Chronology of the Walt Disney Company

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References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2023 December 20.


1937

January 2
  • The Mickey Mouse film The Worm Turns is released to theaters. [16] [23] [501.622]
January 4
  • The first cels for Snow White and Seven Dwarfs are sent to the ink and paint department. [1102.260]
January 9
  • The Mickey Mouse film Don Donald is released to theaters. Donald Duck stars, without Mickey Mouse. Donna first appears, later renamed Daisy. [16] [23] [113.210] [228.143] [249.27] [250.98] [651.27] (1936 [15])
January 11
  • The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation releases the film The Woman Alone to theaters. An excerpt from the Silly Symphony Who Killed Cock Robin? is shown. [42.2606]
January
  • Walt Disney is named as the Junior Chamber of Commerce's 1936 "Outstanding Young Man". [34.97]
(month unknown)
  • Walt Disney encounters Paul Dukas' music of L'Apprenti-Sorcier (The Sorcerer's Apprentice). [23]
  • Walt Disney begins planning a Mickey Mouse or Silly Symphony short film based on Paul Dukas' musical story The Sorcerer's Apprentice. [35.80] (late 1936 [176.121])
February 6
  • The Mickey Mouse film Magician Mickey is released to theaters. Donald Duck also appears. [16] [23] [228.305]
February 7
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates the film The Country Cousin for an Oscar Award in the category Short Subjects, Cartoons. [39.371]
February 20
  • The Mickey Mouse film Moose Hunters is released to theaters. Donald Duck and Goofy also appear. [16] [15] [23] [228.341]
March 4
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Short Subjects, Cartoons) to Disney for the film The Country Cousin. [13] [16] [23] [38.72] [39.371
March 13
  • The first cels for Snow White and Seven Dwarfs are sent to the camera department. [1102.260]
  • The Silly Symphony film Woodland Cafe is released to theaters. [7] [16] [23] [501.619]
March
  • Roy Disney concludes negotiations to receive a loan of US$650,000 from the Bank of America. [1102.165]
April
  • The idea for an animated short film entitled Davey Jones' Locker is first proposed, with Mickey Mouse searching for underwater treasure. [176.55]
  • The idea for an animated short film entitled Pearl Divers is first proposed, with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in an underwater adventure. [176.55]

