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What was Disney called 1923?

Walt Disney signs a contract with M. J. Winkler to produce a series of Alice Comedies. The year marks the start of The Walt Disney Company, first known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.



When it was first founded on October 16, 1923, the company we now know as The Walt Disney Company was originally called the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney started the business in a small office in the rear of a real estate agency in Los Angeles, California. The "gold standard" project that launched the studio was the "Alice Comedies," a series of short films that featured a live-action young girl interacting with animated characters. In 1926, as the business expanded and moved to a larger facility on Hyperion Avenue, the name was changed to the Walt Disney Studio to better reflect Walt’s creative leadership, though Roy remained the essential financial "anchor" of the operation. It wasn't until decades later, following the massive success of Mickey Mouse and the expansion into theme parks and live-action films, that the company adopted its modern corporate titles. The 1923 "Disney Brothers" era is still celebrated today by historians as the humble beginning of what would eventually become the world's largest and most influential entertainment conglomerate.

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Walt Disney founded his first professional film studio at a building designed by noted Kansas City architect, Nelle Peters, in May of 1922. He incorporated his new company with the Missouri Secretary of State's office. He called it “Laugh-O-gram Films”.

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So, they made a third Mickey Mouse cartoon, this time with fully synchronized sound, and Steamboat Willie opened to rave reviews at the Colony Theater in New York November 18, 1928. A cartoon star, Mickey Mouse, was born. The new character was immediately popular, and a lengthy series of Mickey Mouse cartoons followed.

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Roy Oliver Disney was, with his younger brother Walter Disney, the co-founder of what is now The Walt Disney Company. After Walt died, Roy became the chairman of the company.

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Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, during the initial planning of the complex. After his death, the company wrestled with the idea of whether to bring the Disney World project to fruition; however, Walt's older brother, Roy O. Disney, came out of retirement to make sure Walt's biggest dream was realized.

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