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.


1939

January 4
  • Walt Disney Productions signs a contract with Igor Stravinsky for the use of "Rite of Spring" in an animated film. [35.110]
January 6
  • Disney publishes the first issue of The Bulletin, a studio employee newsletter. [113.328]
January 13
  • The Donald Duck film Donald's Lucky Day is released to theaters. [16] [15] [23] [228.148]
January
  • Disney publishes the first issue of Travel Tykes Weekly. [113.328]
(month unknown)
  • Production is suspended on the Mickey Mouse film Pilgrim Mickey. The film was to star Mickey Mouse and his nephews. [176.34]
February 3
  • The Mickey Mouse film Society Dog Show is released to theaters. Pluto and Fifi also appear. [16] [15] [23]
February 12
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates the film The Brave Little Tailor for an Oscar Award in the category Short Subjects, Cartoons. [39.381]
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates the film Mother Goose Goes Hollywood for an Oscar Award in the category Short Subjects, Cartoons. [39.381]
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates the film Ferdinand the Bull for an Oscar Award in the category Short Subjects, Cartoons. [39.381]
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominates the film Good Scouts for an Oscar Award in the category Short Subjects, Cartoons. [39.381]
February 18
  • Disney delivers the animated film Mickey's Surprise Party for the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco), for use at the New York World's Fair. [23] [85.350] [228.329]
February 23
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Short Subjects, Cartoons) to Disney for the film Ferdinand the Bull. [13] [23] [38.89] [39.381]
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards an Oscar (Special Award) to Walt Disney for screen innovation for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney is presented one statuette and seven miniature statuettes. [11] [13] [23] [38.89] [39.381] [49.257] [177.71]
February 24
  • The animated film The Practical Pig is released to theaters. [16] [11] [23] [228.398]
February
  • Ground is broken for the new Disney animation building. [1102.321]
March 17
  • The first Goofy film, Goofy and Wilbur, is released to theaters. Wilbur the grasshopper appears for the first time. [16] [23] [97.51] [228.212]

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April 7
  • The Silly Symphony film The Ugly Duckling is released to theaters. This is a color remake of the 1931 film. This is the last Silly Symphony film. [16] [15] [23] [232.84] [501.579]
April 28
  • The Donald Duck film The Hockey Champ is released to theaters. Huey, Dewey, and Louie also appear. [16] [23] [228.235]
(month unknown)
  • The Philadelphia Orchestra records the musical numbers (except The Sorcerer's Apprentice) for the film Fantasia, in Philadelphia, under direction from Leopold Stokowski. [42.611]
May
  • NBC's New York television station W2XBS airs a sneak preview of the Disney film Donald's Cousin Gus, making this the first TV premiere of any motion picture. [383.7]
  • Walt Disney contacts David Sarnoff at RCA, proposing they manufacture Fantasound for Disney. RCA initially considers it technically feasible, but not commercially viable. [1102.328]
  • Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs becomes the highest grossing US film, at US$6.7 million. [1102.277]
May 19
  • The Donald Duck film Donald's Cousin Gus is released to theaters. [16] [23] [97.89] [228.146]
June 9
  • The Donald Duck film Beach Picnic is released to theaters. Pluto also appears. [16] [23] [1378.62]
June 30
  • The Donald Duck film Sea Scouts is released to theaters. Huey, Dewey, and Louie also appear. [16] [23]
(month unknown)
  • The New York Film Critics award a Special Award for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. [45.608]
  • Jack Hylton presents a stage version of the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at London's Victoria Palace. [177.85]
  • Disney produces the animated film The Standard Parade for the Standard Oil Company. [23]
  • Blaine Gibson joins Disney as an inbetweener and assistant animator. [228.205]
  • A celluloid of a Disney cartoon is hung in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. [96.25]
  • Walt Disney buys the film rights to T.H. White's novel, The Sword in the Stone. [23] [370.17]
  • A Mickey Mouse watch is sealed in the World's Fair time capsule buried in New York. [113.109]
  • Walt Disney buys the animated film rights to James Barrie's play Peter Pan for 5,000 British pounds. [23] [229.102] [37.98] [48.221]
  • Walt Disney builds his Burbank, California studio. [1]
  • The New York Film Critics Circle awards a Special Award to Disney for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. [369.25]
  • The National Board of Review awards a Best American Film award to Disney for the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. [369.25]
July
  • Roy Disney concludes an agreement for RCA to create the Fantasound system for Fantasia at an estimated cost of US$200,000. [1102.329]
July 21
  • The Mickey Mouse film The Pointer is released to theaters. Pluto also appears. [16] [23] [228.395]
July 22
  • The National Labor Relations Board approves Disney's Federation of Screen Cartoonists union. [34.289] [1102.357]
August 11
  • The Donald Duck film Donald's Penguin is released to theaters. [16] [23] [228.148]
August
  • The Studio begins the move to its new studio in Burbank, which cost US$3 million to build. [23] [24] [35.12] [49.257] [228.248] [267.135] (December 24 [229.94])
  • Filming begins on the film Pinocchio. [48.160]
September 1
  • RKO Radio Pictures releases the Donald Duck film The Autograph Hound to theaters. [16] [23] [395.62] [1378.49]
September
  • Disney publishes the last issue of Travel Tykes Weekly. [113.328]
October 10
  • The Donald Duck film Officer Duck is released to theaters. [16] [23] [228.365]
October
  • Dick Creedon and Al Perkins submit a proposal for an animated film entitled Pieces of Eight or Three Buccaneers (later called Morgan's Ghost), with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Black Pete. [176.56]
October 26
  • Walt Disney shows a rough cut of Pinocchio to Joe Rosenberg of Bank of America, and Ned Depinet and George Schraefer of RKO. [1102.314]
(month unknown)
  • The new Disney studio in Burbank, California, is officially opened. [34.108]
  • Work begins on an animated short film entitled Museum Keepers / Old Masters / Donald and the Old Masters, with Donald Duck. [176.46]
November 12
  • Bela Lugosi spends the day at the Disney Studios posing for animators as a model for the demon Chernabog in the Night on Bald Mountain segment of the film Fantasia. [235.96]
November
  • Walt Disney delays putting the animated film Museum Keepers into production. [176.46]
December
  • Disney's lawyer composes a proclamation officially establishing the Disney Studio Federation of Screen Cartoonists, an in-house, company-run, employee union. [34.121]
December 10
  • The first Sunday color Donald Duck comic strip is published, written by Bob Karp, drawn by Al Taliaferro. [113.18,327] [1242.62]
December 24
  • The first color comic strip of "Pinocchio" is published in Sunday editions of newspapers. [113.326]

End of 1939. Next: 1940.

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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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