| For other uses, see Disney (disambiguation) |
The Walt Disney Company, also known as Disney Enterprises and 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. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923 as an animation studio, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney, and established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film Steamboat Willie, which 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, even after Walt Disney's death in 1966.
The company's studio divisions include Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios. 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+; and Disney Experiences, which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world.
On March 18, 1967, Pirates of the Caribbean opened at Disneyland Park as the last attraction overseen by Walt Disney himself. Released in 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl became the first motion picture based on a Disney Park attraction to become a box office hit. The film was so successful that new characters such as Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hector Barbossa eventually became part of the attraction itself, joining the rest of the marauding, pillaging pirate crew at Disneyland Park on June 26, 2006, right after the in-park world premiere of the first film's sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
History[]
Background[]
Founded on October 16, 1923 by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, the company was reincorporated as Walt Disney Productions in 1929.[1] Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and travel. Taking on its current name in 1986, The Walt Disney Company expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, publishing, and online media. In addition, it has created new divisions of the company in order to market more mature content than it typically associates with its flagship family-oriented brands.
Among the works at Disney include the 1950 film Treasure Island[3] and the 1968 film Blackbeard's Ghost.[4]
Following the opening of Disneyland in 1955, Walt Disney worked extensively on Pirates of the Caribbean, but passed away before it was finished and opened in New Orleans Square at Disneyland on March 18, 1967,[5] eventually developed into a film.[6] Released in 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl became the first motion picture based on a Disney Park attraction to become a box office hit. The film was so successful that new characters such as Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hector Barbossa eventually became part of the attraction itself, joining the rest of the marauding, pillaging pirate crew at Disneyland Park on June 26, 2006, right after the in-park world premiere of the first film's sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.[7]
100th anniversary[]
In 2023, Disney began its "100 Years of Wonder" campaign in celebration of the centennial anniversary of the company's founding. This included the special Disney 100: A Century of Dreams, which aired on ABC and Disney+.[8]
Company divisions and subsidiaries[]
Disney Media Networks[]
Disney Media Networks is a reporting segment and primary unit of The Walt Disney Company that contains the company's various television networks, cable channels, associated production and distribution companies and owned and operated television stations. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, and Freeform.
Disney Press[]
Disney Press is a book publishing company that oversees the duties of publishing children's books for a variety of Disney products. They published a variety of content such as early reader books and sticker books for Star Wars Rebels and titles based on the original films, such as The Price of Freedom.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[]
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is the theatrical film distribution subsidiary of Disney. The division handles marketing and distribution for all theatrical releases from every Disney studio, including Walt Disney Pictures. The division has distributed all Pirates of the Caribbean films worldwide.
Disney Interactive[]
Disney Interactive is the video-game development wing of the Walt Disney Company and oversees the production and development of any games, some related to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise launched on a variety of console and PC platforms. They also developed mobile, social, and online video games.
Disney Experiences and theme park attractions[]
In 1955, Disneyland opened with attractions, including Peter Pan's Flight,[9] and Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship and Restaurant,[10] eventually renamed "Captain Hook's Galley" and "Pirate Galleon" in Disneyland Paris.[11][12] Walt Disney worked extensively on Pirates of the Caribbean, but passed away before it was finished and opened in New Orleans Square at Disneyland on March 18, 1967. Other versions of the ride in Adventureland in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World opened on December 15, 1973;[13] at Tokyo Disneyland, opened on April 15, 1983; and at Disneyland Paris, opened on April 12, 1992.[5]
Revisions were made to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom attractions in 2006, and to Tokyo Disneyland in 2007, adding the Captain Jack Sparrow character (voiced by Johnny Depp) from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. An entirely new version of the original attraction, based on the films, opened as Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure in Treasure Cove at Shanghai Disneyland on June 16, 2016.[5][14]
Disneyland Paris opened an attraction CinéMagique, mixing the live performance of an actor with synchronized movie scenes on a big screen. The attraction opened March 16, 2002, and ran over 46,000 shows until March 29, 2017. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, director Gore Verbinski, writers Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, and Jay Wolpert, composers Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer, as well as actors Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Kiera Knightley were credited.[15] By 2007, Pirate Takeover was a special event taking place at Hong Kong Disneyland.[16] In 2012, Johnny Depp reprised the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow at Disney's Hollywood Studios.[17]
Sources[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies
- Disney Pirates: The Definitive Collector's Anthology
External links[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Walt Disney Company is founded - HISTORY. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Disney History - D23 - Archived
- ↑ Walt Disney Brings in Treasure Island Actionful Saga of Fabulous Pirate Gold « Disney D23 - Archived
- ↑ Pirate Costume Aged Some 200 Years for Ustinov as Blackbeard’s Ghost « Disney D23 - Archive
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Pirates of the Caribbean - D23
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (film) - D23
- ↑ Disney 100 exhibit
- ↑ Watch 'Disney 100: A Century of Dreams' Thursday, December 14 on ABC | ABC Updates
- ↑ Peter Pan's Flight - D23
- ↑ Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship and Restaurant - D23
- ↑ Captain Hook's Galley - D23
- ↑ Pirate Galleon - D23
- ↑ The Pirates of the Caribbean Arrive at Walt Disney World « Disney D23 - Archived
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean – Battle for the Sunken Treasure - D23
- ↑ The Last Performance of Disney Studios Disneyland Paris CinéMagique DLP
- ↑ Pirate Takeover Officially Kicks off in Hong Kong Disneyland's Adventureland All Courageous Pirates Welcome! - Hong Kong Disneyland | Press Room - Archived
- ↑ Johnny Depp - D23