Disney

The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as simply Disney, is an American mass media and entertainment conglomerate founded in 1923 by Walt and Roy O. Disney.

The company began as a small animation studio that created theatrical cartoon shorts, through which their iconic mascot character, Mickey Mouse, was born. The company subsequently rose to further prominence with such works as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - the first feature length traditionally-animated film - beginning a legacy of theatrical films in that medium, and a multitude of other ventures.

Today, it is known as one of the largest and most lucrative companies in the world, owning a monopoly of intellectual properties across dozens of corporate divisions, such as Pixar, Marvel, and 20th Century Studios, all marketed across a variety of media. They have produced countless award-winning films, many of which have been major commercial successes, and regarded by critics as some of the greatest movies of all time.

Disney has coexisted for approximately three fifths of its century-long history with Doctor Who, with cultural references to Disney's countless films and characters being rampant throughout the DWU, with largely fleeting moments of the two entities coming together in an official capacity, with its biggest collaboration in recent years being the announcement that the streaming platform Disney+ would become the official home of the franchise outside of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

Earlier collaborations and acquisitions[[edit] | [edit source]]

Tom Baker hosting Disney Time as the Fourth Doctor.

The earliest known collaboration between the Disney company and Doctor Who was in 1975, via the British television programme, Disney Time, a long-running clipshow series that was broadcast over bank holidays, which primarily consisted of clips from different Disney productions being shown, with a celebrity host introducing each segment. The edition that was broadcast over the August bank holiday in 1975 was hosted by Tom Baker, entirely in character as the Fourth Doctor. The episode's framing device involved the Doctor arriving in the TARDIS at the Disney Theatre. The Disney clips that the Doctor introduced to the audience included those from the animated feature films, The Jungle Book and Lady and the Tramp, the live action films, Blackbeard's Ghost, The African Lion, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Return of the Big Cat, and Escape to Witch Mountain, and two animated Mickey Mouse shorts, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Clock Cleaners.

On 23 January 1994, ITV's weekend morning children's block, The Disney Club, featured a guest appearance by Sylvester McCoy, in character as the Seventh Doctor.

Sylvester McCoy appears as the Seventh Doctor on The Disney Club.

In 2009, Disney purchased former Doctor Who Magazine publisher, Marvel Comics, placing multiple fictional universes that had previously crossed over with the DWU under Disney's ownership.

The 2011 spin-off series, K9, was broadcast in various countries, including the United Kingdom, on Disney XD and, in some cases, Disney Channel.

Prince Naveen, from The Princess and the Frog, making a cameo at the end of It's Showtime.

BBC One's 2012 Christmas ident, It's Showtime, featured crossover appearances from various BBC shows, including Matt Smith, in character as the Eleventh Doctor, while also making references to some of the theatrical family films that would be making their British terrestrial television premieres over the period. This included a reference to Pixar's Up, as well as, more substantially, Disney's animated feature, The Princess and the Frog - following numerous references to "a princess" and "a frog", the ident ends with the frog himself, the cursed Prince Naveen, appearing on the final title screen, where he waves to the audience before hopping away again.

Also in 2012, Disney purchased LucasFilm, gaining the rights to the Star Wars franchise in the process.

Characters from Future-Worm! promote Doctor Who in Breaking News! That Hasn't Broken Yet!

In 2015, Disney gained the rights to broadcast David Tennant's era (series 2 through 4) of Doctor Who on Disney XD in the United States, beginning from that summer. This new deal was promoted through a number of promotional videos; Breaking News! That Hasn't Broken Yet!, a two-part promo that loosely crossed over with the Disney XD series, Future-Worm!, involving the titular character and his human friend, Danny Douglas, presenting a news report informing the audience of the show's arrival; Tired of Old-Fashioned Tools?, a series of in-show clips presented as a spoof teleshopping advertisement for the sonic screwdriver; and an untitled promo in which the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler pilot the TARDIS as it flies through settings from various Disney XD shows, typically being noticed by their characters. The shows represented in this mass crossover include Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, Lab Rats, Kirby Buckets, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, and Gravity Falls.

In 2019, Disney purchased 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, renaming it to simply 20th Century Studios. Among the countless intellectual properties Disney gained through the acquisition was The Simpsons, which officially crossed over with the DWU in LEGO Dimensions and other related media.

Disney+ deal[[edit] | [edit source]]

On 25 October 2022, then-incoming Doctor Ncuti Gatwa revealed, during an appearance on the American talk show, Live with Kelly and Ryan, that the BBC had entered into a deal Disney Branded Television to make streaming platform, Disney+, the official "global home" of Doctor Who outside of the UK and Ireland, beginning with the then-upcoming 60th Anniversary Specials. A formal announcement came via the BBC later in the day.^[1]