Disney Timeline

Timeline - The Disney Empire

Instructions: click on each period to learn more and correct your own timeline

Part 2

Part 6

A time of crisis

Pixar and the end of traditional animation

The Post War period and the creation of Disneyland

Part 4

Part 1

The new Golden Age

The Golden Age

Part 3

Part 5

Walt Disney and the birth of Mickey Mouse

Part 1 : Walt Disney and the Birth of Mickey Mouse

1901

1932

1923

Birth of Walt Disney in an Irish-German family.

Walt and his brother Roy create DISNEY BROTHERS STUDIOS. Mascot: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

"Flowers and Trees" is very popular. It's from the SILLY SYMPHONIES series

1921

1928

Walt Disney leaves Universal Studios and must create a new mascot >>> BIRTH OF MICKEY MOUSE in "Steamboat Willie"

Walt Disney started an animation company called "Laugh O Gram" >>> bankrupt (= faire faillite)

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Part 2: The Golden Age

1934

1937-1942

Walt Disney starts working on the 1st feature length animated film : Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Walt exploits the success of his first long film to create others : Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942)

1937

1942

The USA join World War II (WWII) and most animators are enrolled in the war. This freezes all their projects for a time (mostly Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a huge success, so Walt decides to create WALT DISNEY STUDIOS in California.

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Part 3 : The Post War period and the creation of Disneyland

Mid 1950s

Post WWII

Disney went back to work with two different types of project :

Walt Disney builds his first amusement park : DISNEYLAND.

Creating its first "live action" film >>> Treasure Island

Resurrecting animated films

Early 1950s

Coca Cola helps Walt Disney create a series called DISNEYLAND (which will inspire the name of the park)

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Part 4: A Time of Crisis

1966

The 1980s

Walt Disney passed away, at the age of 65 years old, leaving behind a striving industry. This event marked the start of a difficult period for the studio.

The Studios changed their style, releasing more male-oriented and darker movies, trying to reach a different audience. However, it didn't really have the expected result.

The 1970s

These years were marked by a contrast: on the one hand, the period was very rich creatively (notably with the release of Robin Hood (1973), but quite difficult economically, with a lower success than before.

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Part 5: The New Golden Age

1991

1986

"Beauty and the Beast" is released and is welcomed as a success. It becomes the first Disney movie to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Movie.

Jeffrey Katzenberg is appointed as the new chairman of the Studios: he insisted on bringing more edge (= suspense, intensité) to the movies.

1994

1989

"The Lion King" is released, and becomes a huge success, receiving numerous awards. It includes the participation of major artists such as Hans Zimmer or Elton John.

"The Little Mermaid" is released: it is the first movie supervised by Jeffrey Katzenberg, and is emblematic of this new golden age.

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Part 6: Pixar and the End of Traditional Animation

1995

2000-2010s

Pixar releases its 1st feature film, "Toy Story". It is the first major computer-based animated movie, and it marked the beginning of a new era for Disney.

This decade is marked by a renewed success for the franchise, and the rise of computer animation, with major movies such as Tangled (2010) or Frozen (2013)

2003

2009

Disney acquires the Marvel Production Studios, starting another era of movie-making marked by more ambitious live-action projects.

The first "Pirates of the Caribbean" is released, becoming one of the first major Disney blockbusters.

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