?

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

...that Walt Disney had long wanted to make a film based on the Uncle Remus storybook, but it wasn't until the mid-1940s that he had found a way to give the stories an adequate film equivalent, in scope and fidelity.
...that press releases for the Phineas and Ferb episode "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" detailed a cut subplot where the character Lawrence Fletcher searches for a rare bottle cap?

...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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