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. Founded on October 16, 1923, as an animation studio by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Disney 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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Phineas and Ferb (also known as Disney's Phineas and Ferb) is an American animated television series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows two suburban stepbrothers on summer vacation. Each day the pair devise ambitious, involved plans and inventions to stave off boredom, often bringing them into conflict with their snoopy sister, Candace. The series follows a standard plot system; running gags occur every episode, and the B-Plot almost always features the boys' pet platypus acting as a secret agent to fight an evil scientist named Heinz Doofenshmirtz. The two plots intersect at the end to erase all traces of the boys' project just before Candace can show it to their mother.

Creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh worked together on the Nickelodeon series Rocko's Modern Life. Phineas and Ferb was conceived after Povenmire sketched a triangular boy — the blueprint for the titular Phineas — in a restaurant. Povenmire and Marsh developed the series concept together and pitched to networks for 16 years before securing a run on Disney Channel. The series is also known for its musical numbers, which have appeared in every episode since the first-season "Flop Starz". Disney's managers particularly enjoyed the episode's song, "Gitchee, Gitchee Goo", and requested that a song appear in each subsequent episode. The show's creators write and record each number, and vary musical tempo depending on each song's dramatic use. The music has gotten the series two Emmy nods for songwriting in 2008.

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Credit: Napnet

The pyramid outside Mexico (Epcot)

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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 Sherman Brothers in 2002. They composed many Disney songs in the 1960s. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 2Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 3Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 4The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.
Image 5Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 6Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 7Bayou Country
(Tiana's Bayou Adventure) (from Disneyland)
Image 8Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 9The original animation building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 10Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 11Walt (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 12View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 13Disney in 1954 with Wernher von Braun (from Walt Disney)
Image 14Overlay 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 15New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion) (from Disneyland)
Image 16A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 17Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 18The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 19Mickey's Toontown
(Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway) (from Disneyland)
Image 20Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 21Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 22Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)
Image 23A 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 24Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 25Disney receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 from President Lyndon B. Johnson. (from Walt Disney)
Image 26Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 27Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 28One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 29Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 30Monorail Red travels over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland in 2008. (from Disneyland)
Image 31An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 32Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 33Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 34Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 35An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 36Main Street, USA
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 37Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
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 39Grave of Walt Disney at Forest Lawn, Glendale (from Walt Disney)
Image 40Adventureland entrance
(from Disneyland)
Image 41Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 42Team 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 43The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo (from Walt Disney World)
Image 44Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 45Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 46Disney'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 47Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 48Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 49Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 50The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 51Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 52Hollywood Studios' Park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 53Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 54Walt 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 55Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 56Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 57The 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 58Characters from Alice in Wonderland host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist in 2005. (from Disneyland)
Image 59Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm in 1935 (from Walt Disney)
Image 60Disney (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 61Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run) (from Disneyland)
Image 62Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) (from Disneyland)

Selected biography

Steve Jobs (b. 1955, d. 2011) was an American business magnate and inventor. He is co-founder, chairman, and former chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. He was credited in the 1995 film Toy Story as an executive producer. In the late 1970s, Jobs, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Macintosh. After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets. Apple's subsequent 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its CEO from 1997 until 2011. In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1% until its acquisition by The Walt Disney company in 2006. In 2011, Apple announced that Steve Jobs had died at the age of 56.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... 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 the Miller House in Indiana opened to the public in 2011, drawing high visitor numbers that were likened to the opening of a new Disney ride?
... that the art of Villains Are Destined to Die was said to be "almost in-between the Disney happy-ending fairy tales and the original Grimm's stories"?
... 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?

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Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised. Usually it implies some risk — especially in new undertakings. Courage to initiate something and to keep it going, pioneering and adventurous spirit to blaze new ways, often, in our land of opportunity.

— Walt Disney

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More Did you know...

...that for scenes in the Phineas and Ferb episode "Jerk De Soleil" where the character Candace had a deep voice, co-creator Dan Povenmire had to step in for the normal voice actress?

...that the 1935 Disney cartoon Three Orphan Kittens was later censored for having negative portrayals of African Americans?

...that Disneyland has only ever had three unscheduled closures: In 1963 due to President Kennedy's Assassination; In August 1970 due to an invasion by Yippies and September 11, 2001.
...that there is something called a Hidden Mickey, a hidden silhouette of Mickey's ears inserted into many Disney feature films?
...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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