Disney 100 — Celebrating "10 decades of storytelling, artistry and technological achievements"

Today marks 100 years of Disney.

Founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, the Walt Disney Company has become one of the Big 6 media companies with a market cap of more than $300 billion.

The company is a household name for people from all walks of life. When we think 'creativity,' we think 'Disney' too — for example, many of us have heard about Disney Imagineers who oversee the creative aspects of everything Disney, from films to theme parks, and that even staff at Disney parks are called 'Cast Members' in recognition of their creative work.

Fewer of us, however, associate Disney with the technological advances that make its storytelling possible. For instance, did you know that Disney’s Steamboat Willie (1928) was the first cartoon to feature a synchronized soundtrack, that Disney holds more than 4,000 patents, or that Disney has been researching AI since the early 2000s?

In fact, in 2008, Disney announced a major research and development initiative with top technology universities such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon. Three years later, it created DisneyResearch|Studios in Zurich to "[explore] scientific frontiers] in service to the technical and creative filmmaking process."

Since then, Disney has been analysing audience reactions through Affective AI technology and even adding AI-powered robots such as Baby Groot to its parks. (At the moment, Disney has 11 job openings for candidates with experience in AI or Machine Learning...)

Perhaps this is why Disney's 100th anniversary film, Once Upon a Studio, celebrates not only creativity, but also "10 decades of storytelling, artistry and technological achievements."

According to Disney, the short film "unifies Disney's diverse animation styles," blending traditional hand-drawn animation with modern CGI to feature 600 characters from over 85 Disney creations, from Pinocchio to Frozen. 

What better way to pay tribute to such a complex legacy?

Watch the teaser.

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(Photo: Polka Dots & Pixie Dust)