(Reuters) – In 1923, Walt Disney left his failing animation company called Laugh-O-gram Films and used his last $40 to buy a train ticket to join his brother, Roy, in Los Angeles, where they began making animated films out of their uncle’s garage. The company they founded would become one of the most influential media and entertainment brands in history.
The Walt Disney Co turns 100 this month.
The company, which Walt Disney famously observed “was all started by a mouse”, is now a $156 billion behemoth, spanning theme parks, television networks, films and a streaming service that reaches millions of people across continents.
As it marks its centennial, Disney is navigating a tumultuous period for the industry, marked by the decline of the traditional television business, slumping ad revenue, a movie box office that has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and video streaming services that for the most part have failed to achieve profitability.
Here’s a timeline of Disney’s journey from a small studio in Burbank to a global media behemoth:
Oct 1923 Walt Disney and brother Roy Disney start “Disney
Brothers Cartoon Studio” after signing a contract
with distributer M.J. Winkler for “Alice Comedies”
March “Alice’s Day at Sea”, the first short film of the
1924 Alice Comedies series, is released
Jan 1926 Renames to “Walt Disney Studio”
Sept 1927 All-cartoon series “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit”, a
character created by Walt Disney, is released by
the distributor MJ Winkler. However, Disney later
has a falling-out with Winkler after realizing he
doesn’t own the rights to his work
May 1928 Popular character Mickey Mouse, co-created with Ub
Iwerks, debuts in relatively unsuccessful cartoon
shows “Plane Crazy” and “The Gallopin’ Gaucho”
Nov 1928 Mickey’s claim to fame, “Steamboat Willie”,
premiers. “Minnie Mouse” is introduced
Dec 1929 Company spun off into four unit – Walt Disney
Productions, Walt Disney Enterprises, Liled Realty
and Investment Co, and the Disney Film Recording Co
1930 Disney merchandising begins, the first Mickey Mouse
book and newspaper comic strip are published
1932 One of the first full-color cartoons, “Flowers and
Trees”, a part of the “Silly Symphony” series, wins
the Academy Award for best cartoon
Feb 1935 First Mickey Mouse cartoon in color, “The Band
Concert”, is released
Dec 1937 First feature-length animated film, “Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs”, is released
1942 Begins making propaganda and training films for the
American military during the Second World War.
“Saludos Amigos” is created to promote good
relations with South America
Jan 1943 Anti-Nazi film “Der Fuehrer’s Face” is released,
wins the Academy Award for Best Cartoon
1945 Releases “Destino”, a film made in collaboration
with Spanish artist Salvador Dalí
Dec 1948 Releases “Seal Island”, its first documentary film
Oct 1949 Launches Walt Disney Music Company
July 1950 Release of “Treasure Island”, first completely
live-action feature.
Dec 1950 Releases its first television show “One Hour in
Wonderland”
Feb 1953 Releases “Peter Pan”
Oct 1954 First airing of “Disneyland” television show
Jul 1955 Opens the first Disneyland theme park
Oct 1955 First program of the “Mickey Mouse Club” television
series airs
Aug 1964 Release of “Mary Poppins”
Dec 1966 Walt Disney dies
Dec 1971 Roy Disney dies
Nov 1976 Card Walker named CEO, replacing Donn Tatum
Nov 1977 Roy E. Disney, son of co-founder Roy O. Disney,
announces his resignation
1982 Coca-Cola launches a series of unsuccessful
attempts to buy Disney
April First Disney Theme Park outside of the United
1983 States opens in Tokyo
1983 Ron W. Miller replaces Walker as CEO; Raymond
Watson becomes chairman
April Disney Channel begins airing
1983
Feb 1984 Launches Touchstone Film label in an attempt to
cater to mature audiences
1984 Walt Disney’s nephew Roy Edward Disney and his
business partner, Stanley Gold, remove Ron Miller
as CEO and president and Raymond Watson as
chairman, replacing them with Michael Eisner and
Frank Wells in the aftermath of an unsuccessful
buyout attempt by investor Saul Steinberg.
Eisner became the first person with no personal
connection to Walt Disney to lead Walt Disney
Productions. His first 4 years as CEO would see
Disney surge from last place to first in box-office
receipts among the 8 major studios
1986 Walt Disney Productions renamed The Walt Disney
Company
Feb 1989 Launches Hollywood Pictures label to produce comedy
films aimed towards mature audiences
1989 Launches Hollywood Records, offering recordings
ranging from rap to movie soundtracks
May 1991 Joins the Dow Jones Industrial Average index
Jan 1992 Sets up Disney Publishing Group, which includes
Hyperion Books, Hyperion Books for Children and
Disney Press
April Euro Disneyland, now Disneyland Paris, opens in
1992 Marne-la-Vallée, France
April First show from Disney Theatrical Productions –
1994 Beauty and the Beast – opens on Broadway
April Frank Wells, president of the Walt Disney Co, dies
1994 in a helicopter crash
July 1994 Releases animated musical “The Lion King”
July 1995 Announces acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC Inc for
$19 billion
1996 Acquires Jumbo Pictures
1997 Enters a 10-year distribution partnership with
Pixar
2000 Bob Iger becomes president
Dec 2003 Walt Disney’s nephew Roy Disney resigns as chairman
of Feature Animation division and as vice chairman
of the company’s board.
