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Introduction

The Walt Disney Company 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 Cartoon 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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WALL-E, promoted with an interpunct as WALL·E, is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future. He eventually falls in love with another robot named EVE, and follows her into outer space on an adventure that changes the destiny of both his kind and humanity. After directing Finding Nemo, Stanton felt Pixar had created believable simulations of underwater physics and was willing to direct a film largely set in space. Most of the characters do not have actual human voices, but instead communicate with body language and robotic sounds, designed by Ben Burtt, that resemble voices. In addition, it is the first animated feature by Pixar to have segments featuring live-action characters. Walt Disney Pictures released it in the United States and Canada on June 27, 2008. The film grossed US$23.1 million on its opening day, and $63 million during its opening weekend in 3,992 theaters, ranking #1 at the box office. This ranks as the fourth highest-grossing opening weekend for a Pixar film as of May 31, 2009. Following Pixar tradition, WALL-E was paired with a short film, Presto, for its theatrical release. WALL-E has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews among critics. It grossed $534 million worldwide, won the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as well as being nominated for five other Academy Awards at the 81st Academy Awards. WALL-E ranks first in TIME's "Best Movies of the Decade."

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Credit: Janke

Randy Cartwright at the Disney Studio in 1991.

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

Selected biography

Dan Povenmire (b. 1963) is an American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor associated with several animated television series, best known as the co-creator of the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb in which he also voices the show's villain, Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Povenmire grew up in Mobile, Alabama, where he was a talented art student who spent summers outdoors and making movies. Povenmire attended the University of South Alabama before deciding to pursue a film career and transferring to the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Povenmire has been a long-time contributor to the animation business, working on several different animated television series such as The Simpsons, Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants. He was a longtime director on the prime time series Family Guy, where he was nominated for an Annie Award in 2005. He left the series to create Phineas and Ferb with Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Povenmire has been nominated for several awards for his work on the show, including a BAFTA, an Annie, and three Emmy Awards.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that some TikTokers make videos about whether to smash or pass Disney characters?
... that Encanto's Mirabel is the first Disney heroine to wear glasses?
... that the ferry General Joe Potter at Walt Disney World is named in honor of Major General William Everett Potter?
... that vaccine coverage at schools around the Disneyland Resort was too low for herd immunity when measles broke out in 2014?
... that Disney once created a political advertisement for Dwight D. Eisenhower (featured)?
... that before the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza Manhattan opened, its workers were sent to Walt Disney World for training?

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Pretty, huh? I'll bet a lot of you folks don't believe that, about a wish comin' true, do ya? Well, I didn't, either. Of course, I'm just a cricket singing my way from hearth to hearth, but let me tell you what made me change my mind...

— Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio

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More Did you know...

... that Huey, Dewey, and Louie were originally named after two political figures and an animator of the time. Huey was named after Huey Long (1893–1935) of Louisiana. Dewey was named after Admiral George Dewey (1837–1917) of the Spanish–American War. Louie was named after animator Louie Schmitt (1908–1993).
...that child actor Joey Pollari was 15 years old when he appeared in the Disney XD film, Skyrunners?

...that Mikey Blumberg's singing was voiced by Robert Goulet, who has starred in Rose-Marie and released more than 15 albums.
...that the earliest accounts of the stories of Mulan state that she lived during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534).
... that Disney CEO Michael Eisner was struck with inspiration for the show, Adventures of the Gummi Bears when his son requested gummi bear candies one day.

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