235-404: The Lion King 1½ was also released theatrically in some countries and selected American cities. The Lion King is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional media. The success of animated original 1994 American feature film , The Lion King , directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff , led to a direct-to-video sequel and prequel, a live-action remake in 2019 ,
470-530: A Golden Globe for Best Picture , and it received 6 Academy Award nominations, becoming the first animation nominated for Best Picture; it won Best Score, Best Sound , and Best Song. The film was critically acclaimed, with some critics considering it to be the best Disney film. To coincide with the 1992 release of The Mighty Ducks , Disney founded the National Hockey League team The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . Disney's next animated feature Aladdin
705-489: A "Wild About Safety" video about how to be safe in resort hotels & the original "Wild About Safety" episode that the "Safety Smart: On the Go!" short series is based on. A short-form series in which Bunga and Ono from The Lion Guard pick two animals to compete in contests such as "Who's Quicker?" "Who Has Better Hair?" and "Who's Hungrier?" The series features live-action animal footage provided by Disneynature . The Legend of
940-467: A "timid libertarian ". The Tom Stoppard Prize ( Czech : Cena Toma Stopparda ) was created in 1983 under the Charter 77 Foundation and is awarded to authors of Czech origin. In 2014, Stoppard publicly backed "Hacked Off" and its campaign towards press self-regulation by "safeguarding the press from political interference while also giving vital protection to the vulnerable." In July 2013 Stoppard
1175-627: A 12-week goodwill visit to South America, funded by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs . During the trip, the animators began plotting films, taking inspiration from the local environments and music. As a result of the strike, federal mediators compelled the studio to recognize the Screen Cartoonist's Guild and several animators left, leaving it with 694 employees. To recover from their financial losses, Disney rushed into production
1410-441: A 26% growth in revenue. Los Angeles Times called Disney's recovery "a real rarity in the corporate world". On May 1, 1989, Disney opened Disney-MGM Studios, its third amusement park at Walt Disney World, and later became Hollywood Studios . The new park demonstrated to visitors the movie-making process, until 2008, when it was changed to make guests feel they are in movies. Following the opening of Disney-MGM Studios, Disney opened
1645-513: A British army volunteer, knowing that as a doctor, he would be needed in its defence. When Stoppard was four years old, his father died. The writer long understood that Sträussler had perished in Japanese captivity, as a prisoner of war . The book Tom Stoppard in Conversation describes this, but the author later revealed the subsequent discovery that his father had been reported drowned on board
1880-442: A Kansas City advertising firm, to run Disney's merchandising; Kamen agreed and transformed Disney's merchandising. Within a year, Kamen had 40 licenses for Mickey Mouse and within two years, had made $ 35 million worth of sales. In 1934, Disney said he made more money from the merchandising of Mickey Mouse than from the character's films. The Waterbury Clock Company created a Mickey Mouse watch, which became so popular it saved
2115-729: A bronze head is now in public collection, situated with the Stoppard papers in the reading room of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin . The terracotta remains in the collection of the artist in London. The correspondence file relating to the Stoppard bust is held in the archive of the Henry Moore Foundation 's Henry Moore Institute in Leeds . Stoppard also sat for
2350-677: A chapter in Avrahm Yarmolinsky 's book Road to Revolution: A Century of Russian Radicalism (1959). The play premiered in 2002 at the National Theatre directed by Trevor Nunn in total spanning nine hours. The play received three Laurence Olivier Award nominations including Best New Play, ultimately losing in all its categories. In 2006 it made its Broadway premiere in a production starring Billy Crudup , Jennifer Ehle , and Ethan Hawke . The play received 10 nominations winning seven awards including for Best Play , Stoppard's fourth win in
2585-668: A choir from the US Army marched down Main Street. The icon of the park was the Cinderella Castle . On Thanksgiving Day, cars traveling to the Magic Kingdom caused traffic jams along interstate roads. On December 21, 1971, Roy died of cerebral hemorrhage at St. Joseph Hospital. Donn Tatum , a senior executive and former president of Disney, became the first non-Disney-family-member to become CEO and chairman. Card Walker , who had been with
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#17330847767222820-438: A collection of six spin-off books was published in 1994 by Grolier Enterprises Inc. These books were approved by Disney and take place after The Lion King . The story of these books center around Kopa, the son of Simba who is mischievous and adventurous but good-hearted just like his father was when he was young. In each book, while doing mischief Kopa learns a life-lesson and meets up with Rafiki who gives him wisdom by narrating
3055-402: A contract dispute, with Disney asking for a larger fee, while Mintz sought to reduce the price. Disney discovered Universal Pictures owned the intellectual property rights to Oswald, and Mintz threatened to produce the shorts without him if he did not accept the reduction in payment. Disney declined and Mintz signed 4 of Walt Disney Studio's primary animators to start his own studio; Iwerks was
3290-453: A contract with Winkler for $ 1,500, to create six series of Alice Comedies , with an option for two more six-episode series. Walt and Roy Disney founded Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on October 16, 1923, to produce the films. In January 1926, the Disneys moved into a new studio on Hyperion Street and the studio's name was changed to Walt Disney Studio . After producing Alice films over
3525-676: A deal in which all parties would obtain 27% equity in streaming service Hulu , and Disney added ABC Family and Disney Channel to the streaming service. On December 16, Roy E. Disney died of stomach cancer ; he was the last member of the Disney family to work for Disney. In March 2010, Haim Saban reacquired from Disney the Power Rangers franchise, including its 700-episode library, for around $ 100 million. Shortly after, Disney sold Miramax Films to an investment group headed by Ronald Tutor for $ 660 million. During that time, Disney released
3760-437: A drama critic for Scene magazine, writing reviews and interviews both under his name and the pseudonym William Boot (taken from Evelyn Waugh 's Scoop ). In 1964, a Ford Foundation grant enabled Stoppard to spend 5 months writing in a Berlin mansion, emerging with a one-act play titled Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Meet King Lear , which later evolved into his Tony-winning play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead . In
3995-559: A dual role as the twins in The Parent Trap (1961). Another child actor, Kevin Corcoran , was prominent in many Disney live-action films, first appearing in a serial for The Mickey Mouse Club, where he would play a boy named Moochie. He worked alongside Mills in Pollyanna , and starred in features such as Old Yeller (1957), Toby Tyler (1960), and Swiss Family Robinson . In 1964,
4230-538: A feature film, the satirical science-fiction dark comedy Brazil (1985). The film received near universal acclaim. Pauline Kael critic for The New Yorker declared, "Visually, it’s an original, bravura piece of moviemaking...Gilliam’s vision is an organic thing on the screen—and that’s a considerable achievement". Stoppard along with Gilliam and McKeown were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay , losing to Witness . He went on to write
4465-416: A golf course, and 6 hotels. In 1988, Disney's 27th animated film Oliver & Company was released the same day as that of former Disney animator Don Bluth's The Land Before Time . Oliver & Company out-competed The Land Before Time , becoming the first animated film to gross over $ 100 million in its initial release, and the highest-grossing animated film in its initial run. Disney became
4700-622: A group of lions loyal to Scar called the Outsiders reside after Simba exiles them from the Pride Lands. In the Outlands, Kiara meets a young male cub named Kovu, Scar's hand-chosen successor, and the two of them befriend each other until Simba and Kovu's mother, Zira arrive and a fight between Pride Landers and Outsiders almost takes place. Later in the film, Zira decides that she can use Kovu's new friendship with Kiara to get her revenge against Simba. Kiara
4935-589: A joint venture with Infoseek in January 1999, Disney acquired the rest of Infoseek later that year. After unsuccessful negotiations with cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean International , in 1994, Disney announced it would start its own cruise-line operation in 1998. The first two ships of the Disney Cruise Line were named Disney Magic and Disney Wonder , and built by Fincantieri in Italy. To accompany
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#17330847767225170-599: A kitchen sink) that fall out of trees, a variation of pinball, a game where players use a peashooter to hit enemy creatures in the jungle, a game where Timon has to jump onto hippos in order to cross a river to deliver bugs to Pumbaa, and a variation of Puyo Puyo called Bug Drop . An educational game called Disney's Adventures in Typing With Timon and Pumbaa was released by Disney Interactive in 1998 for PCs with Microsoft Windows and Mac OS . The game teaches children how to type through use of five games. It features
5405-456: A language nerd", primarily enjoying linguistic and ideological playfulness, feeling early in his career that journalism was far better suited for presaging political change, than playwriting. The accusations of favouring intellectuality over political commitment or commentary were met with a change of tack, as Stoppard produced increasingly socially engaged work. From 1977, he became personally involved with human-rights issues, in particular with
5640-447: A love triangle between a conservative English aristocrat, his mean socialite wife and a young suffragette. The series premiered on BBC Two , starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall . The series has received widespread acclaim from critics with The Independent ' s Grace Dent proclaiming it "one of the finest things the BBC has ever made". IndieWire declared, " Parade’s End
5875-470: A memorial wreath during a protest. The leading roles were originated by Roger Rees , and Felicity Kendal . The story examines various constructs of honesty including a play within a play , to explore the theme of reality versus appearance. It has been described as one of Stoppard's "most popular, enduring and autobiographical plays." The play made its Broadway transfer in 1984 which was directed by Mike Nichols starring Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close in
6110-471: A merchandising division named Walt Disney Enterprises , and subsidiaries called Disney Film Recording Company, Limited and Liled Realty and Investment Company; the latter of which managed real estate holdings. Walt Disney and his wife held 60% (6,000 shares) of the company, and Roy Disney owned 40%. The comic strip Mickey Mouse debuted on January 13, 1930, in New York Daily Mirror and by 1931,
6345-501: A mountainside to simulate the real, unpredictable movement of a herd. Similar multiplication occurs in the " Be Prepared " musical number with identical marching hyenas. Five specially trained animators and technicians spent more than two years creating the 2½ minute stampede sequence. At one time, the Disney Feature Animation staff felt The Lion King was less important than Pocahontas . Both projects were in production at
6580-438: A new Lion King Land with a new log flume ride, will be added to Disney Adventure World at Disneyland Paris. The characters also appear at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as meet and greet characters. Roger Allers, who was the animated feature film's co-director, and Irene Mecchi, who was the animated feature film's screenplay co-writer, authored the animated feature film's book adaptation. The Lion King: Six New Adventures ,
6815-488: A new appreciation for the natural environments and inspired him to find ways to incorporate these elements into the design of the film. The filmmakers also made use of computers to better present their vision in new ways. The most notable use of computer animation is in the "wildebeest stampede" sequence. Several distinct wildebeest characters were created in a 3D computer program, multiplied into hundreds, cel shaded to look like drawn animation, and given randomized paths down
7050-497: A park called Disney World , which included Magic Kingdom —a larger version of Disneyland—and the City of Tomorrow, at the park's center. By 1967, the company had made expansions to Disneyland, and more rides were added in 1966 and 1967, at a cost of $ 20 million. The new rides included Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room , which was the first attraction to use Audio-Animatronics ; Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress , which debuted at
