® 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. Disney also owns and operates ESPN, and A+E. Disney also owns Hyperion Press.
® In
'98 Disney started its first line of cruise ships.
Disney Controversies:
In Films:
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 anti-semitic 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 another example, the box art to A Little Mermaid had a phallic symbol painted on a building. In each and every controversy, Disney
has reanimated the film or changed the art 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.
At it's parks:
5. Worker & Animal Rights
Working conditions are poor and pay is low for employees in the factories that make Disney merchandise, as well as for the workers who wear Disney costumes at their theme parks. Some are even paid so little, they're homeless. Animal rights groups worry about treatment at Disney's Animal Kingdom parks.
6. LGTB Rights:
Disney has been a strong supporter of LGTB rights, to the consternation of America's religious right. Disney has unofficial gay and lesbian days at their resorts.
They supported Ellen Degeneres on her ABC show, and have offered benefits to gay
employees with domestic partnerships. While initially controversial, this has gradually become more accepted in the US.
1950 Cinderella
1951 Alice in Wonderland
1952 Uncle Scrooge Comics
1953 Peter Pan
1955 Lady & The Tramp
1957 Old Yeller
1959 Sleeping Beauty
1960 Swiss Family Robinson
1961 One Hundred & One Dalmations, Parent Trap
1963 Sword in the Stone
1964 Mary Poppins
1967 Disney World begins construction, The Jungle Book
1971 Disney World opens
1973 Robin Hood
1976 Freaky Friday
1982 Tron
1984 1st film is Splash
1985 The Black Cauldron,
1986 Down & Out in Beverly Hills, 1st R rated film
1987 Ernest Goes to Camp, Good Morning Vietnam, 3 Men &
Baby, Duck Tales
1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit,
1989 MGM Studios opens at Disney World, The Little Mermaid,
Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Dead Poet's Society
1990 Pretty woman, Arachnophobia, Dick Tracy
1991 Beauty & the Beast, Rocketeer, Darkwing Duck TV
show
1992 Aladdin, Sister Act, Mighty Ducks, Euro Disney opens
1993 Disney buys Miramax, Nightmare before Christmas
1994 The Lion King
1995 Pocahantas, Toy Story,
1996 The Rock
1997 Con Air, Disney buys baseball team, Anaheim Angels
1998 Mulan, Armageddon, A Bug's Life
1999 Tarzan, 6th Sense, Dogma
2001 Monsters Inc, Pearl Harbor
2002 Miramax buys rights to Pokemon, Lilo & Stitch
2003 Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, Brother Bear,
Power Rangers TV and Digimon TV shows
2004 The Incredibles, National Treasure, Hidalgo
2006 Disney buys Pixar, formerly they just worked together,
Cars, High School Musical, Hannah Montana
2007 Buena Vista name dropped, Ratatouille
2008 Wall-E
2009 Up
2010 Disney sells Miramax, Power Rangers, Digimon, and ends
Hannah Montana
2011 Disney buys rights to Avatar
2012 Disney buys Lucasfilm and rights to Star Wars &
Indiana Jones, The Avengers, Brave, Lincoln
2013 Frozen - highest grossing animated film ever, Iron Man
3, Thor, Monsters University
2014, Captain America, Maleficent, Guardians of the Galaxy,
Big Hero 6
2015 Disney buys Marvel Comics, Inside Out, Ant-Man,
Avengers Ultron, Star Wars
