Disney Television Animation facts for kids
Logo used since 2013
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Disney Television Animation's headquarters in Glendale, California.
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Trade name
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Disney Channel Animation |
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Formerly
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| Founded | December 5, 1984 |
| Founder | Gary Krisel |
| Headquarters | 811 Sonora Avenue, Glendale, California, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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3 |
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Key people
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Meredith Roberts (SVP, GM) |
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| Parent | Disney Branded Television |
Disney Television Animation (often called DTVA) is an American animation studio. It creates animated TV shows, movies, and specials for Disney's TV channels like Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, and the Disney+ streaming service. The studio started in 1984, founded by Gary Krisel. It was created when The Walt Disney Company wanted to make more animated shows for television.
Contents
History
Disney's Early TV Adventures
The Walt Disney Company first started making TV shows way back in 1950. They began with Christmas specials like One Hour in Wonderland. Later, they created popular shows such as The Wonderful World of Disney (which ran for many years) and The Mickey Mouse Club. They even made an adventure series called Zorro.
However, for a long time, Disney didn't make its own original animated TV series. Walt Disney himself thought it would be too expensive. Most of the animation on their early TV shows was just short clips that connected existing cartoon shorts from their movies.
Starting the Animation Studio (1984–1990)
In 1984, a new CEO named Michael Eisner joined Walt Disney Productions. He wanted Disney to grow into new areas, including making original animated TV shows. This led to the creation of the television animation division. The idea was to create shows that could be shown on different networks, on the Disney Channel, and through syndication (where shows are sold to many different TV stations).
The new department, Walt Disney Television Animation, started in November 1984. Gary Krisel became its president. At first, they weren't allowed to use Disney's most famous characters like Mickey Mouse. This was a bit risky because animated TV shows were often made on a low budget back then. But Disney decided to invest more money to make high-quality animation. This paid off, and their shows became very popular and profitable.
The first shows from the studio aired in 1985. These included Adventures of the Gummi Bears, which was inspired by the candy, and The Wuzzles, about talking animals.
In 1987, Disney launched DuckTales, which became a huge hit. Even though they couldn't use the main Disney characters, they were allowed to use characters like Scrooge McDuck and Huey, Dewey and Louie. The show was so successful that it led to a movie, DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, and spin-off shows like Darkwing Duck.
The Disney Afternoon and Beyond (1990–2003)
The Disney Afternoon Block
The success of DuckTales led to more high-quality animated shows. These included The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988) and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (1989).
In 1990, Disney created The Disney Afternoon. This was a special two-hour block of cartoon shows that aired every weekday afternoon. DuckTales was one of the main shows in this block. It became a very popular way for kids to watch their favorite Disney cartoons.
Disney also opened animation studios in other countries, like Australia (1988), France (1989), and Japan (1989). These studios helped produce many of the animated TV series. Later, they also started making direct-to-video movies.
Disney Shows on ABC and UPN
In 1997, Disney changed its TV strategy. Many shows from The Disney Afternoon moved to Disney Channel. Disney's ABC network also launched a new Saturday morning block called Disney's One Saturday Morning. This block featured many new shows like 101 Dalmatians, Recess, and Pepper Ann.
In 1998, Disney also made a deal with the UPN network to create a children's block called Disney's One Too. This block showed many of the same cartoons as One Saturday Morning.
In 2002, One Saturday Morning was renamed ABC Kids. However, by 2003, Disney stopped the One Too block on UPN. Many of the new episodes of shows from these blocks started airing on Toon Disney, another Disney channel.
Joining Disney Channel (2003–2017)
In 2003, Disney reorganized its animation studios. The television animation unit moved to Disney Channels Worldwide. This meant that Disney Television Animation would now focus on creating shows specifically for Disney Channel. Kim Possible was one of the first cartoons produced for the Disney Channel under this new setup.
In 2004, Disney Television Animation worked with Jetix Europe to create shows for Jetix channels around the world. These shows included Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! and Yin Yang Yo!.
Throughout the 2000s, Disney continued to make many new animated shows for Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney (which later became Disney Junior). Some popular shows from this time were Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and The Emperor's New School. Disney also started using newer animation techniques, like Adobe Flash, to help save costs and try new styles. The Buzz on Maggie was one of the first Disney shows to use Flash animation.
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The success of Kim Possible showed that Disney Channel cartoons could be very popular. This led to the creation of Phineas and Ferb, which became one of Disney's longest-running animated series.
In 2009, Toon Disney and Jetix were rebranded as Disney XD. This channel focused on action and comedy shows for older kids. In 2011, the animation studio was officially renamed simply Disney Television Animation. Playhouse Disney also became Disney Junior in 2011, focusing on shows for younger children.
Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil was the first original animated show for Disney XD. Other shows for Disney XD included Motorcity and Gravity Falls. By 2014, many animated shows, like Gravity Falls and Wander Over Yonder, moved to Disney XD. However, Mickey Mouse cartoons stayed on Disney Channel.
Animation Boom and New Shows (2017–Present)
In 2016, Disney XD ordered Big City Greens. Disney also announced a reboot of DuckTales in 2015, which was the studio's first reboot of a classic show.
Since 2017, the studio has worked with Walt Disney Imagineering to create character designs and animation for attractions at Disney theme parks and on the Disney Cruise Line. These include Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway and DuckTales: World Showcase Adventure.
Starting in 2018, some of the studio's animated shows were even turned into live-action movies. This included a Kim Possible movie and a Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers movie for Disney+.
In 2019, the studio started making short animated videos called "interstitials" for Disney Junior and Disney Channel. These shorts featured characters from their shows, like Mickey Mornings and Chibi Tiny Tales. They also began making shorts based on Disney movies and park rides.
New shows like Amphibia and The Owl House were greenlit in 2018, marking a return to more original animated series for Disney Channel. Big City Greens also moved to Disney Channel.
In 2019, Meredith Roberts became the new head of Disney Television Animation. The studio also started working on shows for the Disney+ streaming service, such as Monsters At Work (a spin-off of Monsters, Inc.) and Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe.
In 2020, they announced The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, a sequel to the original The Proud Family series for Disney+. They also debuted The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, a new series of shorts featuring Mickey Mouse.
Recently, the studio has ordered many new original series for Disney Channel and Disney Junior, including Kiff, Hailey's On It!, and Firebuds. They are also working on animated movies like Big City Greens The Movie: Spacecation.
In 2023, the studio announced that Phineas And Ferb would be getting two brand new seasons for Disney Channel and Disney+. They also debuted their first stop-motion projects, including the Christmas special "Mickey Saves Christmas" and "Mickey And Friends Trick Or Treats". In August 2023, they announced a reboot of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for preschoolers.
Filmography
See also
In Spanish: Disney Television Animation para niños
- Disney General Entertainment Content, the larger group Disney Television Animation is part of.
- Disneytoon Studios, another Disney animation studio.
- Jetix Animation Concepts, a former partnership for animated shows.
- 20th Television Animation