7285-448: A plastic football as his luxury item. In 1993, Stoppard wrote Arcadia , a play in which he explores the interaction between two modern academics and the residents of a Derbyshire country house in the early 19th century, including aristocrats, tutors and the fleeting presence, unseen on stage, of Lord Byron . The themes of the play include the philosophical implications of the second law of thermodynamics , Romantic literature , and
The Lion King (franchise) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7520-481: A prequel and pilot for Season 3, Kion continues to battle the spirit of Scar. In a series of events (ones involving Janja's betrayal of Scar), Kion managed to defeat and destroy Scar forever, but not before receiving a facial wound identical to his great uncle's, courtesy of the cobra Ushari (who is later killed in the fight). Season 3 featured Kion journeying throughout the Pride Lands to the Tree of Life to heal his scar before
7755-445: A pride of lions who oversee a large swath of African savanna as their " kingdom " known as the Pride Lands, with their leader Simba watching over it as " king ". The first three animated feature films are widely known for being influenced by the works of William Shakespeare , as well as other works based on his material. The Lion King is the original film of the franchise. It was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff . It
7990-513: A professor of moral philosophy in a murder mystery thriller alongside a slew of radical gymnasts. Travesties (1974) explored the ' Wildean ' possibilities arising from the fact that Vladimir Lenin , James Joyce , and Tristan Tzara had all been in Zürich during the First World War. Stoppard has written one novel, Lord Malquist and Mr Moon (1966), set in contemporary London. Its cast includes
8225-407: A reversal of the company's decline through a combination of international theme park expansion and the highly successful Disney Renaissance period of animation in the 1990s. In 2005, under new CEO Bob Iger , the company continued to expand into a major entertainment conglomerate with the acquisitions of Pixar , Marvel Entertainment , Lucasfilm , and 21st Century Fox . In 2020, Bob Chapek became
8460-428: A ship, bombed by Japanese forces, as he tried to flee Singapore in 1942. In 1941, when Tomáš was five, he, his brother Petr, and their mother had been evacuated to Darjeeling , India. The boys attended Mount Hermon School , an American multi-racial school, where the brothers became Tom and Peter. In 1945, his mother, Martha, married British army major Kenneth Stoppard, who gave the boys his English surname and moved
8695-487: A survivor, at whatever remove. "I feel incredibly lucky not to have had to survive or die. It's a conspicuous part of what might be termed a charmed life." In 2013, Stoppard asked Hermione Lee to write his biography. The book was published in 2020. In 1979, the year of Margaret Thatcher 's election, Stoppard noted to Paul Delaney: "I'm a conservative with a small c. I am a conservative in politics, literature, education and theatre." In 2007, Stoppard described himself as
8930-732: A talking duck that would be the studio's new gag character. Donald Duck made his first appearance in 1934 in The Wise Little Hen . Though he did not become popular as quickly as Mickey had, Donald Duck had a featured role in Donald and Pluto (1936), and was given his own series. After a disagreement with Columbia Pictures about the Silly Symphony cartoons, Disney signed a distribution contract with United Artists from 1932 to 1937 to distribute them. In 1932, Disney signed an exclusive contract with Technicolor to produce cartoons in color until
9165-513: A television film sequel, two spin-off television series, three educational shorts, several video games, merchandise, and the third-longest-running musical in Broadway history , which garnered six Tony Awards including Best Musical . The franchise is one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time . The franchise as a whole has EGOT -ed, meaning it has won the four biggest awards of American show business. The franchise mainly revolves about
9400-502: A television movie called The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar which debuted on November 22, 2015, followed by a series which began airing on January 15, 2016. A preschool-oriented spin-off, the series was developed by Ford Riley , who also serves as writer and executive producer. It centers around Simba and Nala 's second-born cub Kion, who becomes leader of the Lion Guard, a team that protects
9635-486: A ten-year contract to make five films, with Disney as distributor. They would share the cost, profits, and logo credits, calling the films Disney-Pixar productions. During the Disney Renaissance, film division Touchstone also saw success with film such as Pretty Woman (1990), which has the highest number of ticket sales in the U.S. for a romantic comedy and grossed $ 432 million; Sister Act (1992), which
The Lion King (franchise) - Misplaced Pages Continue
9870-838: A theme song for the television series Zorro . The company hired them as exclusive staff songwriters, an arrangement that lasted 10 years. They wrote many songs for Disney's films and theme parks, and several were commercial hits. In the late 1950s, Disney ventured into comedy with the live-action films The Shaggy Dog (1959), which became the highest-grossing film in the US and Canada for Disney at over $ 9 million, and The Absent Minded Professor (1961), both starring Fred MacMurray . Disney also made live-action films based on children's books including Pollyanna (1960) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960). Child actor Hayley Mills starred in Pollyanna , for which she won an Academy Juvenile Award . Mills starred in 5 other Disney films, including
10105-460: A tremendous success, with WALL-E winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. After acquiring most of Jetix Europe through the acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide, Disney bought the remainder of the company in 2008 for $ 318 million. Iger introduced D23 in 2009 as Disney's official fan club. In February, Disney announced a deal with DreamWorks Pictures to distribute 30 of their films over
10340-703: A two-year tour of ice shows featuring Disney charters, made its premiere at the Brendan Byrne Meadowlands Arena after Disney licensed its characters to Feld Entertainment . The same month, Disney's animated film The Fox and the Hound was released and became the highest-grossing animated film to that point at $ 40 million. It was the first film that did not involve Walt and the last major work done by Disney's Nine Old Men, who were replaced with younger animators. As profits started to decline, on October 1, 1982, Epcot, then known as EPCOT Center, opened as
10575-540: A venture with The Nature Conservancy , Disney purchased 8,500 acres (3,439 ha) of Everglades headwaters in Florida to protect native animals and plant species, establishing the Disney Wilderness Preserve . On April 3, 1994, Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash; he, Eisner, and Katzenberg helped the company's market value go from $ 2 billion to $ 22 billion since taking office in 1984. On June 15
10810-535: A visit to Griffith Park with his daughters. He said he watched them ride a carousel and thought there "should be ... some kind of amusement enterprise built where the parents and the children could have fun together". Initially planning the construction of an eight-acre (3.2 ha) Mickey Mouse Park near the Burbank studio, Walt changed the planned amusement park's name to Disneylandia, then to Disneyland . A new company, WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering ),
11045-439: Is echoed by the inclusion of spoken-word poetry that focuses on the question of black identity. It was directed by Beyoncé herself, Emmanuel Adjei , Blitz Bazawule , Pierre Debusschere, Jenn Nkiru , Ibra Ake , Dikayl Rimmasch and Jake Nava . The film was released globally on Disney+ in 2020. The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa is a spin-off cartoon series that follows the adventures of Timon and Pumbaa (and occasionally,
11280-403: Is lightning, why pandas don't live in deserts, why there is wind, and why an airplane flies. These shorts are for educational purposes at schools, non-residential and residential uses for people, including students and kids everywhere in the world. Together with Timon (voiced by Bruce Lanoil) and Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella), students learn a variety of safety lessons for around the house, for
11515-417: Is next seen as an adolescent lioness and is set to go for her first solo-hunt, but discovers that her father still sends Timon and Pumbaa to watch her. Furious, Kiara goes further from home until Zira's other children, Nuka and Vitani, set fire to the plains where Kiara is hunting, causing her to faint and giving Kovu the chance to rescue her. Simba finds that Kovu has helped Kiara and reluctantly allows him into
11750-554: Is one of the biggest and best-known companies in the world and was ranked number 48 on the 2023 Fortune 500 list of biggest companies in the United States by revenue. In 2023, the company's seat in Forbes Global 2000 was 87. Since its founding, the company has won 135 Academy Awards , 26 of which were awarded to Walt . The company has been said to have produced some of the greatest films of all time , as well as revolutionizing
11985-480: Is scheduled for release in 2024. A visual companion to the 2019 Beyoncé soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift , curated by the singer herself for the film The Lion King (2019). The film tells the story of a young African prince who is exiled from his kingdom after his father's death, as an allegory for the African diaspora 's journey of discovering, reclaiming and celebrating their culture and heritage, which
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#173308477672212220-418: Is seen most clearly in his comedies The Real Inspector Hound (1968) and After Magritte (1970), which create their humour through highly formal devices of reframing and juxtaposition." Stoppard himself went so far as to declare "I must stop compromising my plays with this whiff of social application. They must be entirely untouched by any suspicion of usefulness." He acknowledges that he started off "as
12455-475: Is the second and final direct-to-video installment of the film series. It was directed by Bradley Raymond and released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment on February 10, 2004. The film is a chronologically concurrent sequel to the first film, focusing on Timon and Pumbaa . It was somewhat influenced by Tom Stoppard 's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead , in which the title characters are seen in every major event of Hamlet . The Lion Guard: Return of
12690-456: Is to lure Simba into a gorge while the hyenas create a wildebeest stampede. Alerted by Scar, Mufasa races to rescue Simba from the stampede. He saves his son but is left clinging to the edge of a cliff, which results in Scar flinging him into the stampede below and killing him. Scar then tricks Simba into thinking that he is responsible for his father's death and tells him to run away, only to later order
12925-679: Is wonderful accomplishment, smart, adult television". Stoppard received a British Academy Television Award and Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the series. It was announced in June 2019 that Stoppard had written a new play, Leopoldstadt , set in the Jewish community of early 20th-century Vienna . The play premiered in January 2020 at Wyndham's Theatre . The play went on to win the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play . The play then transferred to Broadway , opening on 2 October 2022. It
13160-697: The Bristol Evening World offered Stoppard the position of feature writer, humour columnist, and secondary drama critic, which took him into the world of theatre. At the Bristol Old Vic , at the time a well-regarded regional repertory company , Stoppard formed friendships with director John Boorman and actor Peter O'Toole early in their careers. In Bristol, he became known more for his strained attempts at humor and unstylish clothes than for his writing. Stoppard wrote short radio plays in 1953–54 and by 1960 he had completed his first stage play, A Walk on
13395-489: The Tony Hawk games. Simba is also a character in the video game Disney Friends , where the player can interact with him. Timon and Pumbaa also appear as supporting characters in game. In the world builder video game Disney Magic Kingdoms , a limited time Event based on The Lion King introduced Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Zazu and Scar as playable characters, as well as some attractions based on locations of
13630-505: The 1964 New York World's Fair before moving to Disneyland in 1967; and Dumbo the Flying Elephant . On November 20, 1964, Walt sold most of WED Enterprise to Walt Disney Productions for $ 3.8 million after being persuaded by Roy, who thought Walt having his own company would cause legal problems. Walt formed a new company called Retlaw to handle his personal business, primarily Disneyland Railroad and Disneyland Monorail . When
13865-412: The 2012 film adaptation starring Keira Knightley . Film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum for Entertainment Weekly praised the film and Stoppard writing, "Stoppard — himself a master of puzzle-like construction in fine plays including Arcadia — supplies an excellently clean, delicately balanced script." In 2012, Stoppard wrote a five part limited series for television, Parade's End , which revolves around
