The Walt Disney Company
On the 16th of October 1923, two brothers named Walt and Roy Disney signed a contract in Kansas City to start a business called Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. The agreement was simple but risky because the brothers had just lost their previous studio, Laugh-O-Gram, to bankruptcy. They moved to Los Angeles to work on a series of Alice Comedies featuring child actress Virginia Davis. By January 1926, they relocated to a new building on Hyperion Street and changed the name to Walt Disney Studio. The early years were defined by constant financial struggles and legal battles over character rights. In 1927, Universal Pictures distributor Charles Mintz demanded lower fees for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts. When Walt refused, Mintz stole the rights to Oswald and hired four animators away from the Disney brothers. Only Ub Iwerks stayed with them. This loss forced Walt to create a new character named Mickey Mouse, originally called Mortimer Mouse before his wife suggested the change. Steamboat Willie premiered in November 1928 as the first cartoon with synchronized sound. It used Lee de Forest's Phonofilm system to create audio that matched the animation perfectly. The film became an immediate hit and established Mickey as the company's mascot. By December 1930, the comic strip version of Mickey appeared in sixty newspapers across the United States and twenty other countries. A man in New York offered Walt $300 to put Mickey on writing tablets he was manufacturing. Walt accepted this deal, making Mickey the first licensed character ever. Within two years, merchandise sales reached $35 million, saving the studio during the Great Depression.
In 1934, Walt Disney announced plans for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a feature-length animated film that would cost ten times its original budget. Roy Disney tried to stop the project, calling it Disney's Folly because the risk of bankruptcy seemed too high. The production team developed the multiplane camera to create depth by placing drawings on glass at different distances. Snow White premiered on the 12th of December 1937, and grossed $8 million in its first year alone. Despite the success, the company faced internal turmoil when 300 animators went on strike in 1941. Art Babbitt led the group demanding unionization and higher pay. Walt publicly accused the strikers of communist conspiracy and fired many of them. The strike left the studio with only 694 employees and forced federal mediators to recognize the Screen Cartoonist's Guild. To recover financially, Disney rushed the production of Dumbo on a reduced budget. The film performed well and provided much-needed cash flow. During World War II, the United States Army occupied the studio for eight months to protect a nearby Lockheed aircraft plant. Soldiers converted storage sheds into ammunition depots while fixing equipment in large soundstages. The Navy asked Disney to produce propaganda films to gain support for the war effort. Disney agreed to sign a contract for twenty war-related shorts worth $90,000. Most employees worked on these projects, which included Victory Through Air Power. After the war, the company released package films like Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros to try to recover from financial losses. These films were collections of short cartoons grouped together to make feature-length movies.
Walt Disney first imagined an amusement park during a visit to Griffith Park with his daughters. He watched them ride a carousel and thought there should be some kind of enterprise where parents and children could have fun together. In 1952, he formed WED Enterprises to design and construct this new park. Walt acquired 160 acres of orange groves in Anaheim for $6,200 per acre after realizing the original Burbank site was too small. Construction began in July 1954, costing $17 million total. To finance the project, Walt sold his home at Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs. The Disneyland television series aired on ABC and garnered over 50% of viewers in its time slot. On the 17th of July 1955, Disneyland opened to over 90 million live broadcast viewers. The opening day was disastrous as restaurants ran out of food and rides malfunctioned in the heat. Despite these issues, the park welcomed 161,657 visitors in its first week. By the end of that year, three point six million people had visited. The company earned a gross total of $24.5 million compared to $11 million the previous year. Later, Walt announced plans for another park called Disney World in Florida. He chose land southwest of Orlando and acquired 27,000 acres. On the 15th of November 1965, Walt, Roy, and Florida governor Haydon Burns announced the plan for Magic Kingdom. Walt died on the 15th of December 1966, before the new park could open. His brother Roy changed the name to Walt Disney World to memorialize him.
