Walt Disney Pictures facts for kids
Print logo since 2006; a variant with simply "Disney" has been in use since 2011
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The Walt Disney Studios' Riverside Drive property in Burbank, California
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Formerly
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Film |
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| Headquarters | 500 South Buena Vista Street,
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U.S.
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products | Motion pictures |
| Parent | Walt Disney Studios |
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company. It is part of Walt Disney Studios, which belongs to The Walt Disney Company. This studio is famous for making live-action movies. These are films with real actors, not just cartoons.
The main office for Walt Disney Pictures is in Burbank, California, at the Walt Disney Studios. Even though it focuses on live-action films, animated movies from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios are also released under its name. Another company, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, helps distribute and market these films around the world.
Disney started making live-action movies in the 1950s. In 1983, the live-action part became its own company, Walt Disney Pictures. This was part of a big change for Disney's film studios. By the end of the 1980s, Walt Disney Pictures became one of Hollywood's biggest film studios.
Today, Walt Disney Pictures is one of five live-action film studios under Walt Disney Studios. The others include 20th Century Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and Searchlight Pictures. The 2019 remake of The Lion King is the studio's highest-earning film worldwide, making $1.6 billion. The Pirates of the Caribbean series is its most successful film series, earning over $4.5 billion from five movies.
Contents
The History of Walt Disney Pictures
How Disney Studios Began
The company that would become Walt Disney Pictures started in 1923. It was called the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. It was founded by filmmaker Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Disney.
The creation of Mickey Mouse brought a lot of money to the studio. In 1926, the studio changed its name to The Walt Disney Studio. Later, in 1929, it became Walt Disney Productions. The studio had great success in the 1930s. This included the release of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. This movie was a huge financial success. With the money from Snow White, Walt moved the studio to a new location in Burbank, California.
In the 1940s, Disney started trying out live-action films. They made movies that mixed live-action with animation. Examples include The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and Song of the South (1946). During this time, the studio also began making nature documentaries. The first was Seal Island (1948). This film won an Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film.
Walt Disney Productions released its first fully live-action film in 1950. It was called Treasure Island. Disney sees this movie as the start of what would become Walt Disney Pictures. By 1953, the company stopped working with other film distributors. They created their own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution.
Growth and Changes: 1980s to 2000s
The live-action part of Walt Disney Productions officially became Walt Disney Pictures on April 1, 1983. This was done to make different kinds of movies and reach more audiences. In 1984, a new label called Touchstone Films was created. This label was for movies with PG-13 and R ratings.
David Hoberman became president of production at Walt Disney Pictures in 1988. In 1994, David Vogel took over as president of Walt Disney Pictures. Later, in 1998, Vogel was put in charge of Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group. This new group oversaw all live-action films from Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, and Hollywood Pictures. This change helped the studio make its film production more organized.
Nina Jacobson became a key executive in 1998. She oversaw the making of many popular films for Walt Disney Pictures. These included Pirates of the Caribbean, The Chronicles of Narnia, National Treasure, and The Princess Diaries. In 2006, Jacobson left the company. In 2007, Disney CEO Bob Iger decided to ban smoking in Walt Disney Pictures films.
Walt Disney Pictures started making movies based on Disney theme park rides. This began with The Country Bears (2002) and The Haunted Mansion (2003). Also in 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was released. This was the first Disney film to get a PG-13 rating. The Pirates of the Caribbean series became very successful. It earned over $5.4 billion worldwide from 2003 to 2017.
Modern Era: 2010s to Today
In 2010, Sean Bailey became the president of live-action production for the studio. Under his leadership, Walt Disney Pictures focused on making "tentpole" films. These are big-budget movies that are expected to be very popular. The studio also simplified its branding to just "Disney" in 2011.
While some big films like John Carter (2012) and The Lone Ranger (2013) did not do well, Disney found success with live-action fantasy movies. These were often based on their classic animated films. Alice in Wonderland (2010) was a huge hit, earning over a billion dollars. The success of Maleficent (2014) and Cinderella (2015) led to many more similar films. These included The Jungle Book (2016) and Beauty and the Beast (2017). In 2015, Disney expanded its ban on smoking to almost all its films.