14100-450: The ABC television network ; cable television networks such as Disney Channel , ESPN , Freeform , FX , and National Geographic ; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Disney+ , ESPN+ , Hulu , and Hotstar ; and Disney Experiences , which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world. Disney
14335-459: The BAFTA Award , and Golden Globe Award for his screenplay. The Coast of Utopia (2002) was a trilogy of plays Stoppard wrote about the philosophical arguments among Russian revolutionary figures in the late 19th century. The trilogy comprises Voyage , Shipwreck , and Salvage . Major figures in the play include Michael Bakunin , Ivan Turgenev , and Alexander Herzen . The title comes from
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#173308477672214570-632: The Committee Against Psychiatric Abuse and wrote various newspaper articles and letters about human rights. He was instrumental in translating Havel's works into English. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1977), "a play for actors and orchestra" was based on a request by conductor/composer André Previn and was inspired by a meeting with a Russian exile. This play, as well as Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth (1979), The Coast of Utopia (2002), Rock 'n' Roll (2006), and two works for television Professional Foul (1977) and Squaring
14805-562: The East Riding of Yorkshire , which he hated. Stoppard left school at 17 and began work as a journalist for the Western Daily Press in Bristol, without attending university. Years later, he came to regret the decision to forgo a university education, but at the time, he loved his work as a journalist and was passionate about his career. He worked at the paper from 1954 until 1958, when
15040-562: The English picturesque style of garden design . The first production premiered at the Royal National Theatre directed by Trevor Nunn starring Rufus Sewell , Felicity Kendal , Bill Nighy , Harriet Walter and Emma Fielding . It won the 1993 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play . A year later the play made its transfer on Broadway starring Billy Crudup , Blair Brown , Victor Garber and Robert Sean Leonard . The production
15275-614: The Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park . That year, the company earned a gross total of $ 24.5 million compared to the $ 11 million the previous year. Disney continued to delegate much of the animation work to the studio's top animators, known as the Nine Old Men . The company produced an average of five films per year throughout the 1950s and 60s. Animated features of this period included Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and The Sword in
15510-627: The Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play and later the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play . Stoppard was born Tomáš Sträussler, in Zlín , a city dominated by the shoe manufacturing industry, in the Moravia region of Czechoslovakia . He is the son of Martha Becková and Eugen Sträussler, a doctor employed by the Bata shoe company . His parents were non-observant Jews. Just before the German occupation of Czechoslovakia ,
15745-808: The London Palladium on December 11, in the presence of senior members of the British Royal Family . Other productions within the U.S. include a Los Angeles production at the Pantages Theatre , in Charlotte at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, and a Las Vegas production at Mandalay Bay . International productions include a British at the Lyceum Theatre in London , a Canadian at
15980-612: The Muppets franchise from the Jim Henson Company for $ 75 million, founding Muppets Holding Company, LLC . Following the success of Disney-Pixar films Finding Nemo (2003), which became the second highest-grossing animated film of all time at $ 936 million, and The Incredibles (2004), Pixar looked for a new distributor once its deal with Disney ended in 2004. Disney sold the loss-making Disney Stores chain of 313 stores to Children's Place on October 20. Disney also sold
16215-903: The Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto , a Mexican in Mexico City , and a South African in Johannesburg , among others. The first ever UK tour opened at Bristol Hippodrome on August 31, 2012. Two video games based on the first film have been released. The first, titled The Lion King , was published in 1994 by Virgin and was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (only in Europe), Super NES , Game Boy , Master System , Mega Drive/Genesis , Game Gear , MS-DOS , and Amiga . The second game, called The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure ,
16450-588: The Tree of Life at its center. Receiving positive reviews, Disney's next animated films Mulan and Disney-Pixar film A Bug's Life were released on June 5 and November 20, 1998. Mulan became the year's sixth-highest-grossing film at $ 304 million, and A Bug's Life was the year's fifth-highest at $ 363 million. In a $ 770-million transaction, on June 18, Disney bought a 43% stake of Internet search engine Infoseek for $ 70 million, also giving it Infoseek-acquired Starwave . Starting web portal Go.com in
16685-582: The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California . Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio ; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing it to its current name in 1986. In 1928, Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film Steamboat Willie . The film used synchronized sound to become
16920-406: The "Circle of Life". Simba's uncle and Mufasa's brother Scar plots to take the throne for himself and tells Simba about an elephant graveyard, a place where Mufasa has warned Simba not to go. When Simba and his best friend Nala sneak off to the elephant graveyard, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, three hyenas aligned with Scar, attack and try to kill the two cubs, but they are stopped by Mufasa. Scar's next plan
17155-550: The 18th-century figure of the dandified Malquist and his ineffectual Boswell , Moon, and also cowboys, a lion (banned from the Ritz ) and a donkey-borne Irishman claiming to be the Risen Christ. In the 1980s, in addition to writing his own works, Stoppard translated many plays into English, including works by Sławomir Mrożek , Johann Nestroy , Arthur Schnitzler , and Václav Havel . It was at this time that Stoppard became influenced by
17390-558: The 1930s, and became one of the best-known Disney songs. Other Silly Symphonies films won the Best Cartoon award from 1931 to 1939, except for 1938, when another Disney film, Ferdinand the Bull , won it. In 1934, Walt Disney announced a feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . It would be the first cel animated feature and the first animated feature produced in
17625-442: The 1950s, Disney returned to producing full-length animated feature films, beginning with Cinderella (1950), its first feature in eight years. A critical and commercial success, Cinderella saved Disney after the financial pitfalls of the wartime era; it was its most financially successful film since Snow White , making $ 8 million in its first year. Walt began to reduce his involvement with animation, focusing his attention on
17860-497: The 1960s", starred in 10 Disney films, including That Darn Cat! (1965), The Ugly Dachshund (1966), and The Love Bug (1968). Disney's last child actor of the 1960s was Kurt Russell , who had signed a ten-year contract. He featured in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) alongside Dean Jones, The Barefoot Executive (1971), and The Strongest Man in
18095-627: The Broadway production moved to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for the musical version of Mary Poppins , where it is still running. It is now Broadway's third-longest-running show in history. The show debuted in the West End 's Lyceum Theatre on October 19, 1999, and is still running. The cast of the West End production were invited to perform at the Royal Variety Performance 2008 at
18330-518: The Circle (1984), all concern themes of censorship, rights abuses, and state repression. Stoppard's later works have sought greater inter-personal depths, whilst maintaining their intellectual playfulness. Stoppard acknowledges that around 1982 he moved away from the "argumentative" works and more towards plays of the heart, as he became "less shy" about emotional openness. Discussing the later integration of heart and mind in his work, he commented "I think I
18565-756: The Lion King was an underground stage performance retelling the story of the film using fully articulated puppets in Magic Kingdom 's Fantasyland . This attraction ran from June 1994 to February 2002. A Broadway-caliber short-form stage musical named Festival of the Lion King (formerly known as A Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King ) is performed live in Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World , Florida and in Adventureland at Hong Kong Disneyland . It uses
18800-478: The Lucky Rabbit and 26 cartoons featuring the character. On February 6, the company announced it would be merging its ABC Radio networks and 22 stations with Citadel Broadcasting in a $ 2.7 billion deal, though which Disney acquired 52% of television broadcasting company Citadel Communications . The Disney Channel movie High School Musical aired and its soundtrack was certified triple platinum , becoming
19035-465: The Mickey Mouse series, which was made using synchronized sound , becoming the first post-produced sound cartoon. The sound was created using Powers' Cinephone system, which used Lee de Forest 's Phonofilm system. Pat Powers ' company distributed Steamboat Willie , which was an immediate hit. In 1929, the company successfully re-released the two earlier films with synchronized sound. After
19270-501: The NHL team Mighty Ducks in 2005. Roy E. Disney decided to rejoin the company and was given the role of consultant with the title "Director Emeritus". In March 2005, Bob Iger, president of the company, became CEO after Eisner's retirement in September; Iger was officially named head of the company on October 1. Disney's eleventh theme park Hong Kong Disneyland opened on September 12, costing
19505-469: The Orpheum Theatre. Directed by Julie Taymor , produced by Disney Theatrical Productions , and written by the co-director of the original film, Roger Allers , with writer Irene Mecchi . The musical features actors in elaborate animal costumes, and complex puppetry, created by Taymor and Michael Curry . The musical is divided in two acts and has music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice , along with
19740-495: The Pride Lands and claim the throne. Simba, along with Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa go to the Pride Rock, where Simba confronts, fights, and defeats Scar, who is later betrayed and killed by his own army of hyenas as a result of Scar's blaming of the hyenas for Mufasa's death. The film concludes with the Pride Lands turning green with life again and Rafiki presenting Simba and Nala's newborn cub. The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa follows
19975-474: The Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life. As leader of the Lion Guard, Kion is gifted with a power called the Roar of the Elders which when used, causes the great lion spirits of the Pride Lands' past to roar with him. The Lion Guard is a sequel to The Lion King and takes place during the time-gap within the 1998 film, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride , with the last two episodes of Season 3 taking place after
20210-530: The Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life. As leader of the Lion Guard, Kion is gifted with a power called the Roar of the Elders which when used, causes the great lion spirits of the Pride Lands' past to roar with him. Going against tradition, Kion chooses non-lions to be members of his guard; his friends Bunga the honey badger, Ono the egret, Beshte the hippo, and Fuli the cheetah. A television movie, or extended episode, which premiered on July 29, 2017, on Disney Channel during season 2 of The Lion Guard . As
20445-460: The Pride Lands. While Simba struggles with the idea of accepting Kovu, Kiara and Kovu eventually fall in love. One morning, Simba invites Kovu for a walk but they are ambushed by Zira and her pride. They attack Simba but, while chasing him, Nuka got killed by the logs, resulting in Zira blaming and scratching Kovu for his death giving him a scar over his left eye. A wounded Simba exiles Kovu as he thinks Kovu
20680-399: The Roar is a television movie that premiered on November 22, 2015, serving as a pilot for The Lion Guard television series, which debuted in early 2016 on Disney Junior . Return of the Roar was directed by Howy Parkins and written by Ford Riley . The film focuses on Simba and Nala 's cub Kion, who as second-born to the throne, becomes leader of the Lion Guard, a group that protects
20915-525: The South (1946) which would become one of Disney's most controversial films. As a result of its financial problems, Disney began re-releasing its feature films in 1944. In 1948, it began premiering the nature documentary series, True-Life Adventures , which ran until 1960, winning 8 Academy Awards. In 1949, the Walt Disney Music Company was founded to help with profits for merchandising. In
21150-572: The Stone (1963). Sleeping Beauty was a financial loss for the company, and at $ 6 million, had the highest production costs up to that point. One Hundred and One Dalmatians introduced an animation technique using the xerography process to electromagnetically transfer the drawings to animation cels , resulting in a transformed art style for the studio's animated films. In 1956, the Sherman Brothers , Robert and Richard , were asked to produce
