Disney

Disney was started in 1923 by Walt Disney and Roy Disney. At the time, it was known as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Ub Iwerks was there from the beginning as well. On October 16, 1923, M.J. Winkler signed up to distribute Disney's Alice comedies. In 1925, the company changed it's name to Walt Disney Studio.

in 1927, Disney stopped making the Alice comedies and moved on to the all cartoon series starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Within a year, 26 cartoons were made. When Disney tried to get money for a second year of Oswald cartoons, he found out that M.J. Winkler managed to hire most of Disney's animators. Since his company owned the rights to Oswald, they were going to make the cartoons himself. From then on, Disney made sure they owned the rights to everything they made.

Together, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks designed a character to replace Oswald. They wanted to call him Mortimer Mouse, but Walt Disney's wife, Lily, favored the name Mickey. Ub Iwerks animated the first two Mickey Mouse cartoons, but they decided to release a third, Steamboat Willie, first. It was the first cartoon with sound and went over very well at the Colony Theater in New York on November 18, 1928. The Mickey Mouse series was continued.

After the success of Mickey Mouse, Disney started the Silly Symphonies series. They each featured a different set of characters and relied more on mood and emotion rather than quick gags. Flowers and Trees was the first full-color animation and won an Academy Award in 1932. The 1933 Silly Symphony, Three Little Pigs, was released in 1933. It was so popular that it was sometimes listed above the main feature on theater marquees.

In 1934, Disney started production on their first feature animation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It took three years to produce, but when it was released during the Christmas of 1937, it was a spectacular success. It held the record for highest grossing film until the release of Gone With the Wind.

The outbreak of World War II hurt Disney financially because they lost access to foreign markets. Pinocchio and Fantasia were both beautifully animated and made pleny of money in the long run, but the cost producition put Disney at immediate financial risk. In 1941, they released Dumbo, which was produced on a limited budget and was profitable. In 1942, Bambi was produced and was another expensive film.

After the U.S. entered the war, Disney started working for Uncle Sam. They produced propoganda and military training films. At the request of the state department, they produced two films about South America, Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros.

After the war, Disney produced "package feature films," which were a group of short cartoons. Among them were Make Mine Music and Melody Time. They also started dabbling in live-action movies.

In 1950, Disney released Cinderella, released their first television showm and made their first love-action film, Treasure Island. On July 15, 1955, Disney opened Disneyland.

Disney continued making movies including Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty. In the 1960s, more classics were animated including 101 Dalmations. Wlat Disney died on December 15, 1966. It was said that he was the best known individual in the world at the time.

Roy Disney, who had been planning to retire, took over the supervision of the company. The Jungle Book and The Aristocats were both animated under his direction. Walt Disney had planned to open a theme park in Florida much larger than Disneyland. Roy Disney carried out the plans and named it Walt Disney World in honor of his brother. It opened on October 1, 1971. Roy Disney died two months later.

For the next decade, the company was led by Card Walker, Donn Tatum, and Ron Miller, all originally trained by the Disney brothers. They worked to open EPCOT, which was part of Walt Disney's plans for his Florida land. In opened in 1982.

In 1984, a hostile take over of Disney was attempted. The attempt failed and Michael Eisner and Frank Wells became chief executive officer and president, respectively.

In 1989, Disney animation experienced a renaissance with The Little Mermaid. In 1991, Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 1992, Aladin became the first animated picture to gross over $200 million in the U.S. The Lion King brooke that record with $312 million grossed.

Disney's animation in the 90's continued with Pocahontas in 1995, The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996, Hercules in 1997, Mulan in 1998, Tarzan in 1999 and Fantasia 2000 at the turn of the millenium.

In 1995, Diney entered into a distribution agreement with Pixar. The partnership was so successful that Disney bought the company in January of 2006.