Lead-in Questions
1. How much do you know about Disney Film?
2. What, according to you, contribute to the success of Disney World?
Text ：The Disney Company
The Disney Company
1. Walt Disney was one of America’s most famous film producers. He created Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and some of the world’s most successful entertainment businesses.
2. Film artist and producer Walt Disney died in 1966. Yet his work and influence live on. People around the world watch Disney movies and Disney television programs. They buy Disney music, books, videos, toys, clothes and games. They attend Disney shows. They stay in Disney hotels and ride on a Disney passenger ship. They visit Disney entertainment parks in the United States, France and Japan.
3. Last month was the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Walt Disney. He was born in 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. In 1923, Walt Disney moved to Hollywood, California. He hoped to become a movie producer or director. However, he could not find a job. So he decided to make animated movies or cartoons. Walt Disney was an artist.
4. He wanted to bring his pictures to life. A cartoon is a series of drawings on film. Each drawing is a little different from the one before it. Each shows a tiny change in movement. When we see the movie, the cartoon people and animals appear to move. They speak with voices recorded by actors.
5. Walt Disney believed that animated movies could be just as popular as movies made with real people. He decided he needed a cartoon hero. So he created Mickey Mouse.
6. This cartoon mouse had big eyes and ears. He stood on two legs like a human. He wore white gloves on his hands. Disney’s first short cartoon films starring Mickey Mouse gained great success. Both the mouse and his creator became famous.
7. In 1932, Disney produced the first cartoon filmed in the full-color process called Technicolor. Mickey Mouse was the main character in this movie, called Flowers and Trees. Disney served as the voice of his mouse.
8. Disney created cartoons with other characters including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto the dog. These cartoons were very popular. But Walt Disney wanted to make other kinds of animated movies too.
9. Disney’s first full-length cartoon movie was completed in 1937. It was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became one of Hollywood’s most successful movies.
10. Disney made a number of other extremely popular cartoon films during the 1940s and 1950s. They include Fantasia Cinderella, Pinocchio, etc.
11. Disney’s skills in this animation process made him one of the world’s most successful movie artists. Film experts say that without Walt Disney, the art of animation would not have developed so fully.
12. In the 1950s, Disney started producing live-action films with actors. He also started producing several popular television series.
13. In 1964, Disney made a popular film called Mary Poppins. It told about a woman who cares for other people’s children. Human actors shared the action with cartoon characters. Mary Poppins was one of Disney’s last productions.
14. For about forty years, other filmmakers praised and honored the work of Walt Disney. He won thirty-two Academy Awards for his movies. He also received honors for scientific and technical inventions in filmmaking. However, Walt Disney was not just a great artist and filmmaker. He also gained great success in business.
15. In 1955, Walt Disney opened an entertainment park in Anaheim, California, near Los Angles. He called the park Disneyland. He wanted it to be the happiest place on earth. It recreated places from Disney movies. It also showed real places as Disney imagined them. For example, one area looked like a nineteenth-century town in the American West. Another area looked like the world of the future. Disneyland had many exciting rides for children of all ages and for adults too.
16. Disneyland was so successful that Walt Disney developed plans for a second entertainment and educational park. The project was called Walt Disney World. It opened near Orlando, Florida in 1971, five years after Disney died. It was larger than Disneyland and had many more activities.
17. Today, the Disney Company continues Walt Disney’s work and tradition. Michael Eisner became the company chief in 1984. At the time, the company was not making successful films. It was depending on the entertainment parks for much of its profits.
18. Mr. Eisner changed that situation. He ordered that old Disney cartoons, programs and films be sold to television stations. He approved the production of programs and movies for adults. He expanded the idea of the Disney parks to Japan and France. Disney parks opened in Tokyo in 1984 and Paris in 1992.
19. Led by Mr. Eisner, the Disney Company continues to build entertainment centers. Disney California Adventure parks opened last year in Anaheim, next to Disneyland. It cost 1,400,000,000 dollars. California Adventure is smaller than Disneyland. It celebrates the state of California, not some make-believe place.
20. The park has three areas. Paradise Pier celebrates the great American amusement park. It has the world’s longest roller coaster, called California Screaming. It is almost 2,000 meters long. The park also has a ride that makes people feel like they are hang-gliding in the air over famous areas in California. They include Yosemite National Park, the Golden Gate Bridge and Sierra Mountains.
21. The second area in California Adventure is called Hollywood Pictures Backlot. It shows visitors the movie-making industry. The third area, called the Golden State, shows important places in California including agricultural areas.
22. There are also new Disney parks in Paris and Tokyo. Disney Studios Europe will open this year next to Disneyland Paris. It will bring a little bit of Hollywood to France. Tokyo Disney Sea opened recently next to Tokyo Disneyland. It has seven areas that celebrate exploration and discovery of the seas.
23. The Disney Company earns about 25,000 million dollars a year. It is one of the largest media companies in the world. It operates movie and television companies. In 1995 it bought the Capital Cities ABC Media Company, which includes the ABC television network. The Disney Company recently bought a group of international cable television channels. It also owns sports teams.
24. The Disney Company also has become a major Broadway Theater producer in New York City. Its stage productions of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King have been among the most popular plays on Broadway.
25. The company continues to make successful animated films. Its latest movie is a computer-animated film produced with the Pixar Company. It is called Monster, Incorporated. It was the third most popular movie in the United States last year.
26. Last year, however, a weak economy and the September terrorist attacks hurt the Disney Company. It lost money on its Internet operation. Sales of products at Disney stores decreased. The ABC television network lost viewers and advertising sales. Attendance at the Disney parks fell. The company cut 4,000 jobs last year. Most financial experts, however, say the Disney Company will improve in the future. They believe people around the world will always enjoy Disney entertainment.
1 | film producers | 电影制片人 |
entertainment businesses | 娱乐产业 | |
2 | live on | 延续, 继续存在 |
attend Disney shows | 参加迪斯尼的表演 | |
stay in Disney hotels | 入住迪斯尼酒店 | |
ride on a Disney passenger ship | 乘坐迪斯尼游轮 | |
3 | one hundredth anniversary of the birth of | 100周年诞辰 |
animated movies or cartoons | 动画片或卡通片 | |
4 | bring his pictures to life | 让图片动起来 |
a series of drawings on film | 一系列电影胶片上的图