Twilight Sparkle's Retro Media Library
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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.

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