21385-554: The US, Tokyo Disneyland , opened in Urayasu . Costing around $ 1.4 billion, construction started in 1979 when Disney and The Oriental Land Company agreed to build a park together. Within its first ten years, the park had over 140 million visitors. After an investment of $ 100 million, on April 18, Disney started a pay-to-watch cable television channel called Disney Channel , a 16-hours-a-day service showing Disney films, twelve programs, and two magazines shows for adults. Although it
21620-526: The US. Its novelty made it a risky venture; Roy tried to persuade Walt not to produce it, arguing it would bankrupt the studio, and while widely anticipated by the public, it was referred to by some critics as "Disney's Folly". Walt directed the animators to take a realistic approach, creating scenes as though they were live action. While making the film, the company created the multiplane camera , consisting of pieces of glass upon which drawings were placed at different distances to create an illusion of depth in
21855-570: The Walt Disney Company, stating the old name only referred to the film industry. With Disney's animation industry declining, the animation department needed its next movie The Great Mouse Detective to be a success. It grossed $ 25 million at the box office, becoming a much-needed financial success. To generate more revenue from merchandising, the company opened its first retail store Disney Store in Glendale in 1987. Because of its success,
22090-629: The Water , which was later re-titled Enter a Free Man (1968). He has said the work owed much to Robert Bolt 's Flowering Cherry and Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman . Within a week after sending A Walk on the Water to an agent, Stoppard received his version of the "Hollywood-style telegrams that change struggling young artists' lives." His first play was optioned, staged in Hamburg , then broadcast on British Independent Television in 1963. From September 1962 until April 1963, Stoppard worked in London as
22325-573: The White Lion . The series The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa had a direct-to-video film named Around the World with Timon and Pumbaa , with Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella reprising their roles as Timon and Pumbaa respectively. The story tells of Pumbaa getting struck by lightning, losing all his memory, and Timon helps refrain every moment they spent. After Pumbaa gets his memory back, lightning strikes Timon losing his memory this time, making Pumbaa break
22560-596: The Wind ". Pixar's and Disney's first co-release was the first-ever fully computer-generated film Toy Story , which was released on November 19, 1995, to critical acclaim and an end-run gross total of $ 361 million. The film won the Special Achievement Academy Award and was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay . In 1995, Disney announced the $ 19 billion acquisition of television network Capital Cities/ABC Inc., which
22795-468: The World (1975). In late 1959, Walt had an idea to build another park in Palm Beach, Florida , called the City of Tomorrow, a city that would be full of technological improvements. In 1964, the company chose land southwest of Orlando, Florida to build the park and acquired 27,000 acres (10,927 ha). On November 15, 1965, Walt, along with Roy and Florida's governor Haydon Burns , announced plans for
23030-463: The adventures of Simba and Nala's son Kion as he assembles the titular group of animals to protect the Pride Lands. In Season 2, Scar, the antagonist of the original film, makes his return in the animated series as a flame spirit, and plots revenge against Simba and plans to overthrow him as King by gathering up all the Outlanders to form an army. In the special "Battle for the Pride Lands" which serves as
23265-689: The advisory board of the magazine Standpoint , and was instrumental in its foundation, giving the opening speech at its launch. He is also a patron of the Shakespeare Schools Festival , a charity that enables school children across the UK to perform Shakespeare in professional theatres. Stoppard was appointed president of the London Library in 2002 and vice-president in 2017 following the election of Sir Tim Rice as president. For Joe Wright , Stoppard adapted Leo Tolstoy 's Anna Karenina into
23500-436: The animated film The Jungle Book , which was Disney's most successful film for the next two decades, and the live-action musical The Happiest Millionaire . After Walt's death, the company largely abandoned animation, but made several live-action films. Its animation staff declined from 500 to 125 employees, with the company only hiring 21 people from 1970 to 1977. Disney's first post-Walt animated film The Aristocats
23735-696: The assumption of $ 2.3 billion in debt. The deal included a 76% stake in Fox Kids Europe , Latin American channel Fox Kids , more than 6,500 episodes from Saban Entertainment 's programming library, and Fox Family Channel . In 2001, Disney's operations had a net loss of $ 158 million after a decline in viewership of the ABC television network, as well as decreased tourism due to the September 11 attacks . Disney earnings in fiscal 2001 were $ 120 million compared with
23970-418: The backgrounds. After United Artists attempted to attain future television rights to the Disney shorts, Walt signed a distribution contract with RKO Radio Pictures on March 2, 1936. Walt Disney Productions exceeded its original budget of $ 150,000 for Snow White by ten times; its production eventually cost the company $ 1.5 million. Snow White took 3 years to make, premiering on December 12, 1937. It
24205-454: The battle, but Vitani and the other Outsiders understand Kiara's words and abandon their leader and join the Pridelanders. Now alone, Zira leaps for Simba, but Kiara pushes her away and they fall over a cliff. Kiara lands on a rock, but Zira slips and falls into the lake to death. Simba allows the Outsiders, including Kovu, to return to the Pride Lands, and Kovu is allowed to stand with Kiara at
24440-716: The box office. Later, as products of the South American trip, Disney released the features Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1944). This was a new strategy of releasing package films , collections of short cartoons grouped to make feature films. Both performed poorly. Disney released more package films through the rest of the decade, including Make Mine Music (1946) , Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948), and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), to try to recover from its financial losses. Disney began producing less-expensive live-action films mixed with animation, beginning with Song of
24675-498: The box office; it won two Academy Awards; Best Original Score and Best Original Song for " Under the Sea ". During the Disney Renaissance, composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman wrote several Disney songs until Ashman died in 1991. Together they wrote 6 songs nominated for Academy Awards; with two winning songs—"Under the Sea" and " Beauty and the Beast ". To produce music geared for
24910-416: The box-office-leading Hollywood studio for the first time, with films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Three Men and a Baby (1987) , and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). The company's gross revenue went from $ 165 million in 1983 to $ 876 million in 1987, and operating income went from −$ 33 million in 1983 to +130 million in 1987. The studio's net income rose by 66%, along with
25145-697: The category. Rock 'n' Roll (2006) was set in both Cambridge , England, and Prague . The play explored the culture of 1960s rock music, especially the persona of Syd Barrett and the political challenge of the Czech band The Plastic People of the Universe , mirroring the contrast between liberal society in England and the repressive Czech state after the Warsaw Pact intervention in the Prague Spring . Stoppard served on
25380-446: The challenge of the characters and the story by stating that "it was our job to make the main character likeable and sympathetic. It was also challenging to make the environment and characters interesting. In real life, lions basically sleep, eat and have no props." Two spin-off television series have been produced, one focusing on the characters of Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog called The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa , and
25615-529: The characters Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa. In the Disney Interactive Studios and Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts , Simba appears as an ally that Sora can summon during battles. He also appears again as a summon character in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories & Kingdom Hearts III . In Kingdom Hearts II , the Pride Lands are a playable world and a number of characters from
25850-501: The characters from The Lion King , where the story follows Timon and Pumbaa chopping down trees and clogging up rivers to build the Hakuna Matata Lakeside Village. Simba comes to them and explains how their actions are harmful to nature . This lesson is explained with live-action footage, some left over from Symbiosis . The film ran for 23 years before ultimately closing on February 3, 2018. The Lion King Celebration
26085-540: The company $ 3.5 billion to construct. On January 24, 2006, Disney began talks to acquire Pixar from Steve Jobs for $ 7.4 billion, and Iger appointed Pixar chief creative officer (CCO) John Lasseter and president Edwin Catmull the heads of the Walt Disney Animation Studios . A week later, Disney traded ABC Sports commentator Al Michaels to NBCUniversal , in exchange for the rights to Oswald
26320-407: The company after Eisner refused to promote him to president. After leaving, he co-founded film studio DreamWorks SKG . Wells was later replaced with one of Eisner's friends Michael Ovitz on August 13, 1995. In 1994, Disney wanted to buy one of the major U.S. television networks ABC, NBC, or CBS, which would give the company guaranteed distribution for its programming. Eisner planned to buy NBC but
26555-456: The company announced ImageMovers Digital , which it started in partnership with ImageMovers in 2007, would be closing by 2011. Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born Tomáš Sträussler , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and political freedom , often delving into
26790-520: The company from bankruptcy during the Great Depression . During a promotional event at Macy's, 11,000 Mickey Mouse watches sold in one day; and within two years, two-and-a-half million watches were sold. As Mickey Mouse become a heroic character rather than a mischievous one, Disney needed another character that could produce gags . Disney invited radio presenter Clarence Nash to the animation studio; Disney wanted to use Nash to play Donald Duck ,
27025-519: The company had been doing. To help with the film division, the company started making Saturday-morning cartoons to create new Disney characters for merchandising, and produced films through Touchstone. Under Eisner, Disney became more involved with television, creating Touchstone Television and producing the television sitcom The Golden Girls , which was a hit. The company spent $ 15 million promoting its theme parks, raising visitor numbers by 10%. In 1984, Disney produced The Black Cauldron , then
27260-453: The company is still headquartered. In April 1940, Disney Productions had its initial public offering , with the common stock remaining with Disney and his family. Disney did not want to go public but the company needed the money. Shortly before Snow White's release, work began on the company's next features, Pinocchio and Bambi . Pinocchio was released in February 1940 while Bambi
27495-604: The company opened two more in California, and by 1990, it had 215 throughout the US In 1989, the company garnered $ 411 million in revenue and made a profit of $ 187 million. In 1987, the company signed an agreement with the Government of France to build a resort named Euro Disneyland in Paris; it would consist of two theme parks named Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park ,
27730-762: The company since 1938, became its president. By June 30, 1973, Disney had over 23,000 employees and a gross revenue of $ 257,751,000 over a nine-month period, compared to the year before when it made $ 220,026,000. In November, Disney released the animated film Robin Hood (1973), which became Disney's biggest international-grossing movie at $ 18 million. Throughout the 1970s, Disney released live-action films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes ' sequel Now You See Him, Now You Don't ; The Love Bug sequels Herbie Rides Again (1974) and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977); Escape to Witch Mountain (1975); and Freaky Friday (1976). In 1976, Card Walker became CEO of
27965-405: The company started looking for a sponsor for the project, Walt renamed the City of Tomorrow, Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow ( Epcot ). Walt, who had been a heavy smoker since World War I, fell very sick and he died on December 15, 1966, aged 65, of lung cancer , at St. Joseph Hospital across the street from the studio. In 1967, the last two films Walt had worked on were released;
28200-406: The company was being run, calling on Eisner to retire; the same week, board member Stanley Gold retired for the same reasons. Gold and Disney formed the "Save Disney" campaign. In 2004, at the company's annual meeting, the shareholders in a 43% vote voted Eisner out as chairman. On March 4, George J. Mitchell , who was a member of the board, was named as replacement. In April, Disney purchased
