Disney Movies

The Beginning of Disney Movies

Walt Disney and his partner, Ub Iwerks, released the first cartoon with synchronised sound in 1928. Steamboat Willie featured a whistling mouse who would become an icon and a legend ... and Walt Disney Studios was born. Over the next decade, Disney produced shorts, many of which endure today, especially the "Silly Symphonies." These shorts were produced from 1929 to 1939 and featured classical musical compositions illustrated by cartoon stories or scenes. The "Silly Symphonies" included Flowers and Trees (1932), which was the first color cartoon and the first cartoon to win an Oscar.

The First Feature-Length Cartoon

When Walt Disney announced in 1934 that he was going to begin work on a full-length animated feature, people laughed. They called it Disney's Folly. But in 1937, Disney got the last laugh when Snow White and the Seven Dwarves received one major Oscar and seven special, minor Academy Awards. And Disney's work continued to garner Academy Awards; when he died in 1966, Walt Disney held the Guinness World Record for the most Oscars awarded to one person -- 31 -- and that record has not yet been broken.

Disney Movies Branching Out

The studios focused on animation work throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1950s, however, Disney decided to expand the scope of the work his company was doing, and he began work on live-action films and direct-to-television programming. Disney Studios was the first company to make direct-to-television programming, which began in 1954.

Disney's Philosophy

While there is usually a lesson to be learned from the classic Disney movies, Walt Disney's goal was not to teach. He once said, "I would rather entertain and hope that people learn, than teach and hope that people were entertained." Perhaps this explains the success of Disney's early films: the lesson is there, but it's clear that the story-telling is the primary focus of the animators' efforts.

Disney's Music

Nearly every Disney animated feature has at least one song that moviegoers continue to sing long after the movie is over. The genius of the Disney composers and lyricists is undisputed. In the early years, for films like Snow White, there were Larry Morey and Frank Churchill, who created both the haunting "Some Day My Prince Will Come" and the uplifting "Whistle While You Work." Other notables in the early years include Carl Stalling, Sammy Cahn, Peggy Lee, Sonny Burke, George Bruns, Mel Leven, Leigh Harline, Ned Washington, Ray Gilbert, Roger Miller, Jerry Livingston, Al Hoffman, and Mack David.

It was in 1961, however, when the Sherman brothers joined Disney's staff, and their name became synonymous with Disney's music. Richard and Robert Sherman wrote for such movies as The Parent Trap, Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, The Jungle Book, The Happiest Millionaire, and The Aristocats.

Troubled Times

Throughout Disney's life, the studios released one full-length animated feature film every year or so. But after Walt Disney's death in 1966, the studio struggled through the 1970s, as if it could not find its way without its founder at its helm. But, in the late 1980s, Disney Studios suddenly sprang to life again, releasing at first just one or two animated Disney movies each year but by the mid-90s adding four to six new features per year.

Famous Disney Actors

Working with Disney made or enhanced the careers of many well-known actors and actresses, including:

• Julie Andrews
• Frankie Avalon
• Hermione Baddeley
• Tim Conway
• Annette Funicello
• Glynis Johns
• Don Knotts
• Fred MacMurray
• Hayley Mills
• David Tomlinson
• Dick van Dyke
• Ed Wynn

Don't Miss These Well-Known Disney Classics

All of these movies were made before Walt Disney died, and all bear the mark of Disney's guiding hand.

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)
• Fantasia (1940)
• Pinocchio (1940)
• Dumbo (1941)
• The Reluctant Dragon (1941)
• Bambi (1942)
• Saludos Amigos (1943)
• The Three Caballeros (1945)
• Make Mine Music (1946)
• Song of the South (1946)
• Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
• Melody Time (1948)
• Cinderella (1950)
• Treasure Island (1950) -- live action
• Alice in Wonderland (1951)
• Peter Pan (1953)
• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) -- live action
• Lady and the Tramp (1955)
• Sleeping Beauty (1959)
• Pollyanna (1960) -- live action
• 101 Dalmatians (1961)
• The Sword in the Stone (1963)
• Mary Poppins (1964) -- live action combined with animation
• The Jungle Book (1967) -- released posthumously, this was one of Disney's last projects

Related Movie Links

• Children's Movies: Must-Sees
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
• The Aristocats
• Sleeping Beauty
• The Little Mermaid
• The Lion King