By 2016, Disney was planning nearly eighteen more of these live-action adaptations. The studio decided to focus mostly on these big tentpole films. Smaller movies were becoming harder to make money from in movie theaters.
In 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced its own streaming service, Disney+. This new service would have original shows and movies from Disney's studios. Walt Disney Pictures started making smaller-budget films again, but this time, they were made just for Disney+. These films usually cost between $20 million and $60 million to make. Disney+ launched in November 2019. Walt Disney Pictures released three films exclusively for the service in its first two months: Lady and the Tramp, Noelle, and Togo.
In 2023, Walt Disney Pictures celebrated its 100th anniversary. This was alongside Walt Disney Animation Studios and The Walt Disney Company. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) was the first official co-production between Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm. In February 2024, David Greenbaum became the new president of Walt Disney Pictures.
The Disney Logo
Before 1983, Disney films usually showed a title card that said "Walt Disney Presents." There was no animated logo.
With Return to Oz in 1985, Walt Disney Pictures introduced its first fantasy castle logo. The version with music first appeared with The Black Cauldron. This logo showed a white outline of Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle against a blue background. The studio's name was written in Walt Disney’s special signature style. The music was "When You Wish Upon a Star".
In 2006, the studio updated its logo with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. This new logo was made completely with computer animation. It showed a 3D Walt Disney logo. The updated logo also included small details from other Disney movies like Pinocchio and Cinderella. The castle in the logo combined parts of both the Cinderella Castle and the Sleeping Beauty Castle. A new version of "When You Wish Upon a Star" was composed for this logo. Starting in 2011, the logo was simplified to just "Disney" instead of "Walt Disney Pictures."
In 2022, a brand new logo was introduced for Disney's 100th anniversary in 2023. This new castle logo has updated computer animation. It also features a new arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star." The magical arc that flies over the castle now goes from left to right. This logo includes new references to movies like Pocahontas, Up, and The Little Mermaid. It also shows the Matterhorn from Disneyland and Pride Rock from The Lion King in the background. The new logo first appeared with the film Strange World. It has been praised by critics and audiences.
Disney's Film Library
The first live-action film from the studio was Treasure Island (1950). Walt Disney Pictures also releases animated films from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. Four films released by the studio have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture: Mary Poppins (1964), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Up (2009), and Toy Story 3 (2010).
Popular Film Series and Franchises
Walt Disney Pictures has created many popular film series over the years. Here are some of them:
| Titles | Release dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Davy Crockett | 1955–1956 | Originally from TV mini-series episodes |
| Old Yeller | 1957–1963 | |
| The Shaggy Dog | 1959–2006 | |
| The Absent-Minded Professor | 1961–1997 | |
| The Parent Trap | 1961–present | |
| The Incredible Journey | 1963–1996 | |
| Mary Poppins | 1964–2018 | |
| Herbie | 1969–2005 | |
| Dexter Riley | 1969–1975 | |
| Witch Mountain | 1975–2009 | |
| The Apple Dumpling Gang | 1975–1982 | |
| Freaky Friday | 1976–2018 | |
| Tron | 1982–present | |
| Honey, I Shrunk the Kids | 1989–present | |
| Turner & Hooch | 1989–present | |
| White Fang | 1991–1994 | |
| The Mighty Ducks | 1992–present | |
| Sister Act | ||
| The Muppets | ||
| Hocus Pocus | 1993–present | |
| The Santa Clause | 1994–present | |
| Inspector Gadget | 1999–2003 | |
| The Princess Diaries | 2001–2004 | |
| Pirates of the Caribbean | 2003–present | |
| Haunted Mansion | ||
| National Treasure | 2004–present | |
| The Chronicles of Narnia | 2005–2008 | Third film by 20th Century Studios |
| Enchanted | 2007–2022 | |
| Beverly Hills Chihuahua | 2008–2012 | |
| The Last Warrior | 2017–present | |
| Stargirl | 2020–2022 | |
| Jungle Cruise | 2021–present | |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Animated reboot films | |
| Ice Age | 2022 | Animated films |
| Cheaper by the Dozen | ||
| Night at the Museum | ||
| Indiana Jones | 2023 |
Top-Earning Films
Walt Disney Pictures has released many successful films. Five of its live-action films have earned over $1 billion worldwide. These include Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), Beauty and the Beast (2017), and Aladdin (2019).
