Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products. Founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as an animation studio, it has become one of the biggest Hollywood studios, and owner and licensor of eleven theme parks anTd 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

Initially started as a producer of short-subject motion pictures, The Walt Disney Company has since diversified into a number of entertainment mediums, including radio, television, publishing and travel. These ventures include:

On August 31, 2009, Disney announced plans to acquire the assets of comic book publisher Marvel Entertainment, in a deal estimated to cost $4 billion. In announcing its plans, Disney stated that current management at Marvel would remain in place to oversee its operations.Further, Disney did not plan to change Marvel to fit the current Disney brand. The boards of both companies have approved the merger plan, which must still pass an antitrust review and be approved by the companies' stockholders.

Criticism, controversies and 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). 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 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.
  • The company has been accused of human rights violations regarding the working conditions in factories that produce their merchandise. 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, 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.
  • 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.

Sexual innuendo and subliminal messages

Disney has been accused of having sexual innuendo or references hidden in some of their animated movies, including The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Disney's 1999 original releases of The Rescuers.

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. 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.

In Aladdin, protests were raised regarding the scene when Aladdin is attacked by the tiger Rajah on the palace balcony. Aladdin quietly says "Come on... good kitty, take off and go..." and the word "kitty" is overlapped by another, unidentifiable sound, possibly Rajah's snarl. Some people reported hearing "Good teenagers, take off your clothes," which they considered a subliminal reference to promiscuity. Because of the controversy, Disney replaced the phrase with "Down, kitty" on the DVD release.

In "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" a scene drew attention to viewers when Jessica Rabbit revealed what was under her dress in which nothing was drawn. This scene wasn't noticed until 1994 during the film's laserdisk release. This caught the attention of the media when news such as CNN that made news articles about the scene.

In The Little Mermaid, it was alleged that a clergyman is seen with an erection during a wedding scene, specifically the scene in which a brainwashed Prince Eric is about to marry a disguised Sea Witch. The clergyman is a short man, dressed in Bishop's clothing, and a small bulge is slightly noticeable in a few of the frames that are actually later shown to be the stubby-legged man's knees, but the image is small and is very difficult to distinguish. The combined incidents led an Arkansas woman to file suit against The Walt Disney Company in 1995, though she dropped the suit two months later.

Disney's 1999 original releases of The Rescuers were recalled due to the discovery of two photographs of a nude woman in the background of two frames of the movie. Those sexual innuendo had been removed in later editions.
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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney




Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois, to his father Elias Disney, and mother Flora Call Disney. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.

After Walt's birth, the Disney family moved to Marceline Missouri, Walt lived most of his childhood here.

Walt had very early interests in art, he would often sell drawings to neighbors to make extra money. He pursued his art career, by studying art and photography by going to McKinley High School in Chicago.

Walt began to love, and appreciate nature and wildlife, and family and community, which were a large part of agrarian living. Though his father could be quite stern, and often there was little money, Walt was encouraged by his mother, and older brother, Roy to pursue his talents.

During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was under age, only sixteen years old at the time. Instead, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas to France, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials. His ambulance was covered from stem to stern, not with stock camouflage, but with Disney cartoons.

Once Walt returned from France, he began to pursue a career in commercial art. He started a small company called Laugh-O-Grams, which eventually fell bankrupt. With his suitcase, and twenty dollars, Walt headed to Hollywood to start anew.

After making a success of his "Alice Comedies," Walt became a recognized Hollywood figure. On July 13, 1925, Walt married one of his first employees, Lillian Bounds, in Lewiston, Idaho. Later on they would be blessed with two daughters, Diane and Sharon .

In 1932, the production entitled Flowers and Trees(the first color cartoon) won Walt the first of his studio's Academy Awards. In 1937, he released The Old Mill, the first short subject to utilize the multi-plane camera technique.

On December 21, 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated musical feature, premiered at the Carthay Theater in Los Angeles. The film produced at the unheard cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Depression, the film is still considered one of the great feats and imperishable monuments of the motion picture industry. During the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed other full-length animated classics such as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi.

Walt Disney's dream of a clean, and organized amusement park, came true, as Disneyland Park opened in 1955. Walt also became a television pioneer, Disney began television production in 1954, and was among the first to present full-color programming with his Wonderful World of Color in 1961.

Walt Disney is a legend; a folk hero of the 20th century. His worldwide popularity was based upon the ideals which his name represents: imagination, optimism, creation, and self-made success in the American tradition. He brought us closer to the future, while telling us of the past, it is certain, that there will never be such as great a man, as Walt Disney.

Disney died of lung cancer on December 15, 1966, a few years prior to the opening of his Walt Disney World Resort dream project in Florida.

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