® Disney
started in 1923 as the Disney Brother's Cartoon Studio, headed by Walt and Roy
Disney. Today it's the second biggest mass media conglomerate in the world,
second only to Comcast.
® In
1928, Walt created his most important character, Mickey Mouse, which was an
instant hit and launched Disney's career.
® Mickey
Mouse starred in Steamboat Willie that same year, the first animated film with
sound. Disney made a dozen short films a year, introducing new characters.
These cartoons would appear in theatres before feature presentations. Disney
also began printing comics.
® Mickey
was also popular with politicians, especially during WWII. Mickey Mouse was the
code word for the allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Nazi Germany hated
Mickey, which only boosted his popularity more.
® In
1978 Mickey became the first cartoon character to get a star on Hollywood
Boulevard. According to Time Magazine (2008), "Mickey had a 98%
awareness rate among children between ages 3-11 worldwide."
® In
1937, Disney produced the first feature-length animated film, Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs. It was soon followed by such classics as Pinocchio,
Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter
Pan, and countless others.
® Walt
Disney has the distinction of winning the most Academy Awards (22) and
nominations (59) in history. He died in 1966 of lung cancer, age 65.
® Walt
Disney was always trying to find some new form of entertainment. As his
business grew, he expanded into many new areas. In 1950 Disney produced its
first live-action film, Treasure Island.
® In
1955 Disney opened its first theme park, Disneyland, in California. There are
now 14 Disney theme parks around the world. That same year it began televising
its Mickey Mouse Club.
® Disney
also bought the rights to as many story lines as possible, a trend it continues
today. Disney now owns Winnie-the-Pooh, Pokemon, Pixar, The Muppets, Marvel
Comics, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Lucas Films, including Star Wars and
Indiana Jones.
® In
'81, Disney began its Disney's World on Ice skating tours.
® In
'83 the Disney Channel began on basic cable.
® In
'84 Disney began Touchstone Pictures, a new film studio to produce films to
more mature audiences. It created Hollywood Pictures in 1990 for the same
reason. These studios have produced: Down & Out in Beverly Hills, Pretty
Woman, The Dead Poets' Society, The Rock, Con Air, Sister
Act, and The Sixth Sense.
® In
'85 Disney began producing television cartoons: The Gummi Bears, Ducktales,
and Winnie-the-Pooh.
® In
'86 Disney began a partnership with Ghibli Studios in Japan to show their films
in the US.
® In
'87 Disney opened its first retail store.
® In
'88 Disney began making its first videogames. In 2002 it began its most famous
game Kingdom Hearts.
® In
'94 Disney began the show Beauty & the Beast on Broadway.
® In
'96 it bought ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.
® In
'98 Disney started its first line of cruise ships.
Disney Controversies:
1. racial stereotypes
Many of Disney's classic films portray stereotypical views
of non-white characters. In one cartoon, Mickey Mouse dressed in blackface. The
Indians in Peter Pan, the Siamese cats in Lady & The Tramp,
and the entire film Song of the South all perpetuate racism. At least
one of his Jewish artists claimed Disney said antisemitic things, but also said
he owed everything to Disney.
2. Subliminal Messages
Several of Disney's films have hidden, sexual content
including nudity, sometimes put in secretly by animators, and sometimes
misinterpreted when it's hard to hear what a character is saying. In Aladdin,
the main character says, "Come
on... good kitty, take off and go...." But, the
tiger growls at the same time, confusing some audiences into hearing, "Good
teenagers, take off your clothes." In each and every controversy, Disney
has reanimated the film so that there's no sexual content.
Besides this, Disney films sometimes insert hidden images of Mickey Mouse.
They've made it a game for people to find as many "hidden Mickeys" as
possible.
3. Bullying Pixar
Before buying Pixar, Disney worked as an equal partner in Toy
Story and other films. But the partnership wasn't truly equal, because
Disney owned the stories and sequel rights to all of Pixar's films, even though
Pixar was the one who created and developed all their original stories. All
Disney provided was marketing, and then they charged Pixar a distribution fee.
Pixar tried to negotiate a fair deal in 2004, led by Steve Jobs, but it fell
through, and instead Disney bought it.
4. Handling of Foreign Films
For a while, Disney owned Miramax studios, which
became infamous for its treatment of Asian films. Miramax would buy films and
never show them. Or, they would re-edit them, cutting out scenes, and changing
the subtitles to remove political content, etc. They would completely change
the films. Examples include Iron Monkey, Shaolin Soccer, Farewell
My Concubine, Fist of Legend, and Hero, which had been lost
for years before being found and released thanks to Quentin Tarantino.
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