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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 in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923 as an animation studio, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing it to 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 major 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 division, 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 in the 1990s. In 2005, under new CEO Bob Iger, the company continued to expand into a major entertainment conglomerate with the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. 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.

The company is known for its film studio division, the Walt Disney Studios, which 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 in television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme park resorts, consumer products, publishing, and international operations. Through these divisions, Disney owns and operates 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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Steamboat Willie (1928) is an animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse and the first appearance by Minnie Mouse released on November 18, 1928. It was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon released -- Mickey had appeared in two earlier efforts Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho. It was also the first Disney cartoon to feature synchronized sound. Disney used Pat Powers' Cinephone system, created by Powers using Lee De Forest's Phonofilm system without giving De Forest any credit. Steamboat Willie premiered at New York's 79th Street Theatre, and played ahead of the independent film Gang War. Steamboat Willie was an immediate hit while Gang War is all but forgotten today.

The cartoon was written and directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The title is a parody of the Buster Keaton film Steamboat Bill Jr. Music for Steamboat Willie was put together by Wilfred Jackson, one of Disney's animators -- not, as sometimes reported, by Carl Stalling -- and comprises popular melodies including "Steamboat Bill" and "Turkey in the Straw".

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Credit: Coolcaesar

A headquarters of Disney Channel in Burbank, California.

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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 1Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 2Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 3The original animation building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 4The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 5Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 6Disney next to a cat and a drawing of Mickey Mouse (by Harris & Ewing), 1931 (from Walt Disney)
Image 7Team 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 8Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 9Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)
Image 10One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 11Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 12Mickey's Toontown
(pictured in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 13Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 14Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 15Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 16Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer (from Walt Disney)
Image 17Monorail Red travels over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland in 2008. (from Disneyland)
Image 18Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921 (from Walt Disney)
Image 19View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 20An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 21Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of the Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 22Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 23The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo (from Walt Disney World)
Image 24Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 25Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 26Grave of Walt Disney at Forest Lawn, Glendale (from Walt Disney)
Image 27One 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 have all entered the public domain as of January 1, 2024. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 28Disney (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 29Walt (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 30New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion) (from Disneyland)
Image 31Bayou Country
(Tiana's Bayou Adventure) (from Disneyland)
Image 32Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 33Disney receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 from President Lyndon B. Johnson. (from Walt Disney)
Image 34Main Street, U.S.A.
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 35An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 36Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 37Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 38Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 39Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 40Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 41Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 2008) (from Disneyland)
Image 42Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 43A 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 44Disney'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 45Walt 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 46Adventureland entrance
(2006) (from Disneyland)
Image 47The Sherman Brothers in 2002. They composed many Disney songs in the 1960s. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 48The original logo of Walt Disney World from 1971 to the mid-1990s (from Walt Disney World)
Image 49Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 50Disney in 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 51A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6-cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 52Characters from Alice in Wonderland host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist in 2005. (from Disneyland)
Image 53Disney in 1954 with Wernher von Braun (from Walt Disney)
Image 54Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 55Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 56Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 57Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 58Disney with film roll and Mickey Mouse on his right arm in 1935 (from Walt Disney)
Image 59Overlay 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 60The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.
Image 61Hollywood Studios' park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 62Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run in 2019) (from Disneyland)
Image 63Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 64The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)

Selected biography

Dan Povenmire (b. 1963) is an American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor associated with several animated television series, best known as the co-creator of the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb in which he also voices the show's villain, Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Povenmire grew up in Mobile, Alabama, where he was a talented art student who spent summers outdoors and making movies. Povenmire attended the University of South Alabama before deciding to pursue a film career and transferring to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Povenmire has been a long-time contributor to the animation business, working on several different animated television series such as The Simpsons, Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants. He was a longtime director on the prime time series Family Guy, where he was nominated for an Annie Award in 2005. He left the series to create Phineas and Ferb with Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Povenmire has been nominated for several awards for his work on the show, including a BAFTA, an Annie, and three Emmy Awards.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that John Oliver dared Disney to sue him over his version of Mickey Mouse?
... that the ferry General Joe Potter at Walt Disney World is named in honor of Major General William Everett Potter?
... that some TikTokers make videos about whether to smash or pass Disney characters?
... that a revival of the comedy series Lizzie McGuire was ordered in 2019, but canceled mid-production after Disney deemed it not family-friendly enough?
... that Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company alleging that the release strategy for Black Widow breached her contract?

Selected quote

Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America; with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.

— Walt Disney, 1955

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More Did you know...

...that Walt Disney's Riverfront Square in St. Louis, Missouri, was to have been entirely indoors, with artificial lighting simulating weather and time of day?

...that it took 16 years for the pilot episode of Phineas and Ferb to be picked up?

...that Newsies is based on the true story of the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City.
...that press releases for the Phineas and Ferb episode "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" detailed a cut subplot where the character Lawrence Fletcher searches for a rare bottle cap?

... that in 1989, a black-and-white drawing from Walt Disney's "Orphan's Benefit" (USA 1934), depicting Donald Duck being punched by an orphan, raised $280,000 at Christie's London, England.

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