The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company
Company type	Public (NYSE: DIS)
Industry	Media and Entertainment
Founded	Burbank, California, USA (1923)
Founder	Walt Disney and Roy Disney
Headquarters	Burbank, California, USA
Key people	John E. Pepper, Jr., Chairman; Robert Iger, President/CEO;
Products	ABC, Buena Vista Distribution, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, Walt Disney Studio Entertainment, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Consumer Products
Revenue	$34.3 billion USD (2006)
Operating income	$5.5 billion USD (2006); (15.9% operating margin)
Net income	$3.4 billion USD (2006); (10.4% net margin)
Total assets	203,631,000,000 United States dollar (2022)
Number of employees	133,000 (2006)
Website	disney.go.com

The Walt Disney Company (more commonly known as Disney; NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. Founded on October 16, 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney as a small animation studio, today it is one of the largest Hollywood studios and also owns eleven theme parks, two water parks and several television networks, including the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).

Disney's corporate headquarters and primary production facilities are located at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, USA. The company is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It had revenues of $34.3 billion in 2006.

Divisions

Studio Entertainment

Disney's original (and, until 1955, only) business is motion picture production. Disney Studio Entertainment, also known as the Walt Disney Studios, includes Disney's movie and animation studios, record labels and Broadway-style stage shows. Since 2002 it has been headed by chairman Dick Cook.

TV Networks

Motion pictures

The Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group is a collection of Disney's main movie studios, made up of:

Record labels

Theatrical

Walt Disney Theatrical
Hyperion Theatrical (produces non-Disney-branded shows)

Animation

Parks and Resorts

File:DisneyParks2006.jpeg

In addition to the well-known theme parks and resorts, this division includes Disney Regional Entertainment (which operates the ESPN Zone sports-themed restaurants), Walt Disney Imagineering, and Walt Disney Creative Entertainment. Previously, "Anaheim Sports, Inc." was also within this division. Anaheim Sports operated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim hockey club (sold in 2005 to Broadcom executive Henry Samueli) and the Anaheim Angels baseball team (sold to advertising magnate Arturo Moreno in 2003).

Media Networks

Its Media Networks unit is centered around the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network, which it acquired through a merger with Capital Cities/ABC in 1996. Properties include:

Disney also owns a group of cable networks including: The Disney Channel, ABC Family, Toon Disney, the ESPN group, and SOAPnet. Disney also holds substantial interest in Lifetime (50%), A&E (37.5%), E! (40%, recently sold to Comcast) and Jetix Europe N.V. (74%).

Through ABC, Disney also owns 10 local television stations, 26 local radio stations, and ESPN Radio, Radio Disney, and the ABC Radio (to be sold with another properties to Citadel Broadcasting, which carries such radio personalities as Sean Hannity and Paul Harvey and distributes news bulletins by ABC News). Buena Vista Television, which also is a part of the Media Networks unit, produces such syndicated television programs as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Live with Regis and Kelly, and Ebert & Roeper.

Disney also operates its Hyperion publishing company and Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) through Media Networks. Hyperion has recently published books by comedian-author Steve Martin and bestselling author Mitch Albom. WDIG includes the Go.com web portal, based on the old Infoseek search engine which it purchased in 1998, and leading websites such as Disney.com, ESPN.com, ABCNews.com and Movies.com.

Consumer Products

History

Founding and early success (1923–1954)

