here . for other uses see disney disambiguation . the walt disney company the walt disney studios corporate headquarters . type public traded as nyse dis dow jones industrial average component s & p 500 component industry mass media entertainment predecessors laugh o gram studio founded october 16 1923 ; 93 years ago 1923 10 16 los angeles california united states 1 founders walt disney roy o. disney headquarters 500 south buena vista street burbank california united states area served worldwide key people robert a. iger chairman and ceo products cable television publishing films music video games theme parks broadcasting radio web portals services licensing revenue us 52.46 billion 2015 2 operating income us 14.68 billion 2015 2 net income us 8.38 billion 2015 2 total assets us 88.18 billion 2015 2 total equity us 48.65 billion 2015 2 number of employees 180 000 2014 3 divisions divisions walt disney studios disney media networks walt disney parks and resorts disney consumer products and interactive media subsidiaries subsidiaries walt disney studios walt disney animation studios disney theatrical productions the walt disney company india pixar animation studios marvel entertainment marvel studios lucasfilm the muppets studio disney abc television group espn inc. 80 % a e networks 50 % radio disney hulu 32 % utv software communications maker studios website thewaltdisneycompany.com the walt disney company commonly known as disney is an american diversified 2 1 multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the walt disney studios in burbank california . it is the world s second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue after comcast . 4 disney was founded on october 16 1923 by brothers walt disney and roy o. disney as the disney brothers cartoon studio and established itself as a leader in the american animation industry before diversifying into live action film production television and theme parks . the company also operated under the names the walt disney studio then walt disney productions . taking on its current name in 1986 it expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theater radio music publishing and online media . in addition disney has since created corporate divisions in order to market more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family oriented brands . the company is best known for the products of its film studio walt disney studios which is today one of the largest and best known studios in american cinema . disney s other three main divisions are walt disney parks and resorts disney media networks and disney consumer products and interactive media . 5 disney also owns and operates the abc broadcast television network ; cable television networks such as disney channel espn a e networks and freeform ; publishing merchandising music and theatre divisions ; and owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world . the company has been a component of the dow jones industrial average since may 6 1991 . mickey mouse an early and well known cartoon creation of the company is a primary symbol and mascot for disney . contents 1 corporate history 1.1 1923 28 the silent era 1.2 1928 34 mickey mouse and silly symphonies 1.3 1934 45 snow white and the seven dwarfs and world war ii 1.4 1946 54 post war and television 1.5 1955 65 disneyland 1.6 1966 71 the deaths of walt and roy disney and the opening of walt disney world 1.7 1972 84 theatrical malaise and new leadership 1.8 1984 2005 the eisner era and the save disney campaign 1.9 2005 present the iger era 2 company divisions and subsidiaries 2.1 disney media networks 3 executive management 3.1 presidents 3.2 chief executive officers 3.3 chairmen of the board 3.4 vice chairman of the board 3.5 chief operating officers 4 financial data 4.1 revenues 4.2 net income 5 criticism 6 see also 7 footnotes 8 references 8.1 chronology of the walt disney company 9 further reading 10 external links corporate history see also timeline of the walt disney company the building in the los angeles neighborhood of los feliz which was home to the studio from 1923 to 1926 6 1923 28 the silent era in early 1923 kansas city missouri animator walt disney created a short film entitled alice s wonderland which featured child actress virginia davis interacting with animated characters . after the bankruptcy in 1923 of his previous firm laugh o gram studios chwdc 1 disney moved to hollywood to join his brother roy o. disney . film distributor margaret j. winkler of m.j. winkler productions contacted disney with plans to distribute a whole series of alice comedies purchased for 1 500 per reel with disney as a production partner . walt and roy disney formed disney brothers cartoon studio that same year . more animated films followed after alice . 7 in january 1926 with the completion of the disney studio on hyperion street the disney brothers studio s name was changed to the walt disney studio . chwdc 2 after the demise of the alice comedies disney developed an all cartoon series starring his first original character oswald the lucky rabbit 7 which was distributed by winkler pictures through universal pictures . chwdc 2 the distributor owned oswald so disney only made a few hundred dollars . 7 disney completed 26 oswald shorts before losing the contract in february 1928 due to a legal loophole when winkler s husband charles mintz took over their distribution company . after failing to take over the disney studio mintz hired away four of disney s primary animators the exception being ub iwerks to start his own animation studio snappy comedies . chwdc 3 1928 34 mickey mouse and silly symphonies original poster for flowers and trees 1932 . in 1928 to recover from the loss of oswald the lucky rabbit disney came up with the idea of a mouse character named mortimer while on a train headed to california drawing up a few simple drawings . the mouse was later renamed mickey mouse disney s wife lillian disliked the sound of mortimer mouse and starred in several disney produced films . ub iwerks refined disney s initial design of mickey mouse . 