On April 18, 1983, the Walt Disney Company launched America's fifth premium cable network -- The Disney Channel. The first movie that originally aired on this channel was Tiger Town, and the first animated feature to air there was Alice in Wonderland (1951). Prior to December 1986, The Disney Channel aired programming for 16 then 18 hours daily, before operating 24 hours a day.
Several of Disney's 1940s films that often never got VHS releases in North America until the end of the century aired on The Disney Channel, such as Melody Time, Saludos Amigos, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and Make Mine Music, all in their original theatrical versions.
There were also some instances when non-Disney movies aired on The Disney Channel. The Goonies was one of them. First known to air on June 6, 1992, The Goonies was presented as an extended version of itself, with all additional scenes included, and possibly no censorship whatsoever, unlike any broadcasts on over-the-air and basic cable television.
The Disney Channel's first official website (www.disneychannel.com) launched online on December 8, 1995.
Transition to basic cable
Starting on September 1, 1990, the Disney Channel gradually transitioned from a premium to a basic cable network. By January 1995, 12.6 million cable subscribers now had the channel, and by 1999, the channel was made available nationwide as a basic cable network.
Programming
Title | Premiere date (first known) |
Ended (or last aired) |
---|---|---|
Dumbo | June 3, 1983 | |
Make Mine Music | August 3, 1983 | |
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | October 2, 1983 | |
Alice in Wonderland | January 1, 1984 | |
Robin Hood | June 2, 1985 | |
The Sword in the Stone | August 4, 1985 | |
Mary Poppins (original version) | 1986 | December 31, 1990 |
Pinocchio (1984 print) | September 20, 1986 | |
The Three Caballeros | January 10, 1987 | |
The Hoober-Bloob Highway | April 6, 1987 | November 13, 1993 |
Fun and Fancy Free | May 1, 1987 | |
The Lorax | May 27, 1987 | November 28, 1993 |
Sleeping Beauty | October 3, 1987 | |
Grinch Night | October 23, 1987 | October 31, 1992 |
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | January 1, 1988 | |
Lady and the Tramp | May 7, 1988 | |
Pontoffel Pock and His Magic Piano | May 18, 1988 | August 28, 1993 |
The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat | June 16, 1988 | September 26, 1993 |
Melody Time | April 1, 1989 | |
Saludos Amigos | June 9, 1989 | |
Cinderella | October 14, 1989 | |
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope | January 1, 1990 | May 26, 1990 |
The Kidsongs TV Show (1987-1988) | January 8, 1990 | October 29, 1990 |
Barney & the Backyard Gang | November 5, 1990 | October 11, 1992 |
Ghostbusters II | January 18, 1991 | |
Bambi | February 3, 1991 | |
The Little Mermaid | May 5, 1991 | |
Peter Pan | September 15, 1991 | |
The Jungle Book | May 9, 1992 | |
The Goonies | June 6, 1992 | September 30, 1996 |
My Little Pony and My Little Pony Tales | August 2, 1992 | August 30, 1996 |
The Rescuers Down Under | November 1, 1992 | |
101 Dalmatians | April 17, 1993 | |
The Great Mouse Detective | August 1, 1993 | |
Ghostbusters | October 7, 1993 | |
Dr. Seuss on the Loose | October 28, 1993 | November 13, 1993 |
The Rescuers | February 6, 1994 | |
The Cat in the Hat | February 15, 1994 | March 2, 1994 |
Beauty and the Beast | May 15, 1994 | July 16, 1994 |
The Making of The Lion King | June 16, 1994 | September 18, 1996 |
Pinocchio (1992 print) | January 1, 1995 | |
Aladdin | May 14, 1995 | August 13, 1995 |
Pocahontas: The Legend Comes to Life | June 21, 1995 | |
The Fox and the Hound | November 5, 1995 | |
The Making of The Hunchback of Notre Dame | June 16, 1996 | July 3, 1996 |
The Lion King | September 8, 1996 | August 15, 1998 |
Pocahontas | April 6, 1997 | February 27, 2005 |
The Aristocats | July 12, 1997 | |
Oliver & Company | November 15, 1997 | |
Toy Story (original version) | November 29, 1997 | July 12, 2005 |
The Hunchback of Notre Dame | March 14, 1998 | March 25, 1999 |
Hercules | February 27, 1999 | October 13, 1999 |
Mulan | February 12, 2000 | October 22, 2000 |