The studio has also released eight animated films that reached the $1 billion mark. These are Toy Story 3 (2010), Frozen (2013), Zootopia (2016), Finding Dory (2016), Incredibles 2 (2018), The Lion King (2019), Toy Story 4 (2019), and Frozen II (2019).
| Rank | Title | Year | Box office gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Incredibles 2 | 2018 | $608,581,744 |
| 2 | The Lion King | 2019 | $543,638,043 |
| 3 | Beauty and the Beast | 2017 | $504,014,165 |
| 4 | Finding Dory | 2016 | $486,131,416 |
| 5 | Frozen II | 2019 | $477,373,578 |
| 6 | Toy Story 3 | 2010 | $434,038,008 |
| 7 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | 2006 | $423,315,812 |
| 8 | The Lion King‡ | 1994 | $422,783,777 |
| 9 | Toy Story 4 | 2019 | $415,004,880 |
| 10 | Frozen | 2013 | $400,738,009 |
| 11 | Finding Nemo‡ | 2003 | $380,843,261 |
| 12 | The Jungle Book | 2016 | $364,001,123 |
| 13 | Aladdin | 2019 | $356,258,912 |
| 14 | Inside Out | 2015 | $356,002,827 |
| 15 | Zootopia | 2016 | $342,268,248 |
| 16 | Alice in Wonderland | 2010 | $334,191,110 |
| 17 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | 2007 | $309,420,425 |
| 18 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | 2003 | $305,413,918 |
| 19 | The Little Mermaid | 2023 | $296,908,134 |
| 20 | Up | 2009 | $293,004,164 |
| 21 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 2005 | $291,710,957 |
| 22 | Monsters, Inc.‡ | 2001 | $289,916,256 |
| 23 | Toy Story 2‡ | 1999 | $276,554,625 |
| 24 | Monsters University | 2013 | $268,492,764 |
| 25 | The Incredibles | 2004 | $261,441,092 |
| Rank | Title | Year | Box office gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lion King | 2019 | $1,657,598,092 |
| 2 | Frozen II | $1,450,026,933 | |
| 3 | Frozen | 2013 | $1,280,802,282 |
| 4 | Beauty and the Beast | 2017 | $1,264,521,126 |
| 5 | Incredibles 2 | 2018 | $1,243,805,359 |
| 6 | Toy Story 4 | 2019 | $1,073,394,593 |
| 7 | Toy Story 3 | 2010 | $1,067,171,911 |
| 8 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | 2006 | $1,066,179,725 |
| 9 | Aladdin | 2019 | $1,051,693,953 |
| 10 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | 2011 | $1,045,713,802 |
| 11 | Finding Dory | 2016 | $1,029,473,532 |
| 12 | Alice in Wonderland | 2010 | $1,025,467,110 |
| 13 | Zootopia | 2016 | $1,024,641,447 |
| 14 | The Lion King‡ | 1994 | $968,554,386 |
| 15 | The Jungle Book | 2016 | $966,550,600 |
| 16 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | 2007 | $963,420,425 |
| 17 | Finding Nemo‡ | 2003 | $940,335,536 |
| 18 | Inside Out | 2015 | $857,675,046 |
| 19 | Coco | 2017 | $807,139,032 |
| 20 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales | $794,826,541 | |
| 21 | Maleficent | 2014 | $758,410,378 |
| 22 | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 2005 | $745,013,115 |
| 23 | Monsters University | 2013 | $744,229,437 |
| 24 | Up | 2009 | $735,099,082 |
| 25 | Big Hero 6 | 2014 | $657,827,828 |
‡—Includes theatrical reissue(s).
See also
In Spanish: Walt Disney Pictures para niños
- Walt Disney Studios (division)
- Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
- Walt Disney Television (production company)
