The Sleeping Beauty Castle is a famous symbol of Walt Disney Company productions.
The Walt Disney Company is one of the largest entertainment-related conglomerates on Earth. Aside from its own famous brand, which includes theme parks, merchandising and movie studios, Disney owns other businesses in almost every field of entertainment, including television, radio, comic books, cable channels and book publishers.
Movie Production
Animator Walt Disney and his brother Roy founded the original Disney Studio in 1923.
Groundbreaking productions such as "Steamboat Willie," the first sound cartoon, paved the way for early animated features like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." By the 1950s, the Disney company had become an American institution and a powerful business, releasing three to five films a year and operating one of the first theme parks, Disneyland.In the 1980s, Disney created other movie studios such as Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures, so it could present more mature films without tainting Disney's family-friendly image. It also created a home video division to market the films from all its various studios. In the 1990s, Disney began collaborating with acclaimed computer animation company Pixar. In 2006, in a highly publicized business deal, it acquired Pixar. By the terms of the deal, Pixar creative staff like John Lasseter became high-ranking Disney executives.
Television
Disney became involved with television in the 1950s, producing the popular "World of Color/World of Disney" and "Mickey Mouse Club" TV series. Its film distribution company, Buena Vista, soon became involved in producing and distributing Disney TV shows as well. By the 1980s, Disney's TV production company had produced shows for all the major networks. Disney renamed Buena Vista in 2007. In 1983, Disney launched its own cable network, The Disney Channel. Since then, it has added three other channels: Disney XD, Disney Playhouse, and ABC Family. In 1996, it bought ABC itself, one of the oldest and most powerful networks in American television. The deal included cable sports channel ESPN. Popular shows produced by Disney companies and broadcast on ABC include "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
Other Media
Since 1996, Disney has operated Radio Disney, a family-oriented radio network. Disney Cruise Line operates two cruise ships; like many Disney companies, it promotes strong tie-ins to popular Disney characters like Mickey Mouse. Disney Stores around the world likewise sell various Disney-oriented paraphernalia, and Disney Music Group releases soundtracks and original recordings. The Disney Company purchased Jim Henson's popular Muppets line in 2004, adding them to its character roster. During the 1990s it owned a National Hockey League team, the Mighty Ducks, as well as a baseball team, the Anaheim Angels. It sold these properties in 2005.To facilitate Broadway productions such as the acclaimed "Lion King" musical, Disney founded Disney Theatrical in 1994. For similar reasons, it launched the video game company Disney Interactive Studios, releasing the popular "Kingdom Hearts" game series. Disney-related books and magazines are produced by various publishing arms, including Hyperion Books, while the website D23.com caters to Disney's worldwide fan base. In 2009, in another highly publicized move, Disney purchased Marvel, the popular comics publisher, for $4 billion. The purchase included all characters and companies owned by Marvel, including toy production, book publishing, and yet another movie studio.
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