Michael Eisner became CEO in 1984 after shareholders forced out Ron Miller. Eisner appointed Jeffrey Katzenberg as chairman and aimed to produce an animated film every eighteen months instead of four years. The Black Cauldron failed at the box office, leading the animation department to move from Burbank to a warehouse in Glendale. In May 1989, Disney opened Disney-MGM Studios, its third amusement park at Walt Disney World. The Little Mermaid released on the 17th of November 1989, started the Disney Renaissance period. It became the highest-grossing animated film from its initial run with $233 million at the box office. Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman wrote several songs until Ashman died in 1991. Beauty and the Beast won Best Score, Best Sound, and Best Song. The Lion King released on the 15th of June 1991, grossed nearly $430 million and became the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind Jurassic Park. By 1994, annual revenue reached $10 billion with 48% coming from films and 34% from theme parks. On the 1st of May 1989, Disney opened Disney-MGM Studios which demonstrated movie-making processes to visitors. The company spent $15 million promoting its theme parks, raising visitor numbers by 10%. In 1995, Disney announced a $19 billion acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC Inc., the second-largest corporate takeover in US history. This deal gave them ABC, ESPN, and Lifetime Television. Eisner planned to buy NBC but General Electric wanted to keep a majority stake.
Bob Iger became CEO in March 2005 after Eisner retired. He began talks to acquire Pixar from Steve Jobs for $7.4 billion on the 24th of January 2006. A week later, Disney traded Al Michaels to NBCUniversal for rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest made $1 billion at the box office, becoming Disney's biggest hit to that date. In August 2009, Disney bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion, adding comic-book characters to its merchandising lineup. The Avengers film grossed $1.3 billion initially, making it the third-highest-grossing film of all time. Frozen released in 2013 became the highest-grossing animated film with $1.2 billion. Merchandise sales for Frozen reached $1 billion within a year, causing a global shortage. On the 30th of October 2012, Disney announced it would buy Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion from George Lucas. This deal gave access to Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. In 2019, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox assets for $71 billion, the largest acquisition in company history. They gained 20th Century Fox, National Geographic Partners, and Hotstar streaming service. On the 12th of November 2019, Disney launched Disney+ with over 10 million subscriptions on day one. By 2022, the platform had over 135 million subscribers available in more than 190 countries.
Bob Chapek became CEO after Iger resigned on the 25th of February 2020. Chapek had been chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products for eighteen years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney temporarily closed all theme parks and stopped cruises. The closures forced the company to stop paying 100,000 employees while still providing healthcare benefits. This move saved the company $500 million a month. Iger resumed operational duties as executive chairman to help during the crisis. Chapek was appointed to the board of directors but was ousted in 2022 when Iger returned as CEO. The pandemic also delayed movie releases and caused financial losses across all divisions. In 2023, Disney celebrated its 100th anniversary on October 16. The company ranked 87th on the Forbes Global 2000 list that year. It has won 135 Academy Awards since founding, with 26 awarded directly to Walt Disney himself. The stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. About two-thirds of the stock was owned by large financial institutions in August 2020.
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Common questions
When did Walt and Roy Disney sign the contract to start their business?
Walt and Roy Disney signed a contract on the 16th of October 1923 in Kansas City to establish Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. This agreement followed the bankruptcy of their previous studio, Laugh-O-Gram.
What event caused Walt Disney to create Mickey Mouse?
Universal Pictures distributor Charles Mintz stole the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and hired four animators away from the Disney brothers in 1927. Only Ub Iwerks stayed with them, which forced Walt to create a new character named Mickey Mouse.
How much money did Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs gross in its first year?
Snow White premiered on the 12th of December 1937 and grossed $8 million in its first year alone. The film cost ten times its original budget but became a massive financial success despite internal turmoil at the studio.
Where was Disneyland built and how many acres were acquired for the project?
Walt Disney acquired 160 acres of orange groves in Anaheim for $6,200 per acre after realizing the original Burbank site was too small. Construction began in July 1954 and the park opened on the 17th of July 1955.
Which company did Disney acquire for $71 billion in 2019?
In 2019, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox assets for $71 billion, the largest acquisition in company history. This deal gave them 20th Century Fox, National Geographic Partners, and Hotstar streaming service.