HELLO WORLD. A visitor wearing emblematic Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears in front of the Sleeping Beautyinspired castle in Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris, France. Pictures: AFPCompany celebrated its 100th anniversary this month, marking the occasion with the release of a short film featuring more than 500 characters from 85 films.
Disney’s first colour feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released in 1937 and awarded an honorary Oscar the following year. The company issues its first shares in 1940 and employs over 1 000 people at its studios in Burbank, California. Walt Disney dies in 1966 at the age of 65. He still holds the record for the most Oscars won during a lifetime, having been honoured 22 times. “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse,” he said.THE ICON. A Mickey Mouse statue atop illuminated signage at the entrance of Disneyland Paris, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris.
It then buys Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion and Lucasfilm and Star Wars in 2012 for $4.05 billion. International box office sales for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was released for the franchise’s 40th anniversary in 2017, exceeded $1.3 billion.To compete with streaming giant Netflix, the group launches Disney+ in 2019, an on-demand service offering films and series from Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox.