The Walt Disney Company

It all started with a mouse …Dream Believe Dare Do

Try to imagine a world without Walt Disney…….• A world without his magic, whimsy,

and optimism…Walt Disney transformed the entertainment industry into what we know today.

• He was a pioneer in the world of animation, education and broadcasting….he was in the business of making dreams come true

Disney Mission• Disney's overriding

objective is to create shareholder value by continuing to be the world's premier entertainment company from a creative, strategic, and financial standpoint.

"We are not trying to entertain the critics. I'll take my chances with the public." Walt Disney

Timeline Disney

• December 5, 1901 Walter Elias Disney is born in Chicago, Illinois

• As early as age seven he is selling sketches to neighbors for extra money

• After returning home from service with the Red Cross during WWI, he began a career in commercial art and started experimenting with animation.

Walt’s Early Childhood

• Marked by frequent moves• Early love of rural Mo. (Marceline) when

family moved to a farm

• Father tried and failed at many ventures• Older brother Roy struck by TB• Father ruled the family with a very firm,

conservative approach

Timeline Disney

• Walt began producing the Alice Comedies first in his father’s shed and later in a series of offices

• Laugh-O-Grams struggled and added employees who often worked for free

• Unfortunately, after struggling for 2 yrs, Laugh O’ Grams soon went belly-up

• Walt personally went around and promised to make right on his debts incurred

• So before he hit 21 – he headed to California and Hollywood

• He and his brother, Roy O. Disney started with $500 and set up shop in their uncle’s garage.

Interesting Factoid

• Walt borrowed $500 from his uncle, put in $250 from Roy and started Disney Brothers Studio … they offered % ownership to uncle

• Their uncle wanted cash payback• Today’s value of proposed deal … $1

billion+

Timeline

• Walt and Roy began producing animated shorts for a woman named Margaret Winkler who latter married Charles Mintz.

• Alice’s Wonderland brought the interest and $1500 advance

• Their character was Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit starred in 26 shorts

• Regained rights in 2006 as apart of Al Michaels deal with NBC/Universal

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

• Although Oswald proved a popular character, in 1928 Mrs. Winkler and her husband sold the rights to Universal.

• Mintz proposed a 20% cut to Disney to renew his contract

• Mintz had secretly hired Disney’s animators (except for Ub Iwerks) to move forward without Disney

Lessons Learned

• Regained rights in 2006 as apart of Al Michaels deal with NBC/Universal

• Retain the rights to your creative ideas and characters

• Merchandise is a profitable sideline• Collaborations can prove problematic

and useful

Early Projects• Developed the

character of Mickey Mouse

• Mickey starred in Steamboat Willy and other Silly Symphonies

• Walt won his first Oscar for Flowers and Trees (1932)

• Began work on first full length animated picture, Snow White

Snow White

• Began work on Snow White in the mid 30’s out of necessity

• Market could not support shorts• Needed a hook to draw in

audiences• Spent $1.499M and leveraged

company and self to maximum

Snow White

• Premiered December 21, 1937 to rave reviews and box office success

• Used proceeds to pay off debt and purchase land for a new Burbank Studio

• Within 5 years produced Bambi, Dumbo, Pinnochio and Fantasia

Personal Tragedy

• After the success of Snow White, Walt and Roy moved his parents from Oregon and purchased them a home

• Walt’s mother Flora died of asphyxiation less than a month later from a gas leak

• Tragedy affected many later projects

New Ideas - Dream

• Live action projects• Documentaries• Theme Parks• Resorts• Suburban Living models (EPCOT)

Disneyland• Walt wanted a

project that would be ongoing and never be completed

• Disney had enough money for land, but not construction

• No one believed it would be open by the end of the year

• Total cost $17M

ABC Deal

• Gave 35% ownership, 100% concessions for 10 yrs and 8 yrs of movie access to ABC for $500k and loan guarantees

• By end of yr 1, a million people had walked down Main Street

• ABC deal required TV programming• Mickey Mouse Club ran in 1950’s• Wonderful World of Disney began in 1961• Daniel Boone – filmed in color

Later Endeavors• Purchased 43 square

miles in Central Florida

• Wanted to build Epcot and a FL resort not hampered by lack of land

• DisneyWorld opened in 1971, EPCOT in 1982, MGM in 1989 and Animal Kingdom in 1998

Divisions and 2006 Revenues

• Media Networks $14,638M*• Parks and Resorts $ 9,925M• Consumer Products $2,193M• Studio Entertainment $7,529M

Values of the Disney Brand

• Innovation• Quality• Community• Storytelling• Optimism• Decency

Disney’s Methodology

• Give everyone in the organization the opportunity to dream and tap into that creativity

• Stand firm in your beliefs and principles• Treat your customers like guests• Support, empower and reward

employees• Build long-term relationships with key

suppliers and partners

Disney’s Methodology

• Dare to take calculated risks in order to bring innovative ideas to fruition

• Train extensively and constantly reinforce the company’s culture

• Align long term vision with short term execution

• Use storyboarding techniques to solve planning and communication problems

• Pay close attention to detail