{"id":29518,"date":"2023-10-16T13:34:14","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T11:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=246784"},"modified":"2023-10-16T15:11:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T13:11:41","slug":"10-milestones-in-disneys-100-year-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/10-milestones-in-disneys-100-year-history\/","title":{"rendered":"10 milestones in Disney\u2019s 100-year history"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Walt Disney Company celebrates its centenary, John Wills traces the story of the \u2018House of Mouse\u2019 through 10 milestones\u2026 <\/p>

By Elinor Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 16 October 2023 at 11:34 AM<\/p>

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Alice\u2019s Wonderland, 1923<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

One of Walt Disney\u2019s early silent films is a delightful mix of live action and cartoon. Starring child actor Virginia Davis, it features a range of Disney staples including a Disneyland-style train and a cartoon mouse.<\/p>\n

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Steamboat Willie, 1928<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Disney\u2019s first animated film with synchronised sound \u2013 a technical breakthrough of the time \u2013 also introduced the world to Mickey Mouse. Just 8 minutes in length, the film is packed with visual humour.<\/p>\n

\"Steamboat\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Steamboat Willie, Disney\u2019s first animated film with synchronised sound, 1928. (Image by Alamy)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

The company\u2019s first animated feature film was initially dubbed \u2018Disney\u2019s folly\u2019 because of its spiralling costs and three-year production time. Yet it proved hugely successful, and introduced the first \u2018Disney princess\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Snow\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, lobbycard, 1937. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n
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Der Fuehrer\u2019s Face, 1943<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Watch Donald Duck get caught in \u2018Nutzi Land\u2019, a fascist world of strangely manicured swastika shrubbery and bayonets, in this Chaplin-esque Second World War government propaganda piece.<\/p>\n

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The Living Desert, 1953<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Disney\u2019s 1950s attempts to break into nature documentaries weren\u2019t without controversy: for White Wilderness <\/i>(1958), film-makers hurled lemmings off cliffs as evidence of that species\u2019 mass suicides. Yet nature has never been more entertaining than scorpions square-dancing to the \u2018Stingeree\u2019 in The Living Desert<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Read more Disney history:<\/strong><\/p>\n