Tarzan | July 27, 2001 | |
A Bug's Life | November 30, 2001 | July 8, 2014 |
Toy Story 2 (original version) | July 12, 2002 | August 11, 2005 |
Hook | July 4, 2003 | Fabruary 15, 2004 |
The Lion King 1½ | September 12, 2004 | July 11, 2005 |
Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary Edition) | December 26, 2004 | December 2010 |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | January 21, 2005 | October 22, 2011 |
Aladdin (Platinum Edition) | February 14, 2005 | August 16, 2014 |
Monsters, Inc. (original version) | February 18, 2005 | October 13, 2005 |
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | May 29, 2005 | February, 13, 2006 |
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | August 7, 2005 | October 22, 2011 |
My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas | December 5, 2005 | |
Finding Nemo (original version) | May 5, 2006 | July 2012 |
The Incredibles | February 1, 2008 | present |
Cars | March 14, 2009 | |
Ratatouille | August 15, 2009 | |
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | March 20, 2010 | |
Ice Age | August 5, 2010 | |
WALL-E | September 17, 2010 | March 24, 2014 |
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | August 11, 2011 | |
Toy Story 2 (2009 re-release) | December 26, 2010 | present |
Toy Story (2009 re-release) | February 13, 2011 | present |
Up | September 9, 2011 | present |
Surf's Up | December 31, 2011 | |
The Lion King (Diamond Edition) | February 11, 2012 | present |
Toy Story 3 | August 3, 2012 | present |
Despicable Me | December 31, 2012 | |
Tangled | January 4, 2013 | |
Monsters, Inc. (2012 re-release) | April 27, 2013 | present |
Ice Age: The Meltdown | May 11, 2013 | April 1, 2017 |
Finding Nemo (2012 re-release) | February 17, 2014 | present |
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | June 24, 2014 | |
Brave | September 5, 2014 | |
Rio | September 20, 2014 | |
Hop | September 27, 2014 | |
Wreck-It Ralph | October 3, 2014 | |
The Smurfs | November 8, 2014 | |
Happy Feet Two | December 11, 2014 | |
Arthur Christmas | December 21, 2014 | |
Horton Hears a Who! | May 9, 2015 | |
Monsters University | October 11, 2015 | present |
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | December 20, 2015 | present |
Frozen | February 14, 2016 | present |
Big Hero 6 | January 6, 2017 | |
Inside Out | October 1, 2017 | present |
The Good Dinosaur | January 28, 2018 | present |
Zootopia | March 25, 2018 | present |
Finding Dory | August 19, 2018 | present |
Hotel Transylvania | October 14, 2018 | |
The Lego Movie | November 25, 2018 | |
Ice Age: Continental Drift | December 14, 2018 | |
Moana | January 11, 2019 | present |
The Lorax | January 13, 2019 | present |
Shrek (Universal Print) | June 9, 2019 | present |
The Secret Life of Pets | June 14, 2019 | present |
Hotel Transylvania 2 | October 19, 2019 | present |
Sing | December 27, 2019 | present |
Despicable Me 3 | January 10, 2020 | present |
Coco | July 10, 2020 | present |
Ferdinand | September 11, 2020 | present |
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | September 18, 2020 | present |
My Little Pony: The Movie | September 27, 2020 | present |
Minions | December 11, 2020 | present |
The Grinch | December 13, 2020 | present |
Rio 2 | April 22, 2021 | present |
Original programming of animated television series on Disney Channel began on September 15, 2001.
Weblinks
- http://disney.go.com/disneychannel (1999-2013)
Gallery
Television networks | ||
---|---|---|
NBC Universal | Over-the-air | NBC |
Cable | USA Network • Syfy • Universal Kids | |
Streaming | Peacock | |
ViacomCBS | Over-the-air | CBS • UPN |
Cable | Nickelodeon • TeenNick | |
Streaming | Paramount+ | |
Warner Bros. | Over-the-air | The WB • CW Network |
Cable | HBO • Cinemax • TBS • TNT • Cartoon Network | |
Streaming | HBO Max | |
Walt Disney | Over-the-air | ABC • FOX |
Cable | Disney Channel • FX Networks • Toon Disney (1998-2009) • Freeform • Disney XD | |
Streaming | Disney+ | |
Other | Over-the-air | Broadcast syndication • PBS • PBS Kids |
Cable | Hub Network (2010-2014) • Discovery Family | |
Streaming | Netflix • Hulu • HBO Max • Paramount+ |