1923: The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, founded on October 16 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney and animator Ub Iwerks, produces the Alice's Wonderland series.
1925: At Walt Disney's insistence, the company is renamed Walt Disney Studios; Disney creates the cartoon Alice's Egg Plant, a cartoon containing anti-union propaganda.
1927: The Alice series ends; Disney picks up the contract to animate Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
1928: Walt loses the Oswald series contract; first Mickey Mouse cartoon Plane Crazy released; Steamboat Willie released, the first cartoon with sound to achieve widespread popularity.
1929: First Silly Symphony: The Skeleton Dance. On December 16, the original partnership formed in 1923 is replaced by Walt Disney Productions, Ltd. Three other companies, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company, are also formed.
1930: First appearance of Pluto.
1932: First three-strip Technicolor short released: Flowers and Trees; first appearance of Goofy.
1934: First appearance of Donald Duck.
1937: Studio produces its first feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
1938: On September 29, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company are merged into Walt Disney Productions.
1940: Studio moves to the Burbank, California buildings where it is located to this day. Release of animated features Pinocchio, the first animated film to win both Best Original Score and Best Song Academy Awards, and Fantasia, the world's first film to be recorded in stereophonic sound ("Fantasound").
1941: A bitter animators' strike occurs; as the USA enters World War II, the studio begins making morale-boosting propaganda films for the government.
1942: Saludos Amigos marks the beginning of a series of low-budget "package" animated films that would continue until 1950. Bambi is also released, after a six-year production period.
1944: The company is short on cash; a theatrical re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs generates much-needed revenue and begins a reissue pattern for the animated feature films.
1945: The studio hires its first-ever live actor for a feature film, James Baskett, to star as Uncle Remus in Song of the South. However, he is not the only live actor in the film; it also features Ruth Warrick, Luana Patten, Bobby Driscoll, and Hattie McDaniel, among others.
1949: The studio begins production on its first all-live action feature, Treasure Island; the popular True-Life Adventures series begins.
1950: Cinderella is released, ending the series of "package" animated films and reviving Disney feature animation.
1952: Walt Disney forms WED Enterprises on December 16 to design his theme park.
1953: Walt Disney forms Retlaw Enterprises on April 6 to control the rights to his name. It will later own and operate several attractions inside Disneyland, including the Monorail and the Disneyland Railroad.
1954: The studio founds Buena Vista Distribution to distribute its feature films; beginning of the Disneyland TV program, which runs for decades under several different titles. Disney becomes one of the first American theatrical TV producers to show his recent films on television, although most of them are first shown in truncated versions to fit a one-hour time slot. Others are divided into two or more one-hour segments over several weeks, so that they can be shown on Disney's TV show.
1955: Disneyland Resort opens in Anaheim, California

After Walt's death

1967: Construction begins on Walt Disney World; the underlying governmental structure (see Reedy Creek Improvement District) is signed into law. The Jungle Book, the last animated film involved with Walt Disney himself, is released.
1971: The Walt Disney World Resort opens in Orlando, Florida; Roy Oliver Disney dies; Donn Tatum becomes chairman and Card Walker becomes president.
1976: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film) becomes the first movie made by the studio to be shown on TV complete in one evening, as opposed to the way the Disney films were divided into weekly segments on his television show.
1977: Roy Edward Disney, son of Roy and nephew of Walt, resigns from the company citing a decline in overall product quality and issues with management.
1978: The studio licenses several minor titles to MCA Discovision for laserdisc release; only TV compilations of cartoons ever see the light of day through this deal.
1979: Don Bluth and a number of his allies leave the animation division; the studio releases its first PG-rated films, Take Down and The Black Hole.
1980: Tom Wilhite becomes head of the film division with the intent of modernizing studio product; a home video division is created.
1981: Plans for a cable network are announced. Dumbo hits the shelves for video retail, making it the first animated Disney feature available on video.
1982: EPCOT Center opens at Walt Disney World; Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron W. Miller succeeds Card Walker as CEO.
1983: As the anthology series is canceled, The Disney Channel begins operation on US cable systems. Tom Wilhite resigns his post as head of the film division. Tokyo Disneyland opens in Japan.

The Eisner era (1984–2004)

