List of animation studios owned by the Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company has owned and operated several animation studios since the company's founding on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; the current Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, California is the company's flagship feature animation studio and claims heritage from this original studio. Adding to the growth of the company and its motion picture studio division the Walt Disney Studios, several other animation studios were added through acquisitions and through openings of satellite studios outside the United States. These expanded the company's animation output into television, direct-to-video, and digital releases, in addition to its primary feature animation releases.
Currently Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm Animation (through Lucasfilm) and 20th Century Studios's animation division are parts of the Walt Disney Studios unit. This article does not include other animation studios whose films were released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (the company's distribution unit) and not acquired by the company, nor does it count the Laugh-O-Gram Studio (1921–23), Disney's first animation studio, which predated the founding of the Walt Disney Company. For example, certain Studio Ghibli films were distributed by Disney internationally but never owned by the company.[1] Also, Miramax, an independently operating unit of the Walt Disney Studios, also purchased US rights to foreign animated movies.[2]
Formerly
Dream Quest Images (1979–1999)
Division
Entertainment
- 1979 (as Dream Quest Images)[10]
- Hoyt Yeatman
- Scott Squires
- Rocco Gioffre
- Fred Iguchi
- Tom Hollister
- Bob Hollister
2002
Closed
Andrew Millstein (GM, VP)
VFX, Animation
The Walt Disney Company (1996-2005)
350 (2002)[11]
Walt Disney Feature Animation (1996–2005)
DQ Films[12]
Disney Animation Australia
DisneyToon Studios Australia
Subsidiary
Entertainment
1988
2006
Closed
Philip Oakes (general manager)[36]
Animation
~ 250 (2005)[37]
Disney Animation Canada
Subsidiary
Entertainment
1996[39]
2000[39]
Closed[39]
2
Animation
200 (2000)[41]
Disney Animation France
- Brizzi Films (1986–1989)
- Walt Disney Animation France
- (1989–1995)
Subsidiary
Entertainment
1986[42]
2003[25]
Closed
Animation
ウォルト・ディズニー・アニメーション・ジャパン株式会社
ウォルト・ディズニー・テレビジョン・インターナショナル ジャパン
Kabushiki gaisha Woruto Dizunī Animēshon Japan
Woruto Dizunī Terebijon Intānashonaru Japan
Pacific Animation Corporation
Entertainment
1984[53]
June 2004[54]
Closed
Animation
103 (2003)[25]
Disney Animation U.K.
Subsidiary
Entertainment
1986
1991
Closed
Animation
Division
Entertainment
August 2021
Amir Nasrabadi (Head of Studio)
Animation
ImageMovers Digital[edit]
In 2007, The Walt Disney Company and ImageMovers set up a joint venture animation facility, ImageMovers Digital, a Marin County-based film company, where Robert Zemeckis would produce and direct 3D animated films using performance capture technology.[2] ImageMovers Digital closed operations by January 2011, after the production was completed on Mars Needs Moms.[62]