28435-480: The company's attention. Disney, which since 1996 had owned a 25% stake in the Major League Baseball team California Angels , bought out the team in 1998 for $ 110 million, renamed it Anaheim Angels and renovated the stadium for $ 100 million. Hercules (1997) was released on June 13, and underperformed compared to earlier films, grossing $ 252 million. On February 24, Disney and Pixar signed
28670-466: The company's next animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released, grossing $ 325 million at the box office. Because Ovitz's management style was different from Eisner's, Ovitz was fired as the company's president in 1996. Disney lost a $ 10.4 million lawsuit in September 1997 to Marsu B.V. over Disney's failure to produce as contracted 13 half-hour Marsupilami cartoon shows. Instead, Disney felt other internal "hot properties" deserved
28905-454: The company's profits were from its theme parks; in 1982, there were 12 million visitors to Walt Disney World, a figure that declined by 5% the following June. On July 9, 1982, Disney released Tron , one of the first films to extensively use computer-generated imagery (CGI). It was a big influence on other CGI movies, though it received mixed reviews. In 1982, the company lost $ 27 million. On April 15, 1983, Disney's first park outside
29140-403: The company, with Tatum remaining chairman until 1980, when Walker replaced him. In 1977, Roy E. Disney , Roy O. Disney's son and the only Disney working for the company, resigned as an executive because of disagreements with company decisions. In 1977, Disney released the successful animated film The Rescuers , which grossed $ 48 million. The live-acton/animated musical Pete's Dragon
29375-641: The concept of tribal celebration in combination with ideas from Disney's Electrical Parade . The show is in the form of a revue, and not a condensed version of either the film or Broadway show. However, it features the award-winning music from the first film, written by Elton John and Tim Rice . The show uses songs, dance, puppetry and visual effects to create an African savannah setting filled with lions, elephants, giraffes, birds, zebras and gazelles. A Broadway musical, based on Disney's 1994 animated feature film, debuted July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis , Minnesota at
29610-608: The cruises, Disney bought Gorda Cay as the line's private island, and spent $ 25 million remodeling it and renaming it Castaway Cay. On July 30, 1998, Disney Magic set sail as the line's first voyage. Marking the end of the Disney Renaissance, Tarzan (1999) was released on June 12, garnering $ 448 million at the box office and critical acclaim; it claimed the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Phil Collins ' " You'll Be in My Heart ". Disney-Pixar film Toy Story 2
29845-519: The deal was canceled because General Electric wanted to keep a majority stake. In 1994, Disney's annual revenue reached $ 10 billion, 48% coming from film, 34% from theme parks, and 18% from merchandising. Disney's total net income was up 25% from the previous year at $ 1.1 billion. Grossing over $ 346 million, Pocahontas was released on June 16, garnering the Academy Awards for Best Musical or Comedy Score and Best Song for " Colors of
30080-483: The deal was completed, resulting in the companies terminating merger negotiations. On November 17, 1989, Disney released The Little Mermaid , which was the start of the Disney Renaissance , a period in which the company released hugely successful and critically acclaimed animated films. The Little Mermaid became the animated film with the highest gross from its initial run and garnered $ 233 million at
30315-516: The deeper philosophical thematics of society. Stoppard has been a playwright of the National Theatre and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. He was knighted for his contribution to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. Born in Czechoslovakia , Stoppard left as a child refugee , fleeing imminent Nazi occupation . He settled with his family in Britain after
30550-457: The dry season begins, the Lion Guard continues to protect the Pride Lands, and Rafiki takes on an apprentice named Makini. Meanwhile, Janja the hyena and his clan, along with their new ally Ushari the cobra, orchestrate events that allow them to summon the spirit of Scar in order to defeat the Lion Guard and take over the Pride Lands. A television movie which premiered on August 3, 2019, on Disney Channel during season 3 of The Lion Guard . In
30785-462: The early 1990s, with the fall of communism, Stoppard found out that all four of his grandparents had been Jewish and had died in Terezin , Auschwitz , and other camps, along with three of his mother's sisters. In 1998, following the deaths of his parents, he returned to Zlín for the first time in over 50 years. He has expressed grief both for a lost father and a missing past, but he has no sense of being
31020-558: The end of 1935, beginning with the Silly Symphony short Flowers and Trees (1932). The film was the first full-color cartoon and won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon. In 1933, The Three Little Pigs , another popular Silly Symphony short, was released and also won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon. The song from the film " Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? ", which was composed by Frank Churchill —who wrote other Silly Symphonies songs—became popular and remained so throughout
31255-417: The environment, and for in the water that will help themselves and others avoid injuries, live problem-free, and be Safety Smart. At the end of each episode, Timon and Pumbaa sing a musical number reviewing all that they learned on the episode in question. A series of shorts based on the "Wild About Safety" series, called "Safety Smart: On the Go!", was also released. Based on the "Wild About Safety" episode of
31490-425: The events of that film. Various characters from the first two films also make appearances in the show, including Kiara, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, Zazu, and Mufasa. New characters Bunga the honey badger, Ono the egret, Beshte the hippo, and Fuli the cheetah are Kion's friends and members of his Lion Guard. Find Out Why is a short educational series that features Timon and Pumbaa answering science questions like why there
31725-515: The executive producers. Since February 8, 2009 (after its final airing on the now-defunct Toon Disney before replaced by Disney XD ), this show was no longer on the air, but returned along with some other favorites on March 23, 2012, for a limited time, as part of the new Disney Junior TV channel. The series uses fast-paced slapstick comedy in order to convey life lessons to young viewers. A second TV show called The Lion Guard premiered on Disney Junior and Disney Channel ; it first appeared as
31960-423: The family to England in 1946. Stoppard's stepfather believed strongly that "to be born an Englishman was to have drawn first prize in the lottery of life"—a quote from Cecil Rhodes —telling his 9-year-old stepson: "Don't you realize that I made you British?" setting up Stoppard's desire as a child to become "an honorary Englishman". He has said, "I fairly often find I'm with people who forget I don't quite belong in
32195-705: The feature film Shakespeare in Love (1998), which he wrote. The film, a romantic comedy , focuses on a fictional story involving William Shakespeare and his romance with a young woman who is an inspiration for the play Romeo and Juliet . The film starred an ensemble cast including Joseph Fiennes , Gwyneth Paltrow , Geoffrey Rush , Colin Firth , and Judi Dench . The film was a critical and financial success and went on to earn seven Academy Awards including Best Picture . Stoppard received his second career Oscar nomination and first win for Best Original Screenplay . He also received
32430-505: The film appear, including Nala, Timon and Pumbaa, Rafiki and Mufasa, with Scar and the three Hyenas serving as enemies . A game called The Lion King 1½ was published in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance , based on the direct-to-video film and featuring Timon and Pumbaa as the playable characters. Some of the film's characters are playable in Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure , a spin-off of
32665-495: The film's other supporting characters). The show ran for three seasons, airing on the syndicated block The Disney Afternoon and CBS in the United States, and BBS in Canada from September 8, 1995, to November 1, 1998. It had Bobs Gannaway and Tony Craig serving as the executive producers for the first two seasons. As of Season 3, the show was produced by Chris Bartleman and Blair Peters, with Tedd and Patsy Cameron-Anasti serving as
32900-739: The film, Scar enacts the final stage of his plan against the Pride Lands, and the Lion Guard begin a final battle with him which dovetails into the events which separate the Lion Guard from the rest of the Pride Lands during the events of Simba's Pride . A photorealistic computer-generated imagery remake of The Lion King was directed by Jon Favreau and produced through his production company Fairview Entertainment. The film's voice cast features Donald Glover as Simba, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Beyoncé as Nala , Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, John Kani as Rafiki, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa , and James Earl Jones reprised his role as Mufasa. The remake
33135-404: The film, including 1,197 hand-painted backgrounds and 119,058 individually colored frames of film. In October 1991, after finishing work on Beauty and the Beast as Head of Story, Roger Allers joined The Lion King , as the initial director. Allers worked for 6 months on story development and was then joined by co-director, Rob Minkoff . A 2-day story session was held to revamp the story with
33370-678: The film. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed were also included as playable characters in a later update of the game. In the game the characters are involved in new storylines that serve as a continuation of The Lion King (ignoring other materials in the franchise). A 70 mm film entitled Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable is shown in the Harvest Theater in The Land Pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World , Orlando, Florida . It opened on January 21, 1995, replacing Symbiosis . It stars
33605-491: The first Disney Channel film to do so. Disney's 2006 live-action film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was Disney's biggest hit to that date and the third-highest-grossing film ever, making $ 1 billion at the box office. On June 28, the company announced it was replacing George Mitchell as chairman with a board members and former CEO of P&G John E. Pepper Jr. . The sequel High School Musical 2
33840-437: The first commercial film to be shown in stereo . However, Fantasia similarly performed poorly at the box office. In 1941, the company experienced a major setback when 300 of its 800 animators, led by one of the top animators Art Babbitt , went on strike for 5 weeks for unionization and higher pay. Walt Disney publicly accused the strikers of being party to a communist conspiracy, and fired many of them, including some of
34075-467: The first one being Toy Story . Dow Jones & Company , wanting to replace 3 companies in its industrial average , chose to add Disney in May 1991, stating Disney "reflects the importance of entertainment and leisure activities in the economy". Disney's next animated film Beauty and the Beast was released on November 13, 1991, and grossed nearly $ 430 million. It was the first animated film to win
34310-458: The first post-produced sound cartoon, and popularized Mickey Mouse , who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon. After becoming a major success by the early 1940s, Disney diversified into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. However, following Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company's profits, especially in the animation division , began to decline. In 1984, Disney's shareholders voted Michael Eisner as CEO, who led
34545-583: The first season, over ten million children and five million adults watched it daily; and two million Mickey Mouse ears, which the cast wore, were sold. In December 1954, the five-part miniseries Davy Crockett , premiered as part of Disneyland , starring Fess Parker . According to writer Neal Gabler , "[It] became an overnight national sensation", selling 10 million Crockett coonskin caps. The show's theme song " The Ballad of Davy Crockett " became part of American pop culture, selling 10 million records. Los Angeles Times called it "the greatest merchandising fad
34780-517: The following years, Stoppard produced several works for radio, television and the theatre, including "M" is for Moon Among Other Things (1964), A Separate Peace (1966) and If You're Glad I'll Be Frank (1966). On 11 April 1967 – following acclaim at the 1966 Edinburgh Festival – the opening of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in a National Theatre production at the Old Vic made Stoppard an overnight success. Jumpers (1972) places
35015-425: The fourth wall by telling the viewers to rewind the tape to start at the beginning, being it was the only way to help Timon remember. Several episodes from the series are featured in this film. Aside from this film, two other DVDs, Dining Out... and On Holiday... are an hour compilation of other episodes of the series. No DVDs have been released in the U.S. but were released on VHS. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
