The Walt Disney Company ( ), often simply known as
Disney, is the largest media and entertainment
conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products.
Founded on
October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt
Disney and Roy Disney as an
animation studio, it has become one of the biggest Hollywood
studios, and owner and licensor of eleven theme
parks and several television networks, including ABC and ESPN. Disney's corporate headquarters and primary
production facilities are located at The Walt Disney
Studios
in Burbank, California
. The company has been a component of the
Dow Jones Industrial
Average since May 6, 1991.
Mickey
Mouse serves as the official mascot of
The Walt Disney
Company.
History
Disney was originated from the owner, and now dead Walt Disney. His
familiar doodle of Mickey mouse started his dream to begin working
in animation.
Company divisions
Initially started as a producer of short-subject motion pictures,
The Walt Disney Company has since diversified into a number of
entertainment mediums, including radio, television, publishing and
travel. These ventures include:
On August 31, 2009, Disney announced plans to acquire the assets of
comic book publisher
Marvel Entertainment, in a deal
estimated to cost $4 billion. In announcing its plans, Disney
stated that current management at Marvel would remain in place to
oversee its operations. Further, Disney planned to emphasize the
Marvel brand instead of changing it to fit the current Disney
brand. The
board of both
companies have approved the merger plan, which must still pass an
antitrust review and be approved by the
companies' stockholders.
Timeline
Disney Management
Financial Data
Revenues
Annual Revenues of The Walt Disney
Company (in millions USD)
Year |
Walt Disney Studio Entertainment |
Disney Consumer
Products |
Walt Disney
Parks and Resorts |
Disney Media Networks |
Walt Disney Internet
Group / Disney
Interactive Media Group |
Total |
1991 |
2,593.0 |
724 |
2,794.0 |
|
|
6,111 |
1992 |
3,115 |
1,081 |
3,306 |
|
|
7,502 |
1993 |
3,673.4 |
1,415.1 |
3,440.7 |
|
|
8,529.2 |
1994 |
4,793 |
1,798.2 |
3,463.6 |
359 |
|
10,413.8 |
1995 |
6,001.5 |
2,150 |
3,959.8 |
414 |
|
12,525.3 |
1996 |
10,095 |
4,502 |
4,142 |
|
18,739 |
1997 |
6,981 |
3,782 |
5,014 |
6,522 |
174 |
22,473 |
1998 |
6,849 |
3,193 |
5,532 |
7,142 |
260 |
22,976 |
1999 |
6,548 |
3,030 |
6,106 |
7,512 |
206 |
23,402 |
2000 |
5,994 |
2,602 |
6,803 |
9,615 |
368 |
25,402 |
2001 |
7,004 |
2,590 |
6,009 |
9,569 |
|
25,790 |
2002 |
6,465 |
2,440 |
6,691 |
9,733 |
|
25,360 |
2003 |
7,364 |
2,344 |
6,412 |
10,941 |
|
27,061 |
2004 |
8,713 |
2,511 |
7,750 |
11,778 |
|
30,752 |
2005 |
7,587 |
2,127 |
9,023 |
13,207 |
|
31,944 |
2006 |
7,529 |
2,193 |
9,925 |
14,368 |
|
34,285 |
2007 |
7,491 |
2,347 |
10,626 |
15,046 |
|
35,510 |
2008 |
7,348 |
2,415 |
11,504 |
15,857 |
719 |
37,843 |
Net income
Net Income of The Walt Disney Company
(in millions USD)
Year |
Walt Disney Studio Entertainment |
Disney Consumer
Products |
Walt Disney
Parks and Resorts |
Disney Media Networks |
Walt Disney Internet
Group / Disney
Interactive Media Group |
Total |
1991 |
318 |
229 |
546 |
|
|
1,094 |
1992 |
508 |
283 |
644 |
|
|
1,435 |
1993 |
622 |
355 |
746 |
|
|
1,724 |
1994 |
779 |
425 |
684 |
77 |
|
1,965 |
1995 |
998 |
510 |
860 |
76 |
|
2,445 |
1996 |
1,598 |
990 |
747 |
(-300). |
3,035 |
1997 |
1,079 |
893 |
1,136 |
1,699 |
-56 |
4,312 |
1998 |
769 |
801 |
1,288 |
1,746 |
-94 |
3,231 |
1999 |
116 |
607 |
1,446 |
1,611 |
-93 |
3,231 |
2000 |
110 |
455 |
1,620 |
2,298 |
-402 |
4,081 |
2001 |
260 |
401 |
1,586 |
1,758 |
|
4,214 |
2002 |
273 |
394 |
1,169 |
986 |
|
2,826 |
2003 |
620 |
384 |
957 |
1,213 |
|
3,174 |
2004 |
662 |
534 |
1,123 |
2 169 |
|
4,488 |
2005 |
207 |
543 |
1,178 |
3,209 |
|
5,137 |
2006 |
729 |
618 |
1,534 |
3,610 |
|
6,491 |
2007 |
1,201 |
631 |
1,710 |
4,285 |
|
7,827 |
2008 |
1,086 |
778 |
1,897 |
4,942 |
-258 |
8,445 |
Criticism, controversies and conflict
Disney's media releases and company practices have prompted action
from activists, artists, and causes around the world.
