Six-year-old daughter: “Daddy, why does it say ‘Disney 100’ at the beginning of this movie?”
Me: “Because Disney is turning 100 years old this year."
Six-year-old daughter: “Have you worked for Disney for all 100 of those years?”
Me: (Grabs phone and turns on selfie camera to see just how old I look)
Much to my kid’s surprise, I haven’t quite been part of The Walt Disney Company for all 100 years (though the fact that the first photos I captured for a Disney publication were shot on film and processed in a lab would indicate that Daddy’s a good bit older than he feels). The fact is, few divisions of the company we know today were even in the realm of (most people’s) imagination back in 1923. But one has been here since the beginning.
Walt Disney Animation Studios – the birthplace, and still very much the lifeblood, of this great company – turns 100 this year, an extraordinary milestone for the studio behind everything from Oswald and Mickey to Pinocchio and Cinderella, and from Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King to Frozen and Encanto. Just how extraordinary is that achievement?
As my pal Tim O’Day (Disney author, historian and Member Cruise mainstay) pointed out recently, it’s the last free-standing entertainment studio from the golden age of Hollywood.
The pages ahead offer numerous love letters to the studio that started it all. From the art of The Villas at Disneyland Hotel on pages 3-10 (largely inspired by the art – and artists – of Walt Disney Animation Studios) to a “Disney Drop-In” exploration of the Disney Animation Research Library on pages 11-14 (a Disney Files On Demand film directed and hosted by Disney Legend Don Hahn, producer of the aforementioned Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King), and from a Disney Vacation Club music video blending Disney-animated magic with Membership Magic (pages 15-16) to a Disney Cruise Line chef comparing cooking on stage to the storytelling of Fantasia (pages 17-18), these and other features reflect Walt Disney Animation Studios’ distinction of being, not just the last “golden” studio standing, but also the first studio you probably think of when you hear the word “Disney.”
To all of our friends at Walt Disney Animation Studios (none of whom, I should note for my daughter, have worked there for 100 years), happy anniversary. Here’s to the next century of wonder!
Welcome home,
Ryan March
Disney Files Editor
Important Information: Theme Park admission is not part of the ownership interest and is sold separately. Some elements depicted in the pages ahead are part of Membership Extras, which is an incidental benefit. These offers are subject to availability, change or termination, and may require a fee. To receive any Membership Extras, purchasers must present a valid digital Disney Vacation Club Membership Card, along with a corresponding valid photo ID. Membership Extras are available for use with eligible Vacation Points. Visit DisneyVacationClub.com/MemExtrasPolicy for more information.