Disney was originally called the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio

Biggest moments that defined Disney

Walt Disney’s first studio went bankrupt, but he and his brother Roy started over in 1923, eventually building an entertainment empire. From "Snow White" to "The Little Mermaid," Disney shaped animation and expanded into TV, theme parks, and major acquisitions like Pixar and Marvel.

Walt Disney’s Laugh-O-Gram Studio featured his earliest innovations in animation

Before he founded his iconic film company, Walt Disney was a young animator in Kansas City, Missouri. After scoring a contract to create animated newsreels for local movie theaters, Disney formed Laugh-O-Gram Studio, where he created innovative animated shorts that set the path for his later work.

Watch Walt Disney's early innovative film, 'Alice's Wonderland'

This 1923 short, "Alice's Wonderland," was the first volume in what would come to be known as the "Alice Comedies." It features a young girl who ventures into Disney's animated world—a technique that might seem quaint now but was groundbreaking in the silent film era.

The Walt Disney Co. has existed for over 100 years

October 16, 2023, marked the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Co. In that time, it has evolved from a modest animation studio called the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio to a massive, billion-dollar conglomerate.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

Walt Disney's 1957 corporate strategy document

From TV to music to amusement parks, Disney is widely regarded as one of the most successful American companies of all time. That's partly because Walt Disney was carefully building a corporate strategy from day one that accounted for the company's publications, merchandise licensing, comic strips, and more. See his 1957 corporate strategy document for yourself (spoiler alert, it's covered in Mickey Mouse illustrations).

'Steamboat Willie' was the first film to feature Mickey Mouse

This short film introduced Mickey Mouse, the character who would define the Disney brand, to the world. It might be almost 100 years old, but you'll be surprised at how much humor still holds up.

The original Mickey Mouse's copyright has expired, but Disney still owns the trademark

In 2024, "Steamboat Willie"—the 1928 Walt Disney animation with the first depiction of Mickey Mouse—entered the public domain. While anyone is free to build on the original characters and storyline of "Steamboat Willie," Disney still owns the trademark for Mickey Mouse, so any branding with the character's depiction that appears to be from Disney is off-limits.

Disney World was originally known as the 'Florida Project'

Between 1964 and 1965, Disney quietly bought over 27,000 acres under fake names to keep prices low. But when the Orlando Sentinel exposed the scheme, Disney had to go public—forever changing Florida’s tourism industry.

Disney chipped away at its debt by creating propaganda during World War II

Disney began producing training videos for the Navy and propaganda films for US involvement in World War II, including the shorts "Der Fuehrer's Face," "The Spirit of '43," and "Donald Gets Drafted." The effort provided a much-needed cash injection, allowing Disney to continue producing films.

Disney animators went on strike in 1941, protesting unpaid overtime

Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was a notoriously messy production—exceeding the budget by 400 hours—though it was also a massive success, grossing $75M and establishing Disney as a major Hollywood player. Disney’s animators, though, alleged they weren’t compensated for their overtime.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

Disneyland opened in 1955

Walt Disney teased the amusement park a year in advance through his ABC show, "Walt Disney's Disneyland." This episode was from the park's opening day, an event that necessitated a news-like live broadcast and walked viewers through the park's attractions and amenities. One in three Americans watched the broadcast, despite its numerous technical difficulties.

Watch Dalí's surreal collaboration with Disney

Production for "Destino," a surreal short by Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney, began in 1945 but stalled when the Walt Disney Company ran into financial trouble due to the commercial failure of "Fantasia" and the economic downturn of World War II. It was finally released in 2003, after Disney animators completed it based on Dalí's original storyboards.

Walt Disney's visit to a Ford factory helped inspire the layout for Disneyland

Walt Disney visited Henry Ford's Greenfield Village and the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge manufacturing plant on a trip to the 1948 Chicago Railroad Fair. The layout of Greenfield Village inspired the different, distinctly themed sections of Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

Disney fans categorize the company's films into specific eras

Superfans break the company's animated films into chronological eras: the Golden Age, the Transitional Era, the Disney Renaissance, the Modern Era, and the Revival Era.

Disneyland's drinkers once had their own unofficial mascot

Disney has countless subcultures and unofficial fan clubs, including D3, also known as the Disney Day Drinkers. Founded in 2021, the club began informally meeting near a trashcan, nicknamed Binny, in Disney World’s Epcot park … until it mysteriously disappeared in 2023.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

'Tin Toy,' the predecessor to 'Toy Story,' was the first fully computer-generated film to win an Academy Award

Before it was acquired by Disney, Pixar was a small studio exploring the possibilities of computer animation. "Tin Toy," a 1988 short film that would inspire 1995's "Toy Story," was one of its most successful experiments, earning Pixar's first Academy Award for best animated short film and becoming the first fully computer-generated film to win an Oscar. Although you won't find Woody or Buzz, it's fascinating to observe the seeds for what would come later.

Why cartoons only have four fingers

Ever notice cartoon characters only have four fingers? There’s a surprising reason why and it goes back to the first Mickey Mouse cartoons. From saving money to cultural taboos, here’s why animators draw hands this way.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

‘Mario Bros.’ was a 'Donkey Kong' spin-off

“Donkey Kong” was a big success, spawning a sequel and a Mario spinoff: 1983’s “Mario Bros.,” starring Mario and his brother Luigi. Realizing his hero didn’t resemble a classic carpenter, Miyamoto turned Mario into a plumber and set the brothers loose in a sewer system that resembled the platform-climbing gameplay of “Donkey Kong.” Watch the gameplay below.

The Dow Jones & Company began as a small news service in 1882

Founded in 1882 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser, Dow Jones & Company started with hand-delivered market bulletins. Today it’s a global financial news giant, best known for publishing The Wall Street Journal.

The head of MGM Studios created the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to combat unionization efforts

The organization, which votes for the Academy Awards, was founded in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM Studios, to stifle labor disputes and maintain the public image of the film industry. "I found that the best way to handle them was to hang medals all over them,” Mayer said, according to Scott Eyman's biography of the studio head.

Imagining if Disney films about animals were scientifically accurate

Then when Scar took over from Mufasa, he would have likely killed all of the existing cubs in the pride, including Nala. Or when Nemo's mom died, his dad would technically have become a female.

The Wright brothers began as bicycle manufacturers in Dayton, Ohio

In the late 1800s, the duo managed several bike shops in the Dayton, Ohio area, where they would sharpen their teeth in engineering and design. Some of their earliest aviation efforts were funded by their bicycle business and initiated in their bike shops.

The term ‘McCarthyism’ was coined by a political cartoonist

In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy infamously proclaimed that he had a list of communist State Department employees. The next month, cartoonist Herbert Block published a cartoon in the Washington Post featuring a reluctant elephant (the mascot of the Republican Party) being pushed to stand on a wobbly tower labeled “McCarthyism.”

Don Herbert, better known as 'Mr. Wizard,' was the predecessor to the 'Science Guy'

From 1951 to 1965, the former B-24 bomber pilot performed science experiments that home audiences could replicate on "Watch Mr. Wizard," inspiring about 50,000 Mr. Wizard Science Clubs throughout North America. Subsequent series, including "Mr. Wizard’s World" and "Teacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard," ran on Nickelodeon until 1996.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.