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Michael Eisner

1984: Touchstone Pictures is created after the studio narrowly escapes a buyout attempt by Saul Steinberg. Roy Edward Disney and his business partner, Stanley Gold, remove Ron W. Miller as CEO and president, replacing him with Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. The Walt Disney Classics and Masterpiece video collection starts up.
1985: The studio begins making cartoons for television beginning with Adventures of the Gummi Bears and The Wuzzles; The home video release of Pinocchio is a best-seller.
1986: The studio's first - release comes from Touchstone Pictures; the anthology series is revived; the company's name is changed on February 6 from Walt Disney Productions to The Walt Disney Company.
1987: The company and the French government sign an agreement for the creation of the first Disney Resort in Europe: the Euro Disney project starts.
1989: Disney offers a deal to buy Jim Henson's Muppets and have the famed puppeteer work with Disney resources; the Disney-MGM Studios open at Walt Disney World; The Little Mermaid sparks an animation renaissance.
1990: Jim Henson's death sours the deal to buy his holdings; the anthology series is canceled for the second time.
1991: Beauty and the Beast is released, becoming the first animated film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
1992: The controversial Euro Disney Resort opens outside Paris, France.
1993: Disney acquires independent film distributor Miramax Films; Winnie the Pooh merchandise outsells Mickey Mouse merchandise for the first time; the policy of periodic theatrical re-issues ends with this year's re-issue of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but is augmented for video.
1994: Frank Wells is killed in a helicopter crash. Jeffrey Katzenberg resigns to co-found his own studio, DreamWorks SKG. Plans for Disney's America, a historical theme park in Haymarket, Virginia, are abruptly dropped. No explanation is given, and Disney announces a search for an alternate location. Euro Disneyland is renamed Disneyland Paris. The Lion King, the highest-grossing traditionally animated film in history, is released.
1995: In October, the company hires Hollywood super agent, Michael Ovitz, to be president. The world's first computer animated feature film Toy Story, produced by Pixar Animation Studios, is released by Disney, and becomes the year's top-grossing film.
1996: The company takes on the Disney Enterprises name and acquires the Capital Cities/ABC group, renaming it ABC, Inc. To celebrate the pairing, ABC's first Super Soap Weekend is held at Walt Disney World. Disney makes deal with Tokuma Shoten for dubbing and releasing of Studio Ghibli films in the U.S. In December, Michael Ovitz, president of the company, leaves "by mutual consent."
1997: The anthology series is revived again; the home video division releases its first DVDs. The Southern Baptist Convention votes to boycott The Walt Disney Company over opposition to the latter offering equal health and other benefits to gays and lesbians, as well as Disney allowing outside organizers to have "Gay and Lesbian Days" at Walt Disney World. Disney ignored the boycott, which failed and was withdrawn by the SBC on June 22, 2005.[1]
1998: Disney's Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World. Kiki's Delivery Service, the first Studio Ghibli film under the Disney/Ghibli deal, is released on video.
2000: Disney-owned TV channels are pulled from Time Warner Cable briefly during a dispute over carriage fees; Robert Iger becomes president. Disney begins their Gold Classic Collection and Platuim Edition DVD line, replacing their Classic and Masterpiece Collection series.
2001: Disney's California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea open to the public; Disney begins releasing Walt Disney Treasures DVD box sets for the collector's market. Disney buys Fox Family for $3 billion in July, giving Disney programming and cable network reaching 81 million homes.
2002: Walt Disney Studios open near Disneyland Paris (renamed Disneyland Park). The entire area is now called Disneyland Resort Paris. Disney finishes negotiations to acquire Saban Entertainment, owner of children's entertainment juggernaut Power Rangers. Subsidiary Miramax acquires the USA rights to the Pokémon movies starting with the fourth movie. Disney teams up with famous video game company Squaresoft (later known as Square-Enix) to release their first ever role-playing game with various Disney characters, Kingdom Hearts. Disney begins joint venture business with Sanrio for Sanrio's greeting cards.
2003: Roy E. Disney resigns as the chairman of Feature Animation and from the board of directors, citing similar reasons to those that drove him off 26 years earlier; fellow director Stanley Gold resigns with him; they establish "SaveDisney" to apply public pressure to oust Michael Eisner. Pixar computer animated film Finding Nemo is released by Disney, becoming the highest-grossing animated film in history until 2004's DreamWorks film Shrek 2. Live-action film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is released, becoming the first film released under the Disney label with a PG-13 rating.
2004: Comcast makes an unsuccessful hostile bid for the company. CEO Michael Eisner is replaced by George J. Mitchell as chairman of the board after a 43% vote of no confidence. Disney turns down distributing controversial documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11, which ends up making $100 million. On February 17, Disney buys the Muppets (excluding the Sesame Street characters).

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Robert Iger

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2005:On July 8 Roy rejoins the company as a consultant with the title of Director Emeritus. Disneyland celebrates its 50th anniversary on July 17. Hong Kong Disneyland officially opens on September 12. Robert A. Iger replaces Michael Eisner as CEO on October 1. Also on October 1, Miramax co-founders Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein left the company to form their own studio.

Today (2006– )

2006: On January 23, Disney announces a deal to purchase Pixar Animation Studios in an all-stock transaction worth $7,400,000,000. The deal is finalized on May 5. In the process, former Pixar CEO, and current Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, becomes the single largest individual Disney shareholder, holding 7% of outstanding shares. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is released, breaking multiple box office records, including highest-grossing opening day and opening weekend. The film also becomes the third film in motion picture history to gross over US$1 billion, when unadjusted for inflation.