35250-629: The further adventures of the titular meerkat and warthog duo, as they continue to live by their problem-free philosophy Hakuna Matata. Timon and Pumbaa are seen having their own (mis)adventures both within' and outside of the Serengeti, encountering new allies and enemies throughout their journey, such as Speedy the Snail, Boss Beaver, and human nemesis Quint. The series also has episodes centering respectively on Rafiki, Zazu, and hyena trio Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. Simba himself also makes recurring appearances throughout
35485-611: The head of Disney after Iger's retirement. However, Chapek was ousted in 2022 and Iger was reinstated as CEO. The company is known for its film studio division, the Walt Disney Studios , which includes Walt Disney Pictures , Walt Disney Animation Studios , Pixar , Marvel Studios , Lucasfilm , 20th Century Studios , 20th Century Animation , and Searchlight Pictures . Disney's other main business units include divisions in television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme park resorts, consumer products, publishing, and international operations. Through these divisions, Disney owns and operates
35720-531: The house they shared in France. He has two sons from each of his first two marriages: Oliver Stoppard, Barnaby Stoppard, the actor Ed Stoppard , and Will Stoppard, who is married to violinist Linzi Stoppard . In 2014 he married Sabrina Guinness . Stoppard's mother died in 1996. The family had not talked about their history and neither brother knew what had happened to the family left behind in Czechoslovakia. In
35955-411: The hyenas to kill Simba, but they fail. Scar informs the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed and that he is assuming the throne as the next in line. Simba is later found unconscious by Timon and Pumbaa, who adopt and raise him. It is not until Simba is a young adult lion that he meets Nala again, and the two lions fall in love. Along with Rafiki and Mufasa's ghost, Nala convinces Simba to return to
36190-769: The leading roles with a supporting role by Christine Baranski . The transfer was a critical success with The New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich declaring, "The Broadway version of The Real Thing - a substantial revision of the original London production - is not only Mr. Stoppard's most moving play, but also the most bracing play that anyone has written about love and marriage in years." The production went on to earn seven Tony Award nominations, winning five awards for Best Play as well for Nichols, Irons, Close, and Baranski. This would be Stoppard's third Tony Award for Best Play, following Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 1968 and Travesties in 1976. In 1985, Stoppard co-wrote with Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown
36425-545: The leads. He has received numerous awards and honours including an Academy Award , a Laurence Olivier Award , and five Tony Awards . In 2008, The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 11 in their list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture ". It was announced in June 2019 that Stoppard had written a new play, Leopoldstadt , set in the Jewish community of early 20th-century Vienna . The play premiered in January 2020 at Wyndham's Theatre . The play went on to win
36660-553: The live action/animation musical film Mary Poppins was released to major commercial success and rapturous critical acclaim, becoming the year's highest-grossing film and winning five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews as Poppins and Best Song for the Sherman Brothers, who also won Best Score for the film's " Chim Chim Cher-ee ". Throughout the 1960s, Dean Jones , whom The Guardian called "the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in
36895-533: The live-action Alice in Wonderland and the Disney-Pixar film Toy Story 3 , both of which grossed a little over $ 1 billion, making them the sixth-and-seventh films to do so; and Toy Story 3 became the first animated film to make over $ 1 billion and the highest-grossing animated film. That year, Disney became the first studio to release two $ 1-billion-dollar-earning films in one calendar year. In 2010,
37130-576: The mainstream, including music for movie soundtracks, Disney founded the recording label Hollywood Records on January 1, 1990. In September 1990, Disney arranged for financing of up to $ 200 million by a unit of Nomura Securities for Interscope films made for Disney. On October 23, Disney formed Touchwood Pacific Partners , which replaced the Silver Screen Partnership series as the company's movie studios' primary source of funding. Disney's first animated sequel The Rescuers Down Under
37365-457: The most-expensive animated movie at $ 40 million, their first animated film to feature computer-generated imagery, and their first PG-rated animation because of its adult themes. The film was a box-office failure, leading the company to move the animation department from the studio in Burbank to a warehouse in Glendale, California . The film-financing partnership Silver Screen Partners II, which
37600-594: The most-watched live broadcast to that date. While the park's opening day was disastrous (restaurants ran out of food, the Mark Twain Riverboat began to sink, other rides malfunctioned, and the drinking fountains were not working in the 100 °F. (38 °C) heat), the park became a success with 161,657 visitors in its first week and 20,000 visitors a day in its first month. After its first year, 3.6 million people had visited, and after its second year, four million more guests came, making it more popular than
37835-476: The musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M . The musical incorporates several changes and additions to the storyline as compared to the film, as well as adding more songs. The musical became a success even before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on October 15, 1997, in previews with the official opening on November 13 the same year. On June 13, 2006,
38070-445: The next 4 years, Winkler handed the role of distributing the studio's shorts to her husband, Charles Mintz . In 1927, Mintz asked for a new series, and Disney created his first series of fully animated shorts, starring a character named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit . The series was produced by Winkler Pictures and distributed by Universal Pictures . The Walt Disney Studios completed 26 Oswald shorts. In 1928, Disney and Mintz entered into
38305-557: The next five years through Touchstone Pictures, with Disney getting 10% of the gross. The 2009 film Up garnered Disney $ 735 million at the box office, and the film won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. Later that year, Disney launched a television channel named Disney XD , aimed at older children. The company bought Marvel Entertainment and its assets for $ 4 billion in August, adding Marvel's comic-book characters to its merchandising line-up. In September, Disney partnered with News Corporation and NBCUniversal in
38540-434: The only top animator to remain with the Disney brothers. Disney and Iwerks replaced Oswald with a mouse character originally named Mortimer Mouse , before Disney's wife urged him to change the name to Mickey Mouse . In May 1928, Mickey Mouse debuted in test screenings of the shorts Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho . Later that year, the studio produced Steamboat Willie , its first sound film and third short in
38775-401: The other focusing on new character Kion called The Lion Guard . Three sets of educational shorts have also been produced. This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the franchise. Early production of The Lion King began in late 1988, with the film originally being titled King of the Kalahari and later King of the Jungle . The treatment, inspired by Hamlet ,
39010-506: The other's chin, mannerisms that can be appreciated in Simba and Nala's encounter during the song " Can You Feel the Love Tonight ". Fowler also talked about how they protect themselves by lying on their backs and using their claws to ward off attackers, and how they fight rivals by rising on their hind legs. Screenwriter Irene Mecchi joined the directing team to help in the character development process as well as to define each character's personality. Story head Brenda Chapman , gave insight to
39245-493: The pain of passion. Arcadia (1993) explores the meeting of chaos theory , historiography, and landscape gardening. He was inspired by a Trevor Nunn production of Gorky 's Summerfolk to write a trilogy of "human" plays: The Coast of Utopia ( Voyage , Shipwreck , and Salvage , 2002). Stoppard has commented that he loves the medium of theatre for how "adjustable" it is at every point, how unfrozen it is, continuously growing and developing through each rehearsal, free from
39480-404: The park, whose construction costs totaled $ 17 million. In October, with the success of Disneyland, ABC allowed Disney to produce The Mickey Mouse Club , a variety show for children; the show included a daily Disney cartoon, a children's newsreel, and a talent show. It was presented by a host, and talented children and adults called "Mousketeers" and "Mooseketeers", respectively. After
39715-552: The park. Construction began in July 1954. To finance the construction of Disneyland, Disney sold his home at Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs and the company promoted it with a television series of the same name aired on ABC . The Disneyland television series, which would be the first in a long-running series of successful anthology television programs for the company, was a success and garnered over 50% of viewers in its time slot, along with praise from critics. In August, Walt formed another company Disneyland, Inc. to finance
39950-416: The past tales of the Pridelands. The many characters from The Lion King appear in the Disney Channel series House of Mouse . Some of them also appear in the series' spin-off films Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse and Mickey's House of Villains . A digital storybook app called The Lion King: Timon's Tale retelling the story of The Lion King from Timon's point-of-view
40185-413: The previous year's $ 920 million. To help reduce costs, Disney announced it would lay off 4,000 employees and close 300–400 Disney stores. After winning the World Series in 2002 , Disney sold the Anaheim Angels for $ 180 million in 2003. In 2003, Disney became the first studio to garner $ 3 billion in a year at the box office. The same year, Roy Disney announced his retirement because of how
40420-549: The release of Steamboat Willie at the Colony Theater in New York, Mickey Mouse became an immensely popular character. Disney Brothers Studio made several cartoons featuring Mickey and other characters. In August 1929, the company began making the Silly Symphony series with Columbia Pictures as the distributor, because the Disney brothers felt they were not receiving their share of profits from Powers. Powers ended his contract with Iwerks, who later started his own studio. Carl W. Stalling played an important role in starting
40655-417: The same name, "Safety Smart: On the Go" is a series of shorts that detail topics on how to be safe when traveling, such as when riding vehicles, using bikes & scooters, walking to travel as pedestrians, or even when visiting amusement parks. The "Safety Smart: On the Go!" short series is most well known for being displayed in resorts in Walt Disney World (Florida) & Disneyland (California), in addition to
40890-470: The same time, and most of the staff preferred to work on Pocahontas , believing it would be the more prestigious and successful of the two. As it turned out, while both films were commercial successes, The Lion King received more positive feedback and larger grosses than Pocahontas . Disney The Walt Disney Company , commonly referred to as simply Disney , is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at
41125-411: The same year, The Lion King was released and was a massive success, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind Jurassic Park and the highest-grossing animated film of all time, with a gross total of $ 969 million. It was critically praised and garnered two Academy Awards—Best Score and Best Song for " Can You Feel the Love Tonight ". Soon after its release, Katzenberg left
41360-412: The screenplays for Brazil (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), The Russia House (1990), Billy Bathgate (1991), Shakespeare in Love (1998), Enigma (2001), and Anna Karenina (2012), as well as the HBO limited series Parade's End (2013). He directed the film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), an adaptation of his own 1966 play , with Gary Oldman and Tim Roth as
41595-496: The scripts for Steven Spielberg , Empire of the Sun (1987) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Spielberg later stated that though Stoppard was uncredited for the latter of the two, "he was responsible for almost every line of dialogue in the film". For his 1985 appearance on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs Stoppard chose "Careless Love" by Bessie Smith as his favourite track; he also selected Inferno in two languages by Dante Alighieri as his chosen book and
