As Disney completes 100 years, we take a guided tour around Disneyland and we loved everything that we saw

Mona

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“If you can dream it, you can do it,” said Walt Disney, the name synonymous with ‘happiest place on the earth’ and his legacy that continues to offer entertainment to “children of all ages”. A part of the millions of lives across the globe, it entertains, mesmerises, thrills and throws some lessons along the way. As the entertainment conglomerate completes its 100 years in 2023, it’s time for a trip down the memory lane.

Actor Mitaali Nag is as wonderstruck as any other. “I can’t believe Disney is 100 already! It has been a major part of every kid in the 80s. Mickey and Minnie literally entered our homes and lives. I still love Cinderella, and the romantic in me wants to believe that it’s a real story or can come true for many!”

Actor Pranitaa Pandit lived Disney as a child and is now reliving it with her daughter Anysha. “Right from Cinderella to Lion King to Goofy to Pinocchio, I have been watching all these movies again. Aladdin’s A Whole New World has stayed a favourite song. I even make Anysha listen to the song. It’s an emotion that you share with your child.”

Actor Aniruddh Dave has fond memories of his school time when owning Disney stuff put you in good stead. “I loved Disney pencil boxes and lunch boxes. Visiting Disneyland Park in Singapore was like revisiting your childhood again,” says Dave. Actor Ranndeep R Rai has found a family in Disney characters. “They have remained a family. The older I grow, the more I feel that the joys of childhood are the best that life has to give.”

Many a false start

Walt Disney’s is a story of many a false start. Working odd jobs, he was fired from a newspaper for ‘not being creative enough’. He lost the rights to his first character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and much of his early work. His early venture, Laugh-o-gram Studios, went bankrupt. But the man never stopped dreaming, or working towards those dreams.

Over the years

• The entertainment conglomerate that we know by the name of Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as Disney Brothers Studio. It was changed to Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before being called The Walt Disney Company in 1986.
• A pioneer in the animation industry, Walt created Mickey Mouse in their very first animated short film Steamboat Willie in 1928.
• The company diversified into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s.
• Since the 1980s, Disney further diversified into Walt Disney Studios that includes Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios.
• Disney also owns Disney Channel, ESPN, and National Geographic among others
• Apart from publishing, merchandising, music; it has OTT presence with Disney+, Star+, ESPN+, Hulu and Hotstar
• Disney holds several theme parks, resort hotels and cruise lines around the world

Hall of fame

• Walt Disney holds the record for most Academy Awards for an individual – 26, 22 competitive Academy Awards, four honorary, out of a total of fifty-nine nominations.
• Disney’s highest-grossing animated film is The Lion King (remake) followed by Frozen II, Frozen, Incredibles 2 and Minions.
• Encanto song We Don’t Talk About Bruno passed Let It Go as highest-charting Disney animated hit in recent times.

Breaking boundaries

Diversity hasn’t been Disney’s strongest suit, and in their attempts at making amends invited more criticism than support.

• The first Black Princess Tiana came in 2009 in The Princess and the Frog that was voiced by Anika Noni Rose.
• Casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action of The Little Mermaid has opened the Pandora’s box. While some have raised objections to a Black actress playing Ariel, who was white with red hair in original animation, others have opposed the idea that mermaids don’t have races.
• Mulan, based on Chinese folk legend, is the first Disney Princess of Asian descent.
• Merida (Brave), Dory (Finding Nemo), Elsa (Frozen), Lt. Judy Hopps (Zootopia) and Moana (Moana) are some Disney characters who are without a love interest.
• After many a blink and miss roles in Zootopia, Beauty and the Beast, Finding Dory, Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, Lightyear, Cruella, LGBTQ finally found Disney’s first openly gay teen character, Ethan Clade in Strange World in 2022, voiced by gay comedian Jaboukie Young-White.
• Camila Cabello-led Cinderella is a 2021 romantic musical film that takes a turn for better times. The fairy godmother is touted genderless, played by iconic Billy Porter. The kingdom is inherited by the princess over the prince, who would rather follow his career-oriented Cinderella across the world.

Celebrations galore

Disney is going all out celebrating ‘a 100 years of wonder’ despite the recent challenging economic environment that has led to reorganise its work structure and slash jobs to reduce costs. Kick-started on January 27, Disney100 at Disneyland offers dazzling decor, new attractions and special memorabilia and F&B. New night time spectacular shows are added at Disneyland. Disney also has 28 major movies coming out in 2023 including The Little Mermaid, Elemental, Wish and Peter Pan And Wendy.

We loved & learnt

• If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all. – Thumper, Bambi
• The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it. – Rafiki, The Lion King
• I’m a damsel, I’m in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day. – Megara, Hercules

(With inputs from Amisha Pathania)