In a letter to then-CEO Michael Eisner, he alleged
that the company failed under Eisner during the
previous seven years, citing low attendance at
theme parks and “loss of public trust” among other
reasons.
After his resignation, he helped establish the
website called SaveDisney.com aimed at ousting
Eisner.
May 2003 “Finding Nemo” releases.
July 2003 “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black
Pearl” releases.
2004 Comcast launches an unsolicited $54.1 billion
takeover offer for Disney in February, triggering a
battle to keep the entertainment company
independent. The cable TV provider abandoned its
bid two months later, after it became apparent that
it was too low to succeed.
March Eisner announces that he would resign that
2005 September, one year before his contract expired.
Oct 2005 Iger becomes CEO
Jan 2006 Announces acquisition of “Toy Story” creator Pixar
Animation Studios in a $7.4 billion deal
Feb 2006 Announces merger of its ABC Radio stations with
Citadel Broadcasting in a $2.7 billion deal
Aug 2009 Announces acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in $4
billion deal
Jan 2012 Acquires controlling interest in Indian
entertainment firm UTV
Oct 2012 Announces acquisition of “Star Wars” producer
Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion
Feb 2013 Achieves $100 billion in market capitalization
Nov 2013 Releases “Frozen”, one of its top-grossing animated
movies
Dec 2015 Releases “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, the first
Lucasfilm titled release under the new owner
2016 Shanghai Disney Resort opens, the first Disney
theme park in mainland China
Aug 2017 Acquires majority stake in BAMTech
Dec 2017 Announces a deal to buy 21st Century Fox’s film and
television studios, entertainment networks and
international TV businesses, for $52.4 billion.
Comcast launches a competing bid of $65 billion for
Fox, driving up the price Disney paid for the
assets. The acquisition closed in 2019 at a raised
bid of $71.3 billion.
Nov 2019 Launches Disney+ streaming service
Jan 2020 Hong Kong Disneyland closes, as the region deals
with the rising threat of COVID-19. The spread of
the deadly virus causes the company to shutter all
its theme parks. The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim,
California, remained closed for 412 days – the
longest closure in its history
Feb 2020 Elevates parks head Bob Chapek to CEO of Disney
March Disney issues statement opposing Florida’s law that
2022 banned classroom discussion of sexuality and gender
identity with younger children. Opponents labeled
the measure the “don’t say gay” bill, saying it
would hurt LGBTQ children.
April Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs a bill that
2022 strips Disney of self-governing authority at its
Orlando-area parks in apparent retaliation for its
opposition to the Parental Rights in Education law.
Aug 2022 Activist investor Third Point discloses stake worth
$1 billion, recommends changes at Disney
Sept 2022 Disney announces truce with activist investor Third
Point, appoints tech and media veteran Carolyn
Everson to the board of directors
Nov 2022 Iger reinstated as CEO, replacing Chapek
Dec 2022 Launches ad-supported subscription tier on its
streaming service Disney+
Jan 2023 Activist investor Nelson Peltz of Trian Fund
Management formally launches a battle for a board
seat at Disney to rescue the entertainment giant
from what he called a “crisis” of overspending on
the streaming business, the purchase of 21st
Century Fox and failed succession planning.
Feb 2023 Announces a sweeping restructuring, including
7,000 job cuts, in an effort to save $5.5 billion
in costs and to make its streaming business
profitable
Feb 2023 Peltz ends his quest for a board seat
April Disney sues Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in
2023 federal court, claiming he was “weaponizing” state
government in retaliation for the company’s
criticism of a law that banned classroom discussion
of sexuality and gender identity with younger
children
May 2023 Thousands of film and television writers go on
strike after the Writers Guild of America (WGA)
called its first work stoppage in 15 years after
failing to reach an agreement with major studios
such as Disney and Netflix over payment and limits
on the use of artificial intelligence
July 2023 Hollywood actors go on strike after talks with
studios break down, joining film and television
writers who have been on picket lines since May and
deepening the disruption of scores of shows and
movies
Oct 2023 Activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund
Management amasses roughly $2.5 billion worth of
shares in Disney, and is expected to ask the
company for multiple board seats
Oct 2023 Hollywood writers union ratifies three-year labor
contract after strike
(Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa, Zaheer Kachwala, Tanya Jain, Chavi Mehta and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
