Timeline of Walt Disney Company

1920s - 1950
• Walt and Roy Disney moved out to California and founded Disney Bros. Studio in 1923.
• Five years later Mickey Mouse was created and soon followed by Pluto, Goofy, Donald Duck, Daisy and Minnie. In 1929,
three other Disney companies are formed: Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and
Investment Company. The same year, The Skeleton Dance the first of the key Silly Symphonies series, debuts.
• In 1937 Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released. It
revolutionises how animation is treated with Walt encouraging animated features to be treated and framed as they would
be if they were live-action films.
• In 1938 Snow White wins an Academy Honorary Award and the small companies are all merged to form Walt Disney
Productions.
• In 1940 Pinocchio is released and wins two Academy awards, in 1941 the famous Fantasia wins another two. The studio
begins making propaganda films to boost U.S. morale during World War II.
• In 1948 Disney begins the True-Life Adventures nature documentary series (lasted until 1960) and this was the start for the
company’s popular tendency and love towards nature documentaries.
• In 1949, the studio begins production on its first feature-length live action film: Treasure Island.
1950s – 1988
• In 1954, Disney studio ends its distribution deal with RKO Radio Pictures, and founds its own distribution arm: Buena Vista
Film Distribution Company Inc. to distribute Disney feature films.
• In 1955 Disneyland opens in Paris for the first time.
• In 1961, Disney studio purchases the film and merchandising rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh books, which continue being a
leading source of revenue for the company to this day.
• In 1964 Mary Poppins is released and becomes the first Disney film to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best
Picture. The movie won five other Oscars, including Best Actress to Julie Andrews.
• Walt Disney dies in 1966 and by most accounts the company begins a slow decline, without clear direction, culminating in
an unsuccessful greenmail attempt to buy the company from current shareholders.
• In 1971, Roy Disney dies. Donn Tatum becomes chairman of the company, and Card Walker becomes president. "Bedknobs
and Broomsticks" is released, and wins an Academy Award for Best Special Effects. The Magic Kingdom opens as the first park
at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
• In 1983, the Disney Channel begins production, and Tokyo Disneyland opens.
• In 1984 Miller broadened the company’s product line and founded Touchstone Pictures, a subsidiary devoted to producing
films for adult audiences. Touchstone produced some of the most financially and critically successful films of the 1980s and
’90s, including Splash (1984), The Color of Money (1986), Three Men and a Baby (1987), Who Framed Roger
Rabbit? (1988), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), Pretty Woman (1990), Father of the
Bride (1991), Ed Wood (1994), and The Horse Whisperer (1998).
• In 1988 Walt Disney Computer Software is founded as a video game division of The Walt Disney Company,
1988-2020
• In 1989 the company starts expanding its empire by establishing Hollywood Pictures (devoted to producing films for teenagers and young
adults) and with the acquisition of Miramax Films in 1993.
• 1989 also saw the release of The Little Mermaid, which began a decade for new success for Disney.
• More animated blockbusters followed, including Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), The Hunchback of Notre
Dame (1996), and Fantasia 2000 (1999).
• The company experimented with computer animation and began to expand on the technology’s potential after the enormously successful Toy
Story (1995)
• In 2000, Roger Iger becomes President
• In 2002 Disney gets into video gaming with Kingdom Hearts.
• In 2003 the box office success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Cruse of the Black Pearl revived Disney’s interest in live-action films.
• In 2004 The Incredibles wins Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Sound Editing. Disney also purchases The Muppets and
Bear in the Big Blue House franchises from The Jim Henson Company for $75 million.
• In 2006, Disney purchases Pixar Animation Studios for $7 billion.
• In 2009 Disney bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion.
• In 2010 begins the trend of live-action remakes of Disney animated films with Alice in Wonderland.
• In 2012, Disney acquires Lucasfilm from George Lucas for $4.06 billion. A year later they released Frozen, the highest grossing animated
movie, succeeded only by its sequel.
• In 2015 Disney revives Star Wars and seal the deal with Sony to bring Spiderman into the MCU
• In 2017 Disney agreed to purchase most of the holdings of 21st Century Fox, including the film studio 20th Century Fox.
• In 2019 the deal with Fox was sealed, valued at about $71 billion. In November 2019 Disney also entered the streaming market with Disney+