- Religious welfare groups, such as the Catholic League, have spoken out against the
release of material which they and others found offensive,
including vehement protests of the Miramax
Films features Priest
(1994) and Dogma (1999).
Disney pushed back the release date for Dogma due to the
controversy surrounding the movie, and eventually sold the
distribution rights to Lions
Gate Films. The ABC show Nothing Sacred, about a
Jesuit priest, a book called Growing Up Gay
(published by Disney-owned Hyperion
Press), the annual Gay and Lesbian Days at Disney theme parks,
and similar issues spurred boycotts of
Disney and its advertisers by the Catholic League, the Assemblies of God, and other conservative
groups.
- The company has been accused of human rights violations
regarding the working conditions in factories that produce their
merchandise. It has been criticized also by animal welfare groups,
for their care of and procedures for wild animals at Disney's
Animal Kingdom theme park, and for using purebred dogs in movies
such as 101
Dalmatians. Animal rights groups claim movies with
purebreds create an artificial demand for purebreds from people who
may not be prepared or temperamentally suited for the animals, many
of whom end up abandoned or surrendered to shelters or rescue
groups.
- An
environmental management plan for a zone of Great Guana Cay
, in the Abaco Islands
, criticized Disney for poor management of a tract
of the island. Disney partially developed but then abandoned
the place, which was to have been a cruise ship resort called
Treasure Island. The report, by the University of
Miami
and the College
of the Bahamas, blames Disney for leaving hazardous materials,
electrical transformers, and fuel tanks, and also for introducing
invasive alien plants and insects that threaten the natural flora
and fauna of the island.
Sexual innuendo and subliminal messages
Disney has been accused of having sexual innuendo or references
hidden in some of their animated movies, including
The Lion King,
The Little
Mermaid,
Aladdin,
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and
Disney's 1999 original releases of
The
Rescuers.
In 1995, the
American Life
League (ALL), alleged that several Disney films, including
The Lion King,
The Little Mermaid, and
Aladdin contained subliminal
messages and sexual imagery. The
Lion King allegation was
later denied by Tom Sito, a Disney animator and a writer for the
film, who said that the letters written in the dust were actually
"S.F.X". It was intended to be an
easter egg signature from the animation
department, and that the controversy that followed was entirely
unintentional.
In
Aladdin, protests were raised regarding the scene when
Aladdin is attacked by the tiger Rajah on the palace balcony.
Aladdin quietly says
"Come on... good kitty, take off and
go..." and the word "kitty" is overlapped by another,
unidentifiable sound, possibly Rajah's snarl. Some people reported
hearing
"Good teenagers, take off your clothes," which
they considered a
subliminal
reference to
promiscuity. Because of
the controversy, Disney replaced the phrase with
"Down,
kitty" on the DVD release.
In
Who Framed Roger
Rabbit a scene drew attention to viewers when Jessica
Rabbit revealed what was under her dress in which nothing was
drawn. This scene wasn't noticed until 1994 during the film's
laserdisk release. This caught the attention of the media when news
such as CNN that made news articles about the scene.
In
The Little Mermaid, it was alleged that a clergyman is
seen with an
erection during a wedding
scene, specifically the scene in which a brainwashed Prince Eric is
about to marry a disguised Sea Witch. The clergyman is a short man,
dressed in Bishop's clothing, and a small bulge is slightly
noticeable in a few of the frames that are actually later shown to
be the stubby-legged man's knees, but the image is small and is
very difficult to distinguish. The combined incidents led an
Arkansas woman to file suit against The Walt Disney Company in
1995, though she dropped the suit two months later.
