Battle of Backbone Mountain

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Introduction

The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (/ˈdɪzni/ DIZ-nee), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company 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 Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios. 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 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+, Star+, 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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Selected article

The Lion King is a Tony Award-winning Broadway stage musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name and is directed by Julie Taymor, portraying actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical.

The stage show debuted July 31, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Orpheum Theatre, and was an instant and tremendous success before moving permanently to the New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway in New York, New York, that October. The show debuted in London's Lyceum Theatre in 1999 and is still running, and another production opened in Toronto, playing there until January 2004. On June 13, 2006, the Broadway production moved to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for the musical version of Mary Poppins.

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Selected image

Ollie Johnston in his home workshop in 1989.

Credit: Janke

Oliver Martin Johnston, Jr. (October 31, 1912 – April 14, 2008) was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death. He was recognized by The Walt Disney Company with its Disney Legend Award in 1989. His work was recognized with the National Medal of Arts in 2005.

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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 1Team 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 2Disney'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 3Walt Disney (center) showing Orange County officials plans for Disneyland's layout, December 1954 (from Disneyland)
Image 4An aerial view of Disneyland in 2004 (from Disneyland)
Image 5Walt 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 6Walt, Florida Governor W. Haydon Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World in November 1965 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 7Main Street, U.S.A.
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 8Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 9Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 10Disney's childhood home (from Walt Disney)
Image 11An aerial shot of Walt Disney World in 1982 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 12Alice and characters from her movie host "Disneyland Musical Chairs" at Coca-Cola Refreshment Corner, accompanied by a ragtime pianist. (from Disneyland)
Image 13Overlay 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 14The "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the theme park. Sleeping Beauty Castle was altered for the occasion. (from Disneyland)
Image 15The original logo of Walt Disney World from 1971 to the mid-1990s (from Walt Disney World)
Image 16Disney in 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 17Walt Disney introduces each of the seven dwarfs in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer. (from Walt Disney)
Image 18Roy O. Disney inspecting design plans on-site in Florida (from Walt Disney World)
Image 19A Disney Cruise Line bus which takes guest to and from Terminal 8 from Orlando International Airport; as well as around Walt Disney World. (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 20Disney shows the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 (from Walt Disney)
Image 21Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 22Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
(Star Wars: Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run in 2019) (from Disneyland)
Image 23Disney's promotional logo for its centennial. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 24View of Disney Springs (from Walt Disney World)
Image 25Grave of Walt Disney at Forest Lawn, Glendale (from Walt Disney)
Image 26Map of the resort as of May 2015 (from Walt Disney World)
Image 27Excerpt of Steamboat Willie (1928), the first Mickey Mouse sound cartoon. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 28Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 29Disney drawing Goofy for a group of girls in Argentina, 1941 (from Walt Disney)
Image 30The 2018 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 31Disneyland Railroad Engine 2 at the New Orleans Square station. (from Disneyland)
Image 32One of four arches welcoming guests to the resort (from Walt Disney World)
Image 33Mickey's Toontown
(2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 34Disneyland aerial view, 1963, which includes the new Melody Land Theater at the top of the photo (from Disneyland)
Image 35The original animation building at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940 (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 36Frontierland
(Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 2008) (from Disneyland)
Image 37Main Street at Disneyland, as seen from a horseless carriage (from Disneyland)
Image 38Tomorrowland
(Space Mountain in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 39Hollywood Studios' park icon, the Chinese Theatre (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 40New Orleans Square
(the Haunted Mansion and Fantasmic! viewing area in 2010) (from Disneyland)
Image 41Walt (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 42Adventureland
(2006) (from Disneyland)
Image 43Fantasyland
(Peter Pan's Flight in the foreground and the Matterhorn Bobsleds in the background) (from Disneyland)
Image 44Fantasmic! finale on July 4, 2010 (from Disneyland)
Image 45Disneyland fireworks from Sleeping Beauty Castle (from Disneyland)
Image 46The 1996 version of The Walt Disney World logo. (from Walt Disney World)
Image 47Disney family at Schiphol Airport (1951) (from Walt Disney)
Image 48A portrait of Disney with cartoon representations of different nationalities on a 6 cent U.S. postage stamp, 1968 (from Walt Disney)
Image 49The Sherman Brothers, who composed many of the Disney songs throughout the 1960s (pictured in 2002) (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 50Monorail Red travels over the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland. (from Disneyland)
Image 51Critter Country
(Splash Mountain; 1989–2023) (from Disneyland)
Image 52Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 53Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 54Wedding Pavilion at the Seven Seas Lagoon (from Walt Disney World)
Image 55One of Disney's first animated characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which Disney lost the rights to until 2006. (from The Walt Disney Company)
Image 56Disney Magic at Port of Venice (from Disney Cruise Line)
Image 57Walt Disney's business envelope featured a self-portrait, c. 1921. (from Walt Disney)
Image 58Disney security vehicle, picture taken July 2, 2009 in front of Epcot (from Walt Disney World)
Image 59The Walt Disney World Monorail System provides free transport across the resort.

Selected biography

John Alan Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is an American animator, director and the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering. Lasseter's first job was with The Walt Disney Company, where he became an animator. Next, he joined Lucasfilm, where he worked on the then-groundbreaking use of CGI animation. After the Graphics Group of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm was sold to Steve Jobs and became Pixar in 1986, Lasseter oversaw all of Pixar's films and associated projects as executive producer and he directed Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Cars, and Cars 2. He has won two Academy Awards, for Animated Short Film (Tin Toy), as well as a Special Achievement Award (Toy Story).

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Encanto's Mirabel is the first Disney heroine to wear glasses?
... that Disney once created a political advertisement for Dwight D. Eisenhower (featured)?
... 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 some TikTokers make videos about whether to smash or pass Disney characters?
... that, for the Space 220 Restaurant, Disney reached out to NASA engineers to understand what a space elevator might look like?
... that before Foster City was built on Brewer Island, unsuccessful proposals included a hog farm, two military air bases, two civilian airports, and an entertainment complex larger than Disneyland?

Selected quote

Golf? Are they in season?

— Goofy

More selected quotes • More at Wikiquote

More Did you know...

...that Joyce Carlson, designer of the Disney theme park attraction "It's a Small World", was the first female employee to achieve a fifty-year service record with Disney?

...that the Phineas and Ferb season two premiere was the most watched cable telecast on Friday, March 13, 2009?

...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 in May 1992, entertainment magazine The Hollywood Reporter reported that about 25% of Euro Disney's workforce — approximately 3,000 men and women — had resigned their jobs because of unacceptable working conditions.
... that the most valuable cartoon movie poster was a poster for the Walt Disney short, Alice's Day at the Sea (USA 1924), was sold in London England at $36534.00 in 1994.