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April 17
  • The Mickey Mouse film Mickey's Amateurs is released to theaters. Donald Duck, Clara Cluck, Clarabelle Cow, and Goofy also appear. [16] [7] [23] [228.324]
May 15
  • The Silly Symphony film Little Hiawatha is released to theaters. [16] [23] [228.291]
  • Republic Pictures Corporation releases the film Michael O'Halloran to theaters. An excerpt from the Mickey Mouse cartoon Puppy Love is shown. [42.1372]
May
  • Walt Disney begins negotiations with Paul Dukas to purchase the rights to use the music and story for The Sorcerer's Apprentice in an animated film. [23] [35.81] [96.62]
May 19
  • The film compilation Academy Award Review of Walt Disney Cartoons is released to theaters. [23] [1378.3]
May 29
  • The Mickey Mouse film Modern Inventions is released to theaters. Donald Duck stars, without Mickey Mouse. [16] [23] [228.337]
(month unknown)
  • Disney artists work on a proposed animated short film, Jungle Mickey, with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. [176.36]
June
  • Two scenes for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are cut: one where the dwarfs meet to discuss Snow White staying or leaving, and the soup-eating scene. [1102.163]
  • The idea for an animated short film entitled Sargasso Sea is first proposed, with Mickey Mouse visiting a floating island, or Atlantis. [176.55]
(month unknown)
  • Disney publishes the first issue of The Mickey Mouse Globe Trotter Weekly, used by a national bakery campaign. [113.328]
  • Production begins on the film Pinocchio. [17] [40.177] [42.1664]
  • Walt Disney decides to make an animated feature film of Bambi. [37.66]
  • Work begins on an animated film of Roman de Reynard, a group of tales and poems from 11th century Europe. [176.81]
  • Work begins on an animated film of Edmond Rostard's play Chanticleer, about a rooster who believes his crowing makes the sun rise. [176.79]
  • Production begins on the film Bambi. [17] [50.153] [185.103] (1939 [34.178])
  • A book, Mickey Mouse Bedtime Stories is published. [96.54]
  • Work begins on a script for an animated feature film Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. [383.176]
  • In Sweden, the Musse Pigg-tidningen (Mickey Mouse) magazine is first published, by Åhlén & Åkerlund. (23 issues are published until 1938.) [650.50] [853.12]
July
  • Walt obtains the rights to use the music of The Sorcerer's Apprentice. [35.81]
(month unknown)
  • United Artists informs Disney that to continue acting as Disney's film distributor, Disney would have to sign over all future television rights to Disney's entire film inventory. Walt Disney refuses. [34.99] [501.581] (1936 [267.104])
  • Disney signs with RKO Radio Pictures as distributors of Disney films. [16] [23] [34.100] [47.140] (1936 [267.105])
September
  • Roy Disney requests another US$327,000 from the Bank of America. [1102.266]
  • Bank of America liason Joe Rosenberg, RKO head Ned Depinet and other RKO executives visit the Disney studio to watch a rough cut of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They leave satisfied with the film. [1102.266]
September 24
  • The Mickey Mouse film Hawaiian Holiday is released to theaters. Donald Duck, Pluto, Minnie Mouse, and Goofy also appear. [16] [15] [23] [228.229]
September 26
  • Camera work begins on the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. [42.1984]
October 15
  • The Mickey Mouse film Clock Cleaners is released to theaters. Donald Duck and Goofy also appear. [16] [15] [23] [1378.142]
October 17
  • Huey, Dewey, and Louie debut in the Donald Duck color Sunday comic page. [228.246]
(month unknown)
  • Walt Disney meets Leopold Stokowski at Chasen's restaurant. Stokowski offers to conduct music for The Sorcerer's Apprentice for free. He also suggests they collaborate on a feature film with various pieces of classical music. Disney is not interested. [176.121]
November 5
  • The Silly Symphony film The Old Mill is released to theaters. This is the first animated film using a multiplane camera. The camera alone cost US$70,000 to build, and stands 14 feet high. [6] [7] [16] [15] [23] [228.367] [235.93]
November 11
  • Final animation work on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is completed. [1102.268]
November
  • Work begins on the short film The Sorcerer's Apprentice. [35.20]
November 26
  • The Mickey Mouse film Pluto's Quin-Puplets is released. Pluto stars, without Mickey Mouse. Fifi also appears. [16] [15] [23] [228.394]
November 27
  • The last cels for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are painted. [1102.268]
November 29
  • Walt Disney receives a letter from Leopold Stokowski, suggesting Walt create a new character to use in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, instead of using Mickey Mouse. [35.96] [40.174] [96.62]
(month unknown)
  • The animated film The Three Bears is shelved. [176.64]
December 1
  • The Mickey Mouse comic strip is censored by the Yugoslavian paper Politika. [82.21]
  • Final photography of cels for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is completed. [34.101] [1102.268]
December
  • Art Babbitt, forty Disney employees, and Gunther Lessing meet at Hyperion studio to create a federation to represent the studio's employees in relations with management. [1102.357]
December 7
  • The film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is given its first pre-release screening, in a theater in Pomona, California. [34.101] [92.16] [1102.271]
December 10
  • Disney releases the first Donald Duck film, Donald's Ostrich, to theaters. [16] [15] [23] [228.148]
December 12
  • A new Sunday color comic strip is published, featuring the animated characters from the feature films. The first edition is "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". [113.18,326] [177.81]
December 21
  • RKO Radio Pictures world premieres Disney's first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood. It is the world's first color full-length animated talking movie. The US$1.5 million needed to complete the film nearly bankrupted the company. This is the first public appearance of live-actor cartoon characters at the theater - dwarfs, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. Two million drawings make up the 83-minute film. (Worldwide gross theater ticket sales of the original release: US$8.5 million.) [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [11] [13] [16] [15] [21] [22] [23] [185.77] [35.12] [34.101] [37.41] [42.1983] [40.163] [49.243] [48.141] [62] [90.32] [92.11] [97.135] [113.185] [177.35] [191] [206.B19] [230.30] [234.11] [235.56] [238.177] [250.96] [267.111] [370.25] [501.508] [685.29] [745.23] [1102.276] [1248.30] [1361.4] [1374.66]
  • Walt Disney mentions to a colleague at the premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that his dream is to build a park designed for kids. [238.200]
December 24
  • The Mickey Mouse film Lonesome Ghosts is released. Donald Duck and Goofy also appear. [16] [7] [23] [228.295]
December 27
  • Time magazine features Walt Disney on the cover, for an article on the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. [177.67] [234.12] [1361.4]
December 31
  • Walt Disney announces to the Disney family that Pinocchio would be the studio's second animated feature film. [267.117]

End of 1937. Next: 1938.

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1919-1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933
1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943
1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953
1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963
1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
2004 2005 2006 2007-2008 2009 2010-2011 2012-end


A list of references to all source material is available.


Last updated: 2023 December 20.
Copyright © 1995-2024 Ken Polsson (email: ken@kpolsson.com).
URL: http://kpolsson.com/disnehis/
Link to Ken P's home page.

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