The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

golden ratio In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their summation, sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities and with , is in a golden ratio to if \fr ...

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Mickey head with waves in sky blue and in blue background, the words "Walt Disney" in the original signature script are on the top and the word "PRODUCTIONS" is on the bottom. The trailer was considered lost media until when the trailer and the logo were rediscovered on the Greek VHS release of ''Donald Duck Goes West''. Also, the ''Popeye'' trailer that had this logo was rediscovered again on the Australian VHS release of '' Summer Magic''. On July 21, 2024, the logo along with the ''Popeye'' trailer were officially once again found in the Australian VHS copy print of ''

Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, known a ...

''.

Walt Disney Pictures

Until 1985, instead of a traditional

production logo A production logo, studio logo, vanity card, vanity plate, or vanity logo is a logo used by Film studio, movie studios and television production company, production companies to brand what they produce and to determine the production company an ...

, the

opening credits In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank scree ...

of Disney films used to feature a title card that read "Walt Disney Presents", and later, "Walt Disney Productions Presents". In '' Never Cry Wolf'', it showed a light blue rectangle with the name "Walt Disney Pictures" and featured a white outline rectangle framing on a black screen. Beginning with the release of ''

Return to Oz ''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is ...

'' in 1985, Walt Disney Pictures introduced its fantasy castle logo. The version with its accompanying music premiered with '' The Black Cauldron''. The logo was created by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

in

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawing, drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there wa ...

and featured a white silhouette of

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

's

Sleeping Beauty Castle Sleeping Beauty Castle is a fairy tale castle at the center of Disneyland and formerly at Hong Kong Disneyland. It is based on the late 19th century Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany.Imagineers (1998). Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind t ...

against a blue background, with the studio's name in Walt Disney text and underscored by " When You Wish Upon a Star", in arrangement composed by

John Debney John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres, including comedy, horror, science fiction, thriller, fantasy and ...

. A short rendition of the logo was used as a closing logo as well as in the movie ''

Return to Oz ''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is ...

'', although the film was released months before '' The Black Cauldron'' was released. A

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Modern c ...

RenderMan The name RenderMan can cause confusion because it has been used to refer to different things developed by Pixar Animation Studios: * RenderMan Interface Specification (RISpec), an open API An application programming interface (API) is a connec ...

variant appeared before every

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney S ...

film from pre-2009 prints of ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the first installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' franchise and the Firsts in animation, firs ...

'' (1995) until ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ; ) is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic ...

'' (2007), featuring an original fanfare composed by

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

, based on the opening score cue from ''Toy Story'', called "Andy's Birthday". Beginning with ''

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

'' (2000), an alternative logo featuring an orange castle and logo against a black background, was occasionally presented with darker tone and live-action films, though a few animated films such as ''

Brother Bear ''Brother Bear'' is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker and produced by Chuck Williams, f ...

'', the 2003 re-release of ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' and ''

The Wild ''The Wild'' is a 2006 animated adventure comedy film directed by Steve "Spaz" Williams with a screenplay by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin, as well as featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Kiefer Sutherland, ...

'' (the final film to use this logo) used this logo. The original incarnation of this logo resurfaced in 2021 for a merchandising line by ShopDisney, based on its original incarnation. In 2006, the studio's vanity card logo was updated with the release of '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' at the behest of then-Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook and studio marketing president Oren Aviv. Designed by Disney animation director

Mike Gabriel Mike Gabriel (born November 5, 1954) is an American animator and film director, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios and as co-director of the Disney animated films ''The Rescuers Down Under'' (1990) and ''Pocahontas (1995 film ...

and producer Baker Bloodworth, the modernized logo was created completely in

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

by

Wētā FX Wētā FX, formerly known as Weta Digital, is a New Zealand digital visual effects and computer animation company based in Miramar, Wellington. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the digita ...

and yU+co and featured a 3D New Waltograph typography. The final rendering of the logo was done by Cameron Smith and Cyrese Parrish. In addition, the revamped logo includes visual references to ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

'', ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...

'', ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' and ''

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

'', and its redesigned castle incorporates elements from both the

Cinderella Castle Cinderella Castle is a fairy tale castle at the center of two Disney Experiences, Disney theme parks: the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland at the Tokyo Disney Resort. Based on Cinderella (Disney character), Cinderella's f ...

and the Sleeping Beauty Castle, as well as

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

and

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's

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.

