The Brand - Walt Disney

Where It Began 

Walter Elias Disney, more popularly known as Walt Disney, was born December 5th, 1901. He dies December 15th 1966, having established himself as a major influential figure within American Animation, and eventually going on to establish himself throughout the world as an international icon regarding his influence and contributions within the 20th century as an Animator, Cartoonist, Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Entrepreneur, and Voice Actor.
 Alongside Walt stood his brother Roy O. Disney, who assisted in co-founding Walt Disney Productions with his brother. Walt Disney Productions later gained infamy as, and still is, one of the most widely known and successful motion picture production companies in the world today. Today, the company is known as The Walt Disney Company, accumulating an annual revenue of nearly $45 billion in 2013.  

What They Do

The Walt Disney Company is widely recognised by it's mascot and iconic character, Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse is a comical cartoon character, created by Walt himself and Ub Iwerks in 1928 at the Walt Disney Studios in Hollywood. Mickey typically wear bright red shorts, yellow shoes and bright white gloves - which would later become iconic to many of the Disney characters - and has become one of the most recognisable, famous cartoon characters in the world. During the single test screening of Plane Crazy, Mickey Mouse made his first appearance, though his first official debut was in a short film called Steamboat Willie in 1928 - which, coincidentally, was one of the first cartoons that also provided audio along with the visual animation. Mickey Mouse has starred in over 130 films to date, though many of the first films he starred in were short films, he would occasionally be found in feature-length films. Ten of the films that Mickey starred in were nominated for Academy Awards, all being for Best Animated Short Film.  One of these films won; in 1942, Lend a Paw won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. In 1978, Mickey was the first ever animated cartoon character to have his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He's that famous. 

These days, Disney has many assets. Few of which include Disney Consumer Products, Disney Resorts, Disney Theatrical Group, and even a growing list of Media Networks such as ABC Entertainment Group and ESPN.