Disney

The Walt Disney Company began in 1923, when Walt Disney and his brother Roy founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Los Angeles. Its first major success was not Mickey Mouse, but the Alice Comedies, a series combining live action with animation. In 1928, Disney released “Steamboat Willie,” one of the earliest cartoons to use synchronized sound, and introduced Mickey Mouse to a mass audience. Walt Disney’s company then expanded animation’s possibilities with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937), the first full-length animated feature produced in the United States. Although its production was widely considered financially dangerous, the film became a major commercial and artistic triumph. Disney followed “Snow White” with films including “Pinocchio,” “Fantasia,” “Dumbo,” and “Bambi.” During World War II, the studio made training and propaganda films for the United States government, while commercial releases such as “Saludos Amigos” and “The Three Caballeros” reflected a wartime Good Neighbor policy toward Latin America. The company also moved into live-action filmmaking, television, and nature documentaries. Walt Disney’s television programs helped finance Disneyland, which opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Disneyland introduced an intentionally themed park built around lands such as Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. After Walt Disney died in 1966, the company continued developing his projects, including Walt Disney World in Florida, which opened in 1971. Its animation division later experienced a creative revival with “The Little Mermaid” (1989), “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), “Aladdin” (1992), and “The Lion King” (1994). Disney’s 1995 acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC expanded its television holdings, while the 2006 purchase of Pixar brought properties such as “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo” into the company. Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012, gaining control of the Marvel superhero catalog and the “Star Wars” franchise. In 2019, Disney completed its acquisition of most 21st Century Fox assets, adding film and television properties including “Avatar,” “The Simpsons,” and “Modern Family.” The company launched Disney+ that same year, making original and catalog programming available through its streaming service. Today, Disney operates across entertainment, resorts, consumer products, and media, but its identity remains closely tied to the distinctive combination of animated storytelling, recognizable characters, themed environments, and franchises built over a century.