- See also: The Rescuers
Controversy
Disney's 1999 original releases of
The
Rescuers were recalled due to the discovery of two
photographs of a nude woman in the background of two frames of the
movie. They were removed in later editions.
Famous logo
The logo from Walt Disney Company is famous, especially the
D.
Full acquisitions
See also
References
- also named Films
- Merged into Creative Content in 1996
- Broadcasting from 1994 to 1996
- Walt Disney Internet Group, from
1997 to 2000, next merged with Disney Media Networks
- Disney Interactive Media
Group, starting in 2008 with the merge of WDIG and
Disney Interactive Studios
- SEC Info - Disney Enterprises Inc - 10-K - For
9/30/93
- Disney Annual Report 1995 - Financial
Highlights
- Disney Annual Report 1996 - Management's Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
- Disney Enterprises Inc · 10-K · For 9/30/95
- Walt Disney Co · 10-K405 · For 9/30/96
- Suite au rachat d'ABC
- Disney Annual Report 1999 - Management's Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
- Disney Annual Report 2000
- Disney Annual Report 2002
- Disney Annual Report 2004
- Disney Annual Report 2006 - Financial
Highlights
- Disney Annual Report 2007 - Financial
Highlights
- Disney Factbook 2008 - Financial Information p
50
- also named Films
- Merged into Creative Content in 1996
- Broadcasting from 1994 to 1996
- Walt Disney Internet Group, from
1997 to 2000, next merged with Disney Media Networks
- Disney Interactive Media
Group, merge of WDIG and Disney Interactive Studios
- Not link to WDIG, Disney reported a 300 millions $ lost due to
financial modification regarding a real estate
- . The source compiles and cites four major newspaper
references.
- Omaha World-Herald "Filth' Found in Disney Movies Is a Stretch
of the Imagination."
Further reading
- Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation
of an Entertainment Empire, Bob Thomas, 1998
- Building a Dream; The Art of Disney Architecture, Beth
Dunlop, 1996, ISBN 0-8109-3142-7
- Cult of the Mouse: Can We Stop Corporate Greed from Killing
Innovation in America?, Henry M. Caroselli, 2004, Ten Speed
Press
- Disney: The Mouse Betrayed, Peter Schweizer
- The Disney Touch: How a Daring Management Team Revived an
Entertainment Empire, by Ron Grover (Richard D. Irwin, Inc.,
1991), ISBN 1-55623-385-X
- The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of
Walt Disney, Richard Schickel, 1968, revised 1997
- Disneyana: Walt Disney Collectibles, Cecil Munsey,
1974
- Disneyization of Society: Alan
Bryman, 2004
- DisneyWar, James B. Stewart, Simon & Schuster, 2005, ISBN
0-684-80993-1
- Donald Duck Joins Up; the Walt Disney Studio During World
War II, Richard Shale, 1982
- How to Read Donald
Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic ISBN
0-88477-023-0 (Marxist Critique) Ariel
Dorfman, Armand Mattelart,
David Kunzle (translator).
- Inside the Dream: The Personal Story of Walt Disney,
Katherine Greene & Richard Greene, 2001
- The Keys to the Kingdom: How Michael Eisner Lost His
Grip, Kim Masters (Morrow, 2000)
- The Man Behind the Magic; the Story of Walt Disney,
Katherine & Richard Greene, 1991, revised 1998, ISBN
0-7868-5350-6
- Married to the Mouse, Richard E. Foglesorg, Yale
University Press.
- Mouse Tales: A Behind-the-Ears Look at Disneyland,
David Koenig, 1994, revised 2005, ISBN 0-9640605-4-X
- Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records, Tim
Hollis and Greg Ehrbar, 2006, ISBN 1-57806-849-5
- Storming the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, the raiders, and
the battle for Disney, John Taylor, 1987[6369][6370]
- The Story of Walt Disney, Diane Disney Miller &
Pete Martin, 1957
- Team Rodent, Carl
Hiassen.
- Walt Disney: An American Original, Bob Thomas, 1976,
revised 1994, ISBN 0671223321
- Work in Progress by Michael
Eisner with Tony Schwartz (Random House, 1998), ISBN
978-0375500718
External links