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The Walt Disney Company

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"Disney" redirects here. For other uses, see Disney (disambiguation).

The Walt Disney Company
Company typePublic (NYSE: DIS)
IndustryMedia and Entertainment
FoundedHollywood, California, USA[1]
(October 16, 1923)
FounderWalt Disney and Roy Disney
Headquarters
The Walt Disney Studios
Burbank, California, USA
Key people
Robert A. "Bob" Iger
President & CEO
John E. Pepper, Jr.
Chairman
Roy E. Disney
Director Emeritus
Steve Jobs
Shareholder
Anne Sweeney
President, Disney-ABC Television Group & Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks
RevenueIncrease US$ 37.843 billion (2008)[2]
Decrease US$ 7.402 billion (2008)[2]
Decrease US$ 4.427 billion (2008)[2]
Total assetsIncrease US$ 62.497 billion (2008)[2]
Total equityIncrease US$ 54.878 billion (2008)[2]
Number of employees
150,000 (2008)[2]
DivisionsWalt Disney Studio Entertainment, Disney-ABC Television Group, Disney Interactive Media Group, Walt Disney Consumer Products, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
WebsiteDisney.com

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is the largest media and entertainment corporation in the world.[4] Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt 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.

Company Divisions

Walt Disney Studio Entertainment

Disney-ABC Television Group

Disney Interactive Media Group

Walt Disney Consumer Products

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

The company's Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division owns and operates two resorts in the United States and another three internationally through various joint ventures and licensing agreements. These are:

Senior Executive Management

Current Division Heads

Disney Managment History

Presidents

Chief Executive Officers

Chairmen of the Board

    • From 1945 to 1960 Walt and Roy Disney shared the role of Chairman of the board. Walt dropped the Chairman title in 1960 so he could focus more on the creative aspects of the company. Roy O. Disney kept the Chairman and CEO's role.

Vice Chairman of the Board

  • 1984-2003: Roy E. Disney
  • 1999-2000: Sanford Litvack (Co-Vice Chair)

Chief Operating Officer

Timeline

Further information: Timeline of The Walt Disney Company

Criticism & 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).[6] 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 children's 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.[7][6][8]
  • In 1995 a pro-life lobby group, American Life League (ALL), alleged that several Disney films, including The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin, contained subliminal messages and sexual imagery.[11][12] 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.[13]
  • The company has been accused of human rights violations regarding the working conditions in factories that produce their merchandise.[14][15] 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,[16] 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.[17]
  • An environmental management plan for a zone of Great Guana Cay, in the Abaco Islands, criticized Disney for poor management of a 90-acre (36.4 ha) 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.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Company History". Corporate Information. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "2008 10-K". Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  3. ^ "Company Profile for The Walt Disney Co (DIS)". Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  4. ^ "Why Disney wants DreamWorks". CNN/Money. 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  5. ^ New service is the first of its kind in family entertainment Retrieved December 19, 2008
  6. ^ a b "75 Organizations Asked To Join Showtime Boycott". Catalyst Online. Catholic League. 2001-05-29. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  7. ^ "Disney Boycott Expands". Catalyst. Catholic League. 1996. Retrieved 2008-08-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "Petitions and Boycott Stir Disney". Catalyst Online. Catholic League. 1997. Retrieved 2008-08-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Southern Baptists drop Disney boycott". Gay.com. PlanetOut Inc. 2005-06-22. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  10. ^ "Christian group calls off Disney boycott". Gay.com. PlanetOut Inc. 2005-05-24. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  11. ^ Ostman, Ronald E. (1996). "Disney and Its Conservative Critics: Images versus Realities". Journal of Popular Film and Television. 24 (2): 82.
  12. ^ Smith, Leef (1995-09-01). "Disney's Loin King? Group Sees Dirt in the Dust". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-08-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Pinsky, Mark (2004). The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0664225918. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |unused_data= (help); Text "dateuly 2004" ignored (help)
  14. ^ "Beware of Mickey: Disney's Sweatshop in South China". Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations. 2007-02-10. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  15. ^ Staff writer (2001-06-20). source "Disney's duds are tops in sweatshop labour, Oxfam". CBC.com. Retrieved 2008-08-30. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  16. ^ Drummond, Tammerlin (1998-04-20). "Caution: Live Animals". TIME. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  17. ^ Walton, Marsha (2003-06-30). "'Nemo' fans net fish warning". CNN.com. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
  18. ^ Sullivan-Sealey, K (2005). "Environmental Management Program for Baker's Bay Club. Great Guana Cay, Abaco, Bahamas" (PDF). University of Miami. Retrieved 2008-08-30. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

See also

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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Storming the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, the raiders, and the battle for Disney, John Taylor, 1987, [1], [2]
  • 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
  • Work in Progress by Michael Eisner with Tony Schwartz (Random House, 1998), ISBN 978-0375500718

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