(1) Michel G. Rukstad, David Collis; The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King; Harvard Business School; 9-701-035; Rev. January 5, 2009
In 1920, while working at an ad company called Pesmen-Rubin Art Studio in Kansas City, Walt discovered the great world of animation and submerged himself within it. While keeping his day job, he began making Laugh-O-Gram ad films and animation shorts with artist Ub Iwerks, whom he met working at the Art Studio. Laugh-O-grams Films soon went bankrupt, and Walt, moved to California with very little money in his pocket (Walter Elias Disney). Disney ran into a lot of road blocks and hard time, but that would not stop him. His dreams and imagination keep him
“Walter Elias Disney was born December 5, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, to Elias and Flora Disney…Walt’s parents …decided to move closer to family on a farm outside of Marceline, Missouri, in 1906…It was here that he began to draw animals and indulge his imagination. Walt’s exposure to rural life influenced him throughout his career.” (Jolley) When reading about Walt’s early history, it’s noticeable that he came from very humble circumstances. The places he lived, and the experiences he had, shaped his life dramatically. He was an imaginative and hardworking person from the start. “ Walt was only nine years old when he had to get up at 3:30 a.m., seven days a week, to fold and deliver papers for two hours before attending…school” (Jolley) By working at such a young age, life lessons of perseverance and dedication was instilled into his values at a very early.
The Walt Disney Company, known generally as Disney, is an american entertainment conglomerate located in Burbank, California. In terms of revenue, it's the second largest media conglomerate behind the cable giant, Comcast.
Walter Elias Disney was born December 5, 1901 in Chicago. He was born into the family of Elias and Flora Disney. When Walt was born, he had two older brothers. One was Raymond, who was eleven, and the other was Roy O., who was eight. Two years after Disney, his sister Ruth was born. In 1906, the Disneys moved to Marceline, Missouri where Walt attended the Park School (Louise).
Walt grew up on a small farm in Marceline, Missouri, during his earlier years, but he was born in Chicago, Illinois. On December 5, 1901, he was born to Flora and Elias Disney and was the fourth youngest out of five children. Growing up was hard for Walt because his family moved so many times. In
Animation played a major role for the advancement of motion film in 1900’s. Before motion picture camera, frame by frame photographs were used to understand animal and human movement. Eventually a series of famous cartoons would be created which would lead to the expansion of animation studios in New York and California. One famous animation studio that opened up was Walt Disney, which would eventually dominate animation for many years. Disney animation brought many spectacular films and entertainment to people of the U.S.A. Disneys was dragged into WWII as it was requested by the government for its talented art and propaganda during WWII. But Disney was able to continue to strive in producing more animated films after its effort for the war. Walt Disney was a cinematographer who took his career into animation.Walt graduated from Kansas City Art Institute, where he met Ub Iwerks, a greatly skilled animator and Walts collaborated partner. Walts career would begin while working for the Kansas City Film Ad Company in Missouri in 1920. They would be the founders of the Laugh-O-gram Films studio working to to produce several cartoons based off fables and fairy tales. Walt Disney created several pilot shorts of a show called Alice in Cartoonland, a film combining both live action and animation. Alice in cartoonland, a comedic show about a young girl who enters another universe
Walt Disney began in 1923 with a short film called Alice’s Wonderland. It was co-owned by Walt Disney and his brother Roy Disney. Disney moved forward into the future with very popular filmed entertainment such as Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi and so many more until the death of Walt Disney in 1966. Walt Disney was then successfully supervised by Walt’s older brother, Roy Disney, until his death in 1971 after the completion of his brother’s dream, Walt Disney World. It was in 1983 that Disney expanded its operations to include the Disney Channel and the Touchstone Pictures film label. When the new president and CEO, Michael Eisner and Frank Wells, came onto the scene they set out to maximize the company’s assets by opening its famous movies up to the TV syndication market and video cassettes. With the classics easily accessible and available at a lower cost the company grew to greater heights. The success continued in 1988 when Disney movies hit new box office heights bringing in more than $100 million. Then between the years of 1989 to 1994 chart toppers like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and the Lion King launched the entertainment company to even greater heights. The films were grossing between $200 and $783 million...
Walt Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. His father worked there as a building contractor. He was a strict and religious man who often physically abused Walt and his siblings (“Skews.Me”). Walt’s father took over a farm in Marceline, Missouri. Walt was very happy living on the farm and developed a love for animals. Unfortunately, his father’s business there failed, and the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Walt helped his father deliver newspapers. He also worked selling candy and newspapers on the trains (Barrett).
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5th, 1901 in Hermosa, Illinois. Together, he and his brother would come to cofound Walt Disney Productions. Disney grew up in Marceline, Missouri with his mother, father, three brothers, and one sister. In 1911, they moved to Kansas City. Due to his Uncle Mike Martin’s career as a train engineer, Disney developed his love of trains. In 1917, the Disney family moved to Chicago where Disney attended McKinley high School. He took drawing and photography classes as well as drew for the school newspaper. He also took classes at the Chicago Art institute. At the young age of sixteen, he dropped out of school. He originally wanted to join the army but, after being rejected for being underage, instead joined the Red Cross. He was sent to France and to drive an ambulance there for one year.
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois. Despite this, he lived in Marceline, Kansas for a majority of his childhood. He and his family worked and lived on a small farm and, during his free time, would use his imagination to doodle animals which he would sell to friends and neighbors. In 1911, Walt’s father fell ill and the Disney family moved to Kansas city. There, Walt and his brother Roy delivered newspapers for their father. They would wake up at ungodly hours, like three in the morning, and work seven days a week. Even with school and his job, Walt still found time for his drawings. After completing middle school, the Disney family moved back to Chicago, where Walt would then graduated from high school. During the tail end of World War I, he joined the Red Cross and served for nine months in France. He transported officers, transported supplies, and drove ambulances.
The Walt Disney Company is a highly diversified media and entertainment company that has been growing by leaps and bounds since its inception in the late 1920’s. In the past few decades, The Walt Disney Company has expanded into numerous markets and diversified its business greatly. The company states that their corporate strategy is targeted at creating high-quality family content, exploiting technological innovations to make entertainment experiences more memorable, and expanding internationally. Upon studying the happenings of the company throughout the years, it is easy to see that the company is executing this strategy well through numerous strategic moves in the industry.
Walt Disney Corporate information on Disney online. (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2004, from the Disney Web site: http://disney.go.com/corporate/
If it would be profitable to split up Disney means that the NPV of the company is higher split up than the company in going concern in its present state. Doing this calculation is a complicated issue, which is outside the scope of this study question. But based on the above answers it does not make sense to split up Disney. Doing this would be very value destructing because it would not be possible to take advantage of the synergies, as well as the fact that one of the worlds best branded names would be thrown away. If Disney at some point of time gets into financial problems the solution therefore will not be to split up the core of Disney. There are though businesses that can be sold away. Examples of this are the Disney Magic Cruise and the Anaheim sports teams, which are not in the core of Disney and could be sold without destroying brand value and synergy. Especially selling the cruise would release quit a lot of money, so we expect that this will be the first thing to be sold. It would also be possible to outsource the hotels and restaurants in the theme parks. But splitting up the core of Disney would not make any sense.
From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to today 's global corporation, The Walt Disney Company continues to proudly provide quality entertainment for every member of the family, across America and around the world. One of the key statements in the text states, “Disney’s greatest challenge today is to keep a 90- year- old brand relevant and current to its core audience while staying true to its heritage and core brand values.” (Kotler, Keller, 2012, p. 179) Diversification has been one of Disney’s smartest business decisions. Today Disney has ventured into various industries such as studio entertainment,