Disney

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Disney

The name "Disney" is synonymous with children's entertainment. Disney movies, television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) shows, and animated characters help create some of the happiest and most magical childhood memories. "Disney" is also the name of the founder of a moving picture empire: Walt Disney (1901–1966), a visionary who in 1923 formed Walt Disney Productions and began producing experimental animated short films. Little did he imagine that this modest beginning would evolve into an entertainment industry giant that would create classic animated short subjects and features, live-action films and television series—and even spawn fantasy-oriented theme parks.

The first Disney series was called Alice in Cartoonland and mixed live-action and animation. Among the individual titles in the series were Alice's Wild West Show (1924), Alice's Egg Plant (1925), and Alice Chops the Suey (1925). In 1927, Disney and Ub Iwerks (1901–1971), a fellow animator and special-effects wizard, created a series of short films based on a character named Oswald the Rabbit. The following year they conjured up Mickey Mouse, the character who is most closely associated with Disney—and the creation that put Disney on the Hollywood map. Plane Crazy (1928) and The Gallopin' Gaucho (1928), the first two Mickey Mouse cartoons, were silent. The next, Steamboat Willie (1928; see entry under 1920s—Film and Theater in volume 2), was a talkie, with Disney himself providing Mickey's trademark squeaky voice.

Audiences were entranced by the singing, dancing, and talking mouse. Disney followed this success with his Silly Symphonies cartoon series, the first of which was The Skeleton Dance (1929). What made this series distinctive was that the scenarios and characters' movements were created in conjunction with the sounds of a prerecorded music track. The most famous was The Three Little Pigs (1933), which introduced the hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" Meanwhile, Mickey Mouse continued starring in Disney cartoons. He was eventually joined by a host of animated pals, including Pluto (1930), Minnie Mouse (1933), Donald Duck (1934), and Goofy (who first appeared as Dippy Dawg in 1932).

In the early 1930s, Disney worked with the Technicolor corporation, to add color to his cartoons. His first colored short, Flowers and Trees, won an Academy Award in 1932, and Technicolor signed an exclusive agreement to color Disney's animations.

Disney had long desired to produce a feature-length animated film. At the time, no one had ever chanced such an expensive and risky endeavor. In 1934, he began to realize this dream, all the while aware that he was gambling with the future of his flourishing company. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the initial Disney animated feature, was released to great critical and commercial acclaim. The key to its success was that its characters were not artificially or excessively portrayed but rather were presented as distinct personalities who believably expressed emotion. In addition, the film featured original musical numbers. Snow White was followed by Pinocchio (1940); Dumbo (1941); Bambi (1942); Cinderella (1950); Alice in Wonderland (1951); Lady and the Tramp (1955); 101 Dalmatians (1961); and many others. Easily the most ambitious early Disney feature was Fantasia (1940; see entry under 1940s—Film and Theater in volume 3), made in conjunction with conductor Leopold Stokowski (1882–1977). Fantasia was a bold attempt to unite classical music and the movements of animated characters.

In 1941, a number of Disney animators went on strike, in protest of Disney's authoritarian command of the studio and what by then had evolved into a formulaic (systematic) animation style. Many eventually resigned and established their own animation studio, United Productions of America (UPA). Disney survived the crisis and soon became heavily involved in the war effort, producing a series of propaganda and training films during World War II (1939–45). Among them were the feature documentary Victory through Air Power (1943), which included live-action and animation, and Der Fuhrer's Face (1943), in which Donald Duck lampooned Adolf Hitler (1889–1945).

With the post–World War II era came the production of a short nature documentary, Seal Island (1948), whose success prompted a "True-Life Adventure" series of feature-length follow-ups. The Living Desert (1953) was the first. The studio also produced its initial live-action feature, Treasure Island (1950). Subsequent features ranged from Rob Roy—The Highland Rogue (1954) to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Davy Crockett —King of the Wild Frontier (1955; see entry under 1950s—TV and Radio in volume 3) to Old Yeller (1957) and Pollyanna (1960). During the 1960s, the studio produced live-action comedies, beginning with The Shaggy Dog (1959) and including The Absent-Minded Professor (1961) and The Parent Trap (1961). Mary Poppins (1964; see entry under 1960s—Film and Theater in volume 2) was not the first film to feature animation blended with live action, but it became one of the most beloved.

During the 1950s, television sets were fast becoming staples in American homes, and Disney eagerly entered the TV marketplace. In 1954, he began a weekly anthology series that initially was known as Disneyland. This series was broadcast for decades under different titles and on different networks. Disneyland was followed by a classic afternoon children's series called The Mickey Mouse Club (1955–59; see entry under 1950s—TV and Radio in volume 3). In 1955, Disney opened Disneyland, the company's first fantasy theme park, on 160 acres of land in Anaheim, California. That same year, he established his own film distribution company, Buena Vista.

The company suffered artistically in the wake of its founder's death in 1966. In general, Disney movies lost their sparkle. On the upside, Walt Disney World, a second theme park, opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1971, but the studio's entertainment output was mired in mediocrity. A low point came in 1979 when top animator Don Bluth (1938–) and a number of colleagues left Disney to form their own company, citing the studio's artistic and commercial deterioration.

In 1984, the studio formed Touchstone Pictures, a subsidiary that would produce and release a more adult-oriented product. The first Touchstone film was Splash (1984), a romantic comedy about a man who falls for a mermaid. The comedy was a box office smash. Other hits followed, including Down and Outin Beverly Hills (1985), Three Men and a Baby (1987), Stakeout (1987), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Pretty Woman (1990), and Sister Act (1992). Pretty Woman, which made a star of its leading actress, Julia Roberts (1967–), offered a modern-day twist on the Cinderella story in that it was the tale of a prostitute who is romanced by a millionaire.

Beginning in the mid-1980s, Disney recaptured its status as an animation giant. The production of a series of features—including The Black Cauldron (1985), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994; see entry under 1990s—Film and Theater in volume 5)—enchanted a new generation of youngsters. Disney expanded its empire to include video distribution; a cable TV (see entry under 1970s—TV and Radio in volume 4) station; book publishing; Broadway (see entry under 1900s—Film and Theater in volume 1) show production; and the ownership of hotels, real estate, professional sports teams, and the ABC television network, which it purchased in 1996 for $19 billion. By this time, the company had also evolved into a merchandising giant. Decades earlier, it had marketed a line of Mickey Mouse watches that were treasured by coming-of-age baby boomers (see entry under 1940s—The Way We Lived in volume 3). In the 1990s, the company opened numerous stores in malls (see entry under 1950s—Commerce in volume 3) and storefronts across the globe. On sale were Disney-related T-shirts (see entry under 1910s—Fashion in volume 1), pins, figurines, mugs, and stuffed animals—and the latest designs in Mickey Mouse watches.

Across the years, the Disney studio has savored its successes and rode out its rough times. Other motion picture production companies have evolved into mega-giant corporations, and others have produced animated films and children's entertainment. None remains as synonymous with childhood, magic, and Americana as Disney.

—Rob Edelman