Senior Executive Management

Robert A. Iger (President and CEO)
Roy E. Disney (Director Emeritus)
Thomas O. Staggs (Senior Executive Vice President and CFO)
Alan N. Braverman (Senior Executive Vice President, General Counsel)
Andy Bird (President, Walt Disney International)
Wes Coleman (Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer)
Ronald L. Iden (Senior Vice President, Security)
Kevin Mayer (Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Technology Group)
Christine M. McCarthy (Executive Vice President, Corporate Finance and Real Estate and Treasurer)
Zenia Mucha (Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications)
Preston Padden (Executive Vice President Government Relations)
Brent Woodford (Senior Vice President, Planning and Control)
Steve Wadsworth (President, Walt Disney Internet Group)

Current board of directors

Current division heads

Walt Disney International - Andy Bird
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts - Jay Rasulo
- Walt Disney Imagineering - Don Goodman
  - Walt Disney Creative Entertainment - Anne Hamburger
Walt Disney Studios - Dick Cook
- Pixar Animation Studios - Ed Catmull
- Walt Disney Feature Animation - Ed Catmull
- Buena Vista Music Group - Bob Cavallo
- Walt Disney Pictures - Oren Aviv
- Walt Disney Theatrical - Thomas Schumacher
Consumer Products - Andrew P. Mooney
Disney-ABC Television Group - Anne Sweeney
ESPN and ABC Sports - George W. Bodenheimer

Disney Chairmen of the Board

From 1945 to 1960, Walt and Roy O. Disney were co-chairmen of the board. Walt dropped the chairman title but kept the title of president so he could focus more on the creative aspect of the Disney parks and feature animation. Roy O. Disney remained as chairman of the board and CEO, taking care of the business aspects of the company.

Criticism

The worldwide commercial success of the Disney brand is viewed by some as detrimental to cultural diversity (see Disneyization).

Disney is one among several American companies lobbying for harsher enforcement of intellectual property around the world and continued copyright term extensions, posing a perceived threat to the existence of the public domain; see Mickey Mouse Protection Act. Disney has aggressively protected its intellectual property, including suing three Hallandale, Florida daycares for featuring Disney characters on their walls. The images were removed and replaced with Hanna Barbera characters instead ^source.

The College Program at Disney World has attracted criticism. The program anually provides 8,000 college student with a five-to-eight month internship. Critics argue that Disney is exploiting it as a source of cheap labour, as interns do the same work as regular employees but at a substantially lower rate ^source.

Sweat Shop Labour

Disney has also been accused of human rights violations regarding the working conditions in factories that produce their merchandise. Among these is a campaign by the National Labor Committee drawing attention to abuses Niagra Textiles factory in Bangladesh and the use of sweatshop labour. ^source

Another report conducted in 2001 by The Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee on factories producing disney merchandise in China's Guangdong province concluded that "Disney's code of conduct and monitoring system are ineffective and of little use to workers" some of whom were as young as sixteen ^source. Based on this evidence, The Maquila Solidarity Network and Oxfam Canada awarded Disney their Sweatshop Retailer of the Year award for 2001, where Wal-Mart came in second and Nike placed third ^source.

External links

Books

Cult of the Mouse, Harry M. Curoselli.
The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney, Richard Schickel, 1968, revised 1997, ISBN
Disney: The Mouse Betrayed, Peter Schweizer
Walt Disney: An American Original, Bob Thomas, 1976, revised 1994, ISBN
Storming the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, the raiders, and the battle for Disney, John Taylor, 1987, [2], [3], ISBN ISBN
Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire, Bob Thomas, 1998, ISBN
How to Read Donald Duck, Ariel Darton
The Keys to the Kingdom: How Michael Eisner Lost His Grip, Kim Masters, 2000, ISBN
Disneyization of Society: Alan Bryman, 2004, ISBN
DisneyWar, James B. Stewart, 2005, ISBN, ISBN
Married to the Mouse, Richard E. Foglesorg, Yale University Press.
Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records, Tim Hollis and Greg Ehrbar, 2006, ISBN
Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland, David Koenig, 1994, revised 2005, ISBN 0-9640605-4-X
Inside the Dream: The Personal Story of Walt Disney, Katherine Greene & Richard Greene, 2001, ISBN
Team Rodent, Carl Hiassen.