41830-792: The sculptor and friend Angela Conner , and his bronze portrait bust is on display in the grounds of Chatsworth House . The papers of Stoppard are housed at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The archive was first established by Stoppard in 1991 and continues to grow. The collection consists of typescript and handwritten drafts, revision pages, outlines, and notes; production material, including cast lists, set drawings, schedules, and photographs; theatre programs; posters; advertisements; clippings; page and galley proofs; dust jackets; correspondence; legal documents and financial papers, including passports, contracts, and royalty and account statements; itineraries; appointment books and diary sheets; photographs; sheet music; sound recordings;
42065-429: The second theme park in Walt Disney World, with around 10,000 people in attendance during the opening. The park cost over $ 900 million to construct, and consisted of the Future World pavilion and World Showcase representing Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, France, the UK, and Canada; Morocco and Norway were added in 1984 and 1988, respectively. The animation industry continued to decline and 69% of
42300-409: The series, and composed the music for early films but left the company after Iwerks' departure. In September, theater manager Harry Woodin requested permission to start a Mickey Mouse Club at his theater the Fox Dome to boost attendance. Disney agreed, but David E. Dow started the first-such club at Elsinore Theatre before Woodin could start his. On December 21, the first meeting at Elsinore Theatre
42535-432: The shares, forced out CEO Miller and replaced him with Michael Eisner , a former president of Paramount Pictures , and appointed Frank Wells as president. Eisner's first act was to make it a major film studio, which at the time it was not considered. Eisner appointed Jeffrey Katzenberg as chairman and Roy E. Disney as head of animation. Eisner wanted to produce an animated film every 18 months rather than four years, as
42770-407: The show. The episode "Once Upon a Timon" reveals the (original) story of how Timon and Pumbaa first met and how their friendship came to be. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride begins with the presentation of Simba and Nala's daughter named Kiara. Simba is very protective of his daughter and assigns Timon and Pumbaa to be her guardians. One day, the young cub sneaks into the Outlands, the place in which
43005-501: The situation of political dissidents in Central and Eastern Europe. In February 1977, he visited the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries with a member of Amnesty International . In June, Stoppard met Vladimir Bukovsky in London and travelled to Czechoslovakia (then under communist control), where he met dissident playwright and future president Václav Havel , whose writing he greatly admires. Stoppard became involved with Index on Censorship , Amnesty International, and
43240-500: The stocks. He offered to buy 49% for $ 1.3 billion or the entire company for $ 2.75 billion. Disney, which had less than $ 10 million, rejected Steinberg's offer and offered to buy all of his stock for $ 326 million. Steinberg agreed, and Disney paid it all with part of a $ 1.3 billion bank loan, putting the company $ 866 million in debt. In 1984, shareholders Roy E. Disney, Sid Bass , Lillian and Diane Disney , and Irwin L. Jacobs —who together owned about 36% of
43475-405: The strip was published in 60 newspapers in the US, and in 20 other countries. After realizing releasing merchandise based on the characters would generate more revenue, a man in New York offered Disney $ 300 for license to put Mickey Mouse on writing tablets he was manufacturing. Disney accepted and Mickey Mouse became the first licensed character. In 1933, Disney asked Kay Kamen , the owner of
43710-579: The studio's 4th animated feature Dumbo (1941) on a cheaper budget, which performed well at the box office, infusing the studio with much needed cash. After US entry into World War II, many of the company's animators were drafted into the army. 500 United States Army soldiers occupied the studio for 8 months to protect a nearby Lockheed aircraft plant. While they were there, the soldiers fixed equipment in large soundstages and converted storage sheds into ammunition depots. The United States Navy asked Disney to produce propaganda films to gain support for
43945-432: The studio's best. Roy unsuccessfully attempted to persuade the company's main distributors to invest in the studio, which could no longer afford to offset production costs with employee layoffs. The anthology film The Reluctant Dragon (1941), ran $ 100,000 short of its production cost, contributing to the studio's financial woes. While negotiations to end the strike were underway, Walt and studio animators embarked on
44180-402: The studio's increasingly diverse portfolio of projects, including live-action films (of which Treasure Island was the studio's first), television and amusement parks . In 1950 the company made its first foray into television when NBC aired " One Hour in Wonderland ", a promotional program for Disney's next animated film, Alice in Wonderland (1951), and sponsored by Coca-Cola . Alice
44415-507: The studio. The final one, in 1923, was entitled Alice's Wonderland and depicted child actress Virginia Davis interacting with animated characters. While Laugh-O-Gram's shorts were popular in Kansas City, the studio went bankrupt in 1923 and Disney moved to Los Angeles, to join his brother Roy O. Disney , who was recovering from tuberculosis . Shortly after Walt's move, New York film distributor Margaret J. Winkler purchased Alice's Wonderland , which began to gain popularity. Disney signed
44650-410: The text. His experience of writing for film is similar, offering the liberating opportunity to "play God", in control of creative reality. It often takes four to five years from the first idea of a play to staging, taking pains to be as profoundly accurate in his research as he can be. Stoppard has been married three times. His first marriage was to Josie Ingle (1965–1972), a nurse. His second marriage
44885-547: The theme park industry. The company, which has been public since 1940, trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with ticker symbol DIS and has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. In August 2020, about two-thirds of the stock was owned by large financial institutions. The company celebrated their 100th anniversary on October 16, 2023. In 1921, American animators Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks founded Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri . Iwerks and Disney went on to create short films at
45120-472: The top of Pride Rock. The Lion King 1½ is a retelling of the events of the first film from Timon and Pumbaa's perspective. It also tells the story of Timon's origin, how he first met Pumbaa, and how their friendship came to be, serving as a reimagined version of the "Once Upon a Timon" episode of The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa . In The Lion Guard , the majority of the series takes place after Kiara meets Kovu, but before her first hunt. The series follows
45355-414: The town's patron, Jan Antonín Baťa , transferred his Jewish employees, mostly physicians, to branches of his firm outside Europe. On 15 March 1939, the day the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, the Sträussler family fled to Singapore , where Bata had a factory. Before the Japanese occupation of Singapore , Stoppard, his brother, and their mother fled to India . Stoppard's father remained in Singapore as
45590-430: The two directors, Allers and Minkoff, joined by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise , directors of Beauty and the Beast , and Producer Don Hahn who presided over the discussion. The creative think-tank produced a character makeover for Simba and a radically revised second half of the film. Irene Mecchi joined the team that summer to help further develop the characters and define their personalities. Several months later, she
45825-442: The venom corrupts him into the lion Scar once was. The last 2 episodes of Season 3 take place after the war between Simba's pride & Zira's outsiders. A total of thirteen supervising animators from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Disney's Hollywood Studios were responsible for establishing the personalities and setting the tone for the first film's main characters. The animation team studied real-life animals for reference, as
46060-428: The war, and with the studio badly in need of profits, Disney agreed, signing a contract for 20 war-related shorts for $ 90,000. Most of the company's employees worked on the project, which spawned films such as Victory Through Air Power , and others which included some of the company's characters. In August 1942, Disney released its fifth feature film, Bambi, after five years in development, and performed poorly at
46295-611: The war, in 1946, having spent the previous three years (1943–1946) in a boarding school in Darjeeling in the Indian Himalayas . After being educated at schools in Nottingham and Yorkshire , Stoppard became a journalist, a drama critic and then, in 1960, a playwright. Stoppard's most prominent plays include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966), Jumpers (1972), Travesties (1974), Night and Day (1978), The Real Thing (1982), Arcadia (1993), The Invention of Love (1997), The Coast of Utopia (2002), Rock 'n' Roll (2006) and Leopoldstadt (2020). He wrote
46530-458: The water park Typhoon Lagoon in June 1989; in 2022 it had 1.9 million visitors and was the most popular water park in the world. Also in 1989, Disney signed an agreement-in-principle to acquire The Jim Henson Company from its founder. The deal included Henson's programming library and Muppet characters —excluding the Muppets created for Sesame Street —as well as Henson's personal creative services. Henson, however, died in May 1990 before
46765-410: The works of Polish and Czech absurdists. He has been co-opted into the Outrapo group, a far-from-serious French movement to improve actors' stage technique through science. In 1982 Stoppard premiered his play The Real Thing . The story revolves around a male-female relationship and the struggle between the actress and the member of a group fighting to free a Scottish soldier imprisoned for burning
47000-402: The world had ever seen". In June 1955, Disney's 15th animated film Lady and the Tramp was released and performed better at the box office than any other Disney films since Snow White . Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955; it was a major media event, broadcast live on ABC with actors Art Linkletter , Bob Cummings , and Ronald Reagan hosting. It garnered over 90 million viewers, becoming
47235-475: The world we're in. I find I put a foot wrong—it could be pronunciation, an arcane bit of English history—and suddenly I'm there naked, as someone with a pass, a press ticket". This is reflected in his characters, he observes, who are "constantly being addressed by the wrong name, with jokes and false trails to do with the confusion of having two names". Stoppard attended the Dolphin School in Nottinghamshire, and later completed his education at Pocklington School in
47470-412: Was Walt's dream. EPCOT became less the City of Tomorrow, and more another amusement park. After 18 months of construction at a cost of around $ 400 million, Walt Disney World's first park the Magic Kingdom, along with Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Resort , opened on October 1, 1971, with 10,400 visitors. A parade with over 1,000 band members, 4,000 Disney entertainers, and
47705-400: Was a parade based on the film that ran at Disneyland from June 1, 1994, to June 1, 1997. It was designed as though the story of Simba was a tale passed down in Africa for generations. The parade featured six floats designed around different aspects of Africa, dancers dressed in animal costumes and a Pride Rock float featuring Simba and Nala. At D23 2024 on August 10, 2024, it was announced that
47940-491: Was a response to other Science fiction films of the era. In September, 12 animators, which was over 15% of the department, resigned. Led by Don Bluth , they left because of a conflict with the training program and the atmosphere, and started their own company Don Bluth Productions . In 1981, Disney released Dumbo to VHS and Alice in Wonderland the following year, leading Disney to eventually release all its films on home media. On July 24, Walt Disney's World on Ice ,
48175-436: Was an immediate critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film up to that point, grossing $ 8 million (equivalent to $ 169,555,556 in 2023 dollars); after re-releases, it grossed a total of $ 998,440,000 in the US adjusted for inflation. Using the profits from Snow White , Disney financed the construction of a new 51-acre studio complex in Burbank , which the company fully moved into in 1940 and where
48410-422: Was attended by around 1,200 children. On July 24, 1930, Joseph Conley, president of King Features Syndicate , wrote to the Disney studio and asked the company to produce a Mickey Mouse comic strip; production started in November and samples were sent to King Features. On December 16, 1930, the Walt Disney Studios partnership was reorganized as a corporation with the name Walt Disney Productions, Limited, which had
48645-509: Was awarded the PEN Pinter Prize for "determination to tell things as they are." In July 2017, Stoppard was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy (HonFBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Stoppard was appointed Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre, St Catherine's College, Oxford , for the academic year 2017–2018. Stoppard has been represented in various forms of art. He sat for sculptor Alan Thornhill , and
