| Although it is now one of the largest corporations in | | | | and in 1940 the production house released both |
| the world, the Walt Disney Company started as a | | | | Pinocchio and Fantasia. |
| small animation studio in the garage of Walt and Roy | | | | As the studio began to grow, the United States' foray |
| Disney's grandfather. This tiny venture was founded | | | | into World War II caused a slowdown in film production |
| on October 16, 1923 - and in 2006, Walt Disney's | | | | as Disney was instead contracted to create |
| company had grown to revenues of $34.3 billion. | | | | morale-boosting government propaganda. The next 10 |
| The first project the Disney brothers worked on was | | | | years were relatively slow for Disney, and films |
| a series entitled Alice's Wonderland, and in 1925, Walt | | | | created were solely low budget or took years to |
| Disney convinced his brother to rename the studio to | | | | produce - Bambi was in production for 6 years before |
| Walt Disney Studios. After several smaller | | | | its theatrical release. In 1950, the company was revived |
| successes and failures, the first Mickey Mouse | | | | with the release of Cinderella, and 1952 saw Walt |
| cartoons Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie were | | | | Disney begin to plan the Walt Disney Productions |
| released to audiences in 1928. As it was the first | | | | theme park. |
| cartoon with sound to achieve popularity, Walt Disney | | | | It wasn't until 1967 that work actually began on the |
| was able to expand his ventures a year later into | | | | theme park, though it had certainly helped that the |
| three additional companies: Walt Disney Enterprises, | | | | company went public ten years prior. The Walt Disney |
| Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and | | | | World Resort opened in Orlando, Florida in 1971, and |
| Investment Company. | | | | Disney began to make its foray into live-action films. |
| Over the next several years, what would become | | | | Although there were many ups and downs in the |
| some of Disney's most beloved characters were | | | | years following Walt's death, the company continued |
| introduced: Pluto in 1930, Goofy in 1932, and Donald | | | | to make a name for itself and forge ahead to new |
| Duck in 1934. It was in 1937 that the studio's first | | | | grounds. While there have been plenty of roadblocks in |
| feature-length animation film was released, Snow | | | | the new millennium - such as the controversy over |
| White and the Seven Dwarfs, and it made history | | | | CEO Michael Eisner's policies and several hostile bid |
| books by being the first animated feature film ever | | | | takeover attempts - the company has managed to |
| produced. The next year, Walt Disney merged all of | | | | push through to continue holding its place as one of the |
| his companies under one title, Walt Disney Productions, | | | | largest and most influential companies on the planet. |