Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures
Type	Division of Walt Disney Studios
Founded	1953
Formerly	Buena Vista Film Distribution (1953-1959) Buena Vista Distribution (1959-1983)
Headquarters	Burbank, California (United States)
Products	Motion pictures

Walt Disney Pictures started off as Walt Disney Productions on October 16, 1923. Since then, third-party distributor RKO Radio Pictures released Disney movies from 1936 to 1954, before Buena Vista Distribution Company was founded. The name "Walt Disney Productions" first appeared in the opening credits as of 1968, and then at the end of each film as of 1971. This is due to the fact that Walt Disney himself died in 1966.

RKO Radio Pictures (1937-1953)

Prior to 1953, Walt Disney's films were distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. This includes the first 14 Disney animated features, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Peter Pan (1953).

Buena Vista Distribution (1954-1984)

1954-1960

File:Buena Vista Film Distribution (1954).jpg

This is what the first Buena Vista logo looks like. It appears on all VHS and DVD prints of Sleeping Beauty (1959), the 1991 VHS of Dumbo (1941), and the 1995 VHS of Cinderella (1950).

1960-1984

File:Buena Vista Distribution (1960).jpg File:Buena Vista Distribution (1966).jpg

In 1960, the word "Film" was dropped from the company's first name, changing it to Buena Vista Distribution. The logo with this name shown above was seen on films released from the early to mid 1960s, such as 101 Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), pre-1997 prints of Mary Poppins (1964), and Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966). The next Buena Vista logo, from 1966, was seen on films from the late 1960s to early 1980s. The Aristocats originally had this logo on 16mm prints, but wasn't seen again until the Blu-ray release in 2012. Other movies with this logo include Robin Hood (1973), The Rescuers (1977), and The Fox and the Hound (1981). The final logo was first seen on The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (June 27, 1979). The last film to ever have this logo was Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983). There were no Walt Disney Pictures films ever released in 1984, except for some featurettes.

As of October 14, 1983, an in-credit closing text logo was used for films distributed by Walt Disney Pictures until after September 28, 2007. The text logo comprises of the words "Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution".

In 2004, KRS Logos claimed this logo as in use until 1981.

Wal​t Disney Pictures (1985-present)

1985-2006

In 1983, Walt Disney Productions was renamed as Walt Disney Pictures. The first film to have the new company name's first logo is Return to Oz (June 21, 1985), which made its home video debut on June 25, 1986. The logo can also be found on The Black Cauldron (1985), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Flight of the Navigator (1986), Benji the Hunted (1987), and a few others. Within television networks, the logo premiered on ABC with The Journey of Natty Gann on October 4, 1987.

On VHS, this Walt Disney Pictures logo was seen on 1988 prints of Cinderella, and 1990 prints of The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan, all later seen on The Disney Channel from October 1989 to November 1991. In 1990, the logo was modernized, and was first seen in The Prince and the Pauper on November 16 of that year. On VHS releases, it was first seen on DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp on March 15, 1991, when the second generation of Walt Disney Home Video began. It was also first seen on The Disney Channel in August 1991.

Since then, the logo was commonly used on many films, such as 1991 prints of The Rescuers Down Under, 1992 prints of 101 Dalmatians, The Great Mouse Detective and Beauty and the Beast, 1993 prints of Aladdin, original 1995 prints of The Lion King, 1996 prints of Pocahontas, The Aristocats and Oliver & Company, 1997 prints of The Jungle Book, 1998 prints of The Little Mermaid, and lots more. Some films with this logo were also broadcast on TBS, ABC Family, and Hub Network.

The last film to have it was The Fox and the Hound 2 on December 12, 2006, several months after the current Walt Disney Pictures logo began.

Starting in 2000, an alternate logo was spotted on some Disney movies, such as Dinosaur (2000), 102 Dalmatians (2000), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), and even the 2002 IMAX theatrical re-release of The Lion King, which was later transferred to DVD in October 2003.

When KRS Logos launched online in 2004, this logo was still current back then.

Pixar Animation Studios (1995-present)

The Pixar version of the Walt Disney Pictures logo was seen on Pixar Animation Studios' first eight feature films, from Toy Story up to Ratatouille. Each film also always used the Pixar Animation Studios logo seen to the right of the Walt Disney Pictures logo. 13 years after its debut, this logo was discontinued on the Blu-ray and 3D releases of first two Toy Story films, Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo 3D.

2006-present

The current Walt Disney Pictures logo, done with CGI animation, was first seen on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on July 7, 2006 (on DVD on December 5, 2006). As of November 23, 2011, the logo now just uses the word "Disney" on brand new Disney films in theaters today, and on newer prints of classic Disney movies, especially the Diamond Edition prints.

As of 2008, Pixar now also uses the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo in every one of its films. WALL-E was the first Pixar film to have this logo.

Walt Disney Anim​ation Studios (2007-present)

First seen on March 30, 2007 with Meet the Robinsons (on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on October 23, 2007), this logo is currently seen on all new prints of Walt Disney animated feature films.

List of post-2010 films

Film title	Release date
Cars 2	June 24, 2011
Brave	June 22, 2012
Wreck-It Ralph	November 2, 2012
Monsters University	June 21, 2013
Frozen	November 27, 2013
Big Hero 6	November 7, 2014
Inside Out	June 19, 2015
Zootopia	March 4, 2016
Finding Dory	June 17, 2016
Moana	November 23, 2016
Cars 3	June 16, 2017
Coco	November 22, 2017
Incredibles 2	June 15, 2018
Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet	November 21, 2018
Toy Story 4	June 21, 2019

Before the premiere of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic on The Hub in October 2010, there were confirmed titles for films released from 2011 to 2013. At that time, Monsters University was titled "Monsters, Inc. 2" with a scheduled release of 2012 and Wreck-It Ralph was titled "Reboot Ralph" with a scheduled release of 2013. Brave was originally scheduled for June 15, 2012, but was moved up by one week to June 22, 2012 on March 16, 2011.

On April 4, 2011, during Season 1 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Reboot Ralph was moved up to its final release date of November 2, 2012, and Monsters Inc. 2, retitled Monsters University, was delayed to its final release date of June 21, 2013.

After Season 1 ended and before Season 2 premiered, Reboot Ralph was retitled "Wreck-It Ralph" on June 13, 2011, and a Pixar film involving the human mind (Inside Out) was announced for a 2014 release at the D23 Expo on August 6, 2011.

During Season 2, more films were announced from Disney, including Frozen, a story based on The Snow Queen, for a November 27, 2013 release on December 22, 2011.

After Season 2 ended and before Season 3 premiered, Big Hero 6 was unveiled on June 29, 2012 with a scheduled release date of November 7, 2014, and the human mind film from Pixar was re-scheduled for a 2015 release. Also unveiled on August 17, 2012 was Finding Nemo 2 (Finding Dory).

Before the premiere of My Little Pony: Equestria Girls in 2013, the Finding Nemo sequel was retitled Finding Dory, with a release date of November 25, 2015.

Websites

• http://www.disney.com (1996-1999)
• http://disney.go.com (1999-2013)
• http://disney.com (2013-present)
• http://www.pixar.com