48880-447: Was behind the ambush, but Kiara, knowing that Kovu would never do such a thing, runs away from Pride Rock against her father's orders and reunites with Kovu and convinces him to return with her to reunite their prides. Meanwhile, Zira leads her pride in a war against Simba and the Pridelanders and a fierce battle breaks out. Kovu and Kiara leap between them and Kiara reminds her father that, by his own words, "we are one". Zira refuses to end
49115-441: Was done for the earlier film Bambi . The animation of the characters was created with supervision by wildlife experts such as Jim Fowler , who visited the studio on several occasions with an assortment of lions and other jungle inhabitants to discuss behavior and help the animators give their drawings an authentic feel. He taught them how lions greet one another by gently butting heads, and show affection by placing one's head under
49350-470: Was expected to do well, the company lost $ 48 million after its first year, with around 916,000 subscribers. In 1983, Walt's son-in-law Ron W. Miller , who had been president since 1978, became its CEO, and Raymond Watson became chairman. Miller wanted the studio to produce more content for mature audiences, and Disney founded film distribution label Touchstone Pictures to produce movies geared toward adults and teenagers in 1984. Splash (1984)
49585-411: Was financially unsuccessful, falling $ 1 million short of the production budget. In February 1953, Disney's next animated film Peter Pan was released to financial success; it was the last Disney film distributed by RKO after Disney ended its contract and created its own distribution company Buena Vista Distribution . According to Walt, he first had the idea of building an amusement park during
49820-544: Was formed in 1952 to design and construct the park. Drawing inspiration from amusement parks in the US and Europe, Walt approached the design of Disneyland with an emphasis on thematic storytelling and cleanliness, innovative approaches for amusement parks of the time. The plan to build the park in Burbank was abandoned when Walt realized 8 acres would not be enough to accomplish his vision. Disney acquired 160 acres (65 ha) of orange groves in Anaheim , southeast of LA in neighboring Orange County , at $ 6,200 per acre to build
50055-409: Was joined by Jonathan Roberts in the rewriting process. Working together in the animation department and in conjunction with the directors and story team, they tackled the unresolved emotional issues in the script and also added many comic situations. Some of the lead production crew made a trip to Africa to better understand the environment for the film. The trip gave production designer Chris Sanders
50290-483: Was nominated for six Tony Awards and won four, including Best Play . Stoppard has also co-written screenplays including Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Stoppard also worked on Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith , though again Stoppard received no official or formal credit in this role. He worked in a similar capacity with Tim Burton on his film Sleepy Hollow . His radio production, Darkside (2013),
50525-459: Was one of the financially successful comedies of the early 1990s, grossing $ 231 million; action film Con Air (1997), which grossed $ 224 million; and the highest-grossing film of 1998 at $ 553 million Armageddon . At Disney World, the company opened Disney's Animal Kingdom , the largest theme park in the world covering 580 acres (230 ha) on Earth Day , April 22, 1998. It had six animal-themed lands, over 2,000 animals, and
50760-402: Was organized in 1985, financed films for Disney with $ 193 million. In January 1987, Silver Screen Partners III began financing movies for Disney with $ 300 million raised by E.F. Hutton , the largest amount raised for a film-financing limited partnership. Silver Screen IV was also set up to finance Disney's studios. In 1986, the company changed its name from Walt Disney Productions to
50995-460: Was postponed. Despite Pinocchio 's critical acclaim (it won the Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Score and was lauded for groundbreaking achievements in animation), the film performed poorly at the box office, due to World War II affecting the international box office. The company's third feature Fantasia (1940) introduced groundbreaking advancements in cinema technology, chiefly Fantasound , an early surround sound system making it
51230-409: Was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation , premiered in selected cities on June 15, 1994, and widely released to theaters on June 24 by Walt Disney Pictures . The Lion King belongs to an era known as the Disney Renaissance . The plot of the film is influenced by William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet , and is believed to have been inspired by Osamu Tezuka 's 1960s Japanese anime series Kimba
51465-401: Was published in 2000 by Activision and was released for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color . It was based on the first film and its storyline continued into the sequel. In 1996, Disney Interactive and 7th Level released Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games for the PC. It was later seen on the SNES. The Games include: one in which Pumbaa uses his gas to destroy fruits and bugs (and even
51700-558: Was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on VHS in the United States on October 27, 1998. It was directed by Darrell Rooney and co-directed by Rob LaDuca. It was first released on DVD as a limited issue on November 23, 1999, and placed into moratorium until it was again released on DVD on August 31, 2004, when it was a two-disc special edition. The plot of this animated film is heavily influenced by another Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet . The Lion King 1½ , also known as The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata in some countries,
51935-664: Was released in 1970; according to Dave Kehr of Chicago Tribune , "the absence of his [Walt's] hand is evident". The following year, the anti-fascist musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks was released and won the Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects . At the time of Walt's death, Roy was ready to retire but wanted to keep Walt's legacy alive; he became the first CEO and chairman of the company. In May 1967, Roy had legislation passed by Florida's legislatures to grant Disney World its own quasi-government agency in an area called Reedy Creek Improvement District . Roy changed Disney World's name to Walt Disney World to remind people it
52170-422: Was released in 1977, grossing $ 16 million in the US and Canada, but was a disappointment to the company. In 1979, Disney's first PG-rated film and most expensive film to that point at $ 26 million The Black Hole was released, showing Disney could use special effects. It grossed $ 35 million, a disappointment to the company, which thought it would be a hit like Star Wars (1977). The Black Hole
52405-440: Was released in 2007 on Disney Channel and broke several cable rating records. In April 2007, the Muppets Holding Company was moved from Disney Consumer Products to the Walt Disney Studios division and renamed the Muppets Studios to relaunch the division. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End became the highest-grossing film of 2007 at $ 960 million. Disney-Pixar films Ratatouille (2007) and WALL-E (2008) were
52640-438: Was released on February 24. 2012 for iOS devices. The story is set in a kingdom of anthropomorphic animals in Africa known as the Pride Lands, where a lion rules over the other animals as king. The Lion King begins when Rafiki, a mandrill, anoints Simba, the newborn son of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, presenting him to a gathering of animals at the Pride Rock. Simba is next seen as a young cub, with Mufasa teaching him about
52875-458: Was released on July 19, 2019. A follow-up film is in development with Barry Jenkins attached to direct and Jeff Nathanson set to return as screenwriter. While it has been referred to as a prequel, the film has been described as being set after the events of the 2019 film while also exploring Mufasa's formative years. Aaron Pierre will be voicing young Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. will voice young Scar. The film, titled Mufasa: The Lion King ,
53110-531: Was released on November 11, 1992, and grossed $ 504 million, becoming the highest-grossing animated film to that point, and the first animated film to gross a half-billion dollars. It won two Academy Awards—Best Song for " A Whole New World " and Best Score; and "A Whole New World" was the first-and-only Disney song to win the Grammy for Song of the Year . For $ 60 million, Disney broadened its range of mature-audience films by acquiring independent film distributor Miramax Films in 1993. The same year, in
53345-469: Was released on November 13, garnering praise and $ 511 million at the box office. To replace Ovitz, Eisner named ABC network chief Bob Iger Disney's president and chief operating officer in January 2000. In November, Disney sold DIC Entertainment back to Andy Heyward . Disney had another huge success with Pixar when they released Monsters, Inc. in 2001. Later, Disney bought children's cable network Fox Family Worldwide for $ 3 billion and
53580-432: Was released on November 16, 1990, and created using Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), digital software developed by Disney and Pixar —the computer division of Lucasfilm —becoming the first feature film to be entirely created digitally. Although the film struggled in the box office, grossing $ 47 million, it received positive reviews. In 1991, Disney and Pixar agreed to a deal to make three films together,
53815-424: Was the first film released under the label, and a much-needed success, grossing over $ 6 million in its first week. Disney's first R-rated film Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) was released and was another hit, grossing $ 62 million. The following year, Disney's first PG-13 rated film Adventures in Babysitting was released. In 1984, Saul Steinberg attempted to buy out the company, holding 11% of
54050-601: Was then the 2nd-largest corporate takeover in US history. Through the deal, Disney would obtain broadcast network ABC, an 80% majority stake in sports networks ESPN and ESPN 2 , 50% in Lifetime Television , a majority stake of DIC Entertainment , and a 38% minority stake in A&E Television Networks . Following the deal, the company started Radio Disney , a youth-focused radio program on ABC Radio Network , on November 18, 1996. The Walt Disney Company launched its official website disney.com on February 22, 1996, mainly to promote its theme parks and merchandise. On June 19,
54285-416: Was to Miriam Stern (1972–92); they separated when he began a relationship with actress Felicity Kendal . He also had a relationship with actress Sinéad Cusack , but she made it clear she wished to remain married to Jeremy Irons and stay close to their two sons. Also, after she was reunited with a son she had given up for adoption , she wished to spend time with him in Dublin rather than with Stoppard in
54520-448: Was too concerned when I set off, to have a firework go off every few seconds... I think I was always looking for the entertainer in myself and I seem to be able to entertain through manipulating language... [but] it's really about human beings, it's not really about language at all." The Real Thing (1982) uses a meta-theatrical structure to explore the suffering that adultery can produce and The Invention of Love (1997) also investigates
54755-529: Was well received with Vincent Canby of The New York Times writing, that while "There are real difficulties with this production...[there are] also great pleasures, not the least of which are Mark Thompson's sets and costumes. Mostly, though, there are Mr. Stoppard's grandly eclectic obsessions and his singular gifts as a playwright. Attend to them." The production received three Tony Award nominations including Best Play losing to Terrence McNally 's Love! Valour! Compassion! . Stoppard gained acclaim with
54990-471: Was written by Thomas M. Disch (author of The Brave Little Toaster ) as work-for-hire; Disch received no credit or royalties. Production took place at the Walt Disney Animation Studios in Glendale, California . Also, nearly 20 minutes of the film were animated at the Disney-MGM Studios. Ultimately, more than 600 artists, animators and technicians contributed to The Lion King over its lengthy production schedule. More than one million drawings were created for
55225-1033: Was written for BBC Radio 2 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pink Floyd 's album The Dark Side of the Moon . Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966–67) was Stoppard's first major play to gain recognition. The story of Hamlet as told from the viewpoint of two courtiers echoes Beckett in its double act repartee, existential themes and language play. "Stoppardian" became a term describing works using wit and comedy while addressing philosophical concepts. Critic Dennis Kennedy commented: "It established several characteristics of Stoppard's dramaturgy: his word-playing intellectuality, audacious, paradoxical, and self-conscious theatricality, and preference for reworking pre-existing narratives... Stoppard's plays have been sometimes dismissed as pieces of clever showmanship, lacking in substance, social commitment, or emotional weight. His theatrical surfaces serve to conceal rather than reveal their author's views, and his fondness for towers of paradox spirals away from social comment. This
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