Mark Mancina Mark Mancina (born 1957) is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed'', '' Bad Boys'', ''Twister'', ''Tarzan'', '' Training Day'', '' Brothe ...

wrote a new composition and arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" to accompany the 2006 logo. It was co-arranged and orchestrated by

David Metzger David Metzger (born December 12, 1960) is an American composer, conductor, arranger, and orchestrator who has worked on many Disney Animation films, including ''Wish'', '' Frozen'', ''Frozen 2'', '' Moana'', '' Planes'', ''Wreck-It Ralph'', ''Tarz ...

. In 2011, starting with ''

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...

'', the sequence was modified to truncate the "Walt Disney Pictures" branding to "Disney", which has mainly been used originally in home media releases since 2007. The new logo sequence has been consistently modified for high-profile releases including '' Tron: Legacy'', ''

Maleficent Maleficent ( or ) is a fictional character who first appears in Walt Disney Productions' animated film, ''Sleeping Beauty (1959 film), Sleeping Beauty'' (1959). Maleficent is the self-proclaimed "Dark lord, Mistress of All Evil" based on the Wic ...

'', ''

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

'', ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'', ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'', ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'', ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary Chinese folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century Common Era, CE) of Chinese history. Scholar, Scholars generally consider Mulan to be a fictional character. Hua Mulan is depicte ...

'', ''

Hocus Pocus 2 ''Hocus Pocus 2'' is a 2022 American fantasy comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher, written by Jen D'Angelo and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a sequel to the 1993 film ''Hocus Pocus (1993 film), Hocus Pocus'' and the second installment ...

'', and '' Disenchanted''. In 2022, a new production logo was introduced for the studio's 100th anniversary in 2023, which premiered at the 2022

D23 Expo D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, also known as Disney D23 or simply D23, is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Eve ...

. The new castle logo features an updated opening sequence in

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

at sunrise created by Disney Studios Content and

Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American Film, motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas on May 26, 1975. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lu ...

and an arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star", composed by

Christophe Beck Jean-Christophe Beck (born in 1968) is a Canadian television and film score composer. He is best known for his collaborations with Disney and its subsidiaries, which include composing the soundtracks of '' The Muppets'' (2011) and '' Muppets Mos ...

and conducted by Tim Davies. The magical arc that usually flies from right to left above the castle now flies from left to right, a subtle reference to several arc appearances since 2005, including the 2005

Hong Kong Disneyland Hong Kong Disneyland () (abbreviated HKDL; also known as HK Disneyland or Disneyland Hong Kong) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It opened to visitors on Monday, September 12, 2005, at 13:00 H ...

logo, drawing the 2006 Walt Disney Pictures print logo and most recently, the animated

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

logo. A tagline appears below the Disney100 logo during the studio's 100th anniversary in 2023, reading "100 Years of Wonder", which was later removed starting with '' Chang Can Dunk'' but returned with select prints (including the world premiere and international prints) of ''

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ''Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'' is a 2023 American action-adventure film directed by James Mangold and written by Mangold, David Koepp, Jez Butterworth, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. It is the fifth and final installment in Indiana_ ...

''. While containing the same visual references as the previous logo, new references added to it include ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

'', '' Up'', ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'', '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

'', ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

'', ''

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American animated musical film, musical Adventure film, adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in th ...

'', ''

Brave Brave(s) or The Brave(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Brave, an adjective for one who possesses courage * Braves (Native Americans), a Euro-American stereotype for Native American warriors Film and television * ''Brave'' (1994 film), a concept ...

'' and ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'', with the addition of the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

from ''

Third Man on the Mountain ''Third Man on the Mountain'' is a 1959 American family adventure film by Walt Disney Productions, directed by Ken Annakin and starring Michael Rennie, James MacArthur and Janet Munro. Set during the golden age of alpinism, its plot concerns a ...

'' and its Disneyland attraction and Pride Rock from ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' in the background beyond the castle. Its first film appearance was with the release of '' Strange World''. The logo received widespread praise from critics and audiences and won Gold in the "Theatrical , Film: Design" medium at the 2023 Clio Entertainment Awards in November 2023. The standard version was unveiled on the "Disney" hub of the Disney+ app on December 23, 2023, and made its official debut in 2024 on the second trailer for ''

Inside Out 2 ''Inside Out 2'' is a 2024 American animated coming-of-age film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to '' Inside Out'' (2015), it was directed by Kelsey Mann and was produced by Mark Nielsen, from a screen ...

'', with the full version premiering on the documentary film ''

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

''.

References

{{Disney Commercial logos Television network logos The Walt Disney Company

Variations

The Walt Disney Company

Walt Disney Productions

Walt Disney Pictures

References