7 disney s first sound film steamboat willie a cartoon starring mickey was released on november 18 1928 chwdc 3 through pat powers distribution company . 7 it was the first mickey mouse sound cartoon released but the third to be created behind plane crazy and the gallopin gaucho . chwdc 3 steamboat willie was an immediate smash hit and its initial success was attributed not just to mickey s appeal as a character but to the fact that it was the first cartoon to feature synchronized sound . 7 disney used pat powers cinephone system created by powers using lee de forest s phonofilm system . chwdc 3 steamboat willie premiered at b. s. moss s colony theater in new york city now the broadway theatre . 8 disney s plane crazy and the galloping gaucho were then retrofitted with synchronized sound tracks and re released successfully in 1929 . chwdc 3 disney continued to produce cartoons with mickey mouse and other characters 7 and began the silly symphonies series with columbia pictures signing on as symphonies distributor in august 1929 . in september 1929 theater manager harry woodin requested permission to start a mickey mouse club which walt approved . in november test comics strips were sent to king features who requested additional samples to show to the publisher william randolph hearst . on december 16 the walt disney studios partnership was reorganized as a corporation with the name of walt disney productions limited with a merchandising division walt disney enterprises and two subsidiaries disney film recording company limited and liled realty and investment company for real estate holdings . walt and his wife held 60 % 6 000 shares and roy owned 40 % of wd productions . on december 30 king features signed its first newspaper new york mirror to publish the mickey mouse comic strip with walt s permission . chwdc 4 in 1932 disney signed an exclusive contract with technicolor through the end of 1935 to produce cartoons in color beginning with flowers and trees 1932 . disney released cartoons through powers celebrity pictures 1928 1930 columbia pictures 1930 1932 and united artists 1932 1937 . 9 the popularity of the mickey mouse series allowed disney to plan for his first feature length animation . 7 the feature film walt before mickey based on the book by diane disney miller featured these moments in the studio s history . 10 1934 45 snow white and the seven dwarfs and world war ii deciding to push the boundaries of animation even further disney began production of his first feature length animated film in 1934 . taking three years to complete snow white and the seven dwarfs premiered in december 1937 and became highest grossing film of that time by 1939 . 11 snow white was released through rko radio pictures which had assumed distribution of disney s product in july 1937 chwdc 5 after united artists attempted to attain future television rights to the disney shorts . 12 using the profits from snow white disney financed the construction of a new 51 acre 210 000 m2 studio complex in burbank california . the new walt disney studios in which the company is headquartered to this day was completed and open for business by the end of 1939 . chwdc 6 the following year on april 2 walt disney productions had its initial public offering . chwdc 7 the studio continued releasing animated shorts and features such as pinocchio 1940 fantasia 1940 dumbo 1941 and bambi 1942 . 7 after world war ii began box office profits declined . when the united states entered the war after the attack on pearl harbor many of disney s animators were drafted into the armed forces . the u.s. and canadian governments commissioned the studio to produce training and propaganda films . by 1942 90 % of its 550 employees were working on war related films . 13 films such as the feature victory through air power and the short education for death both 1943 were meant to increase public support for the war effort . even the studio s characters joined the effort as donald duck appeared in a number of comical propaganda shorts including the academy award winning der fuehrer s face 1943 . 1946 54 post war and television the original animation building at the walt disney studios . with limited staff and little operating capital during and after the war disney s feature films during much of the 1940s were package films or collections of shorts such as the three caballeros 1944 and melody time 1948 which performed poorly at the box office . at the same time the studio began producing live action films and documentaries . song of the south 1946 and so dear to my heart 1948 featured animated segments while the true life adventures series which included such films as seal island 1948 and the vanishing prairie 1954 were also popular . eight of the films in the series won academy awards . 14 the release of cinderella in 1950 proved that feature length animation could still succeed in the marketplace . other releases of the period included alice in wonderland 1951 and peter pan 1953 both in production before the war began and disney s first all live action feature treasure island 1950 . other early all live action disney films included the story of robin hood and his merrie men 1952 the sword and the rose 1953 and 20 000 leagues under the sea 1954 . disney ended its distribution contract with rko in 1953 forming its own distribution arm buena vista distribution . 15 in december 1950 walt disney productions and the coca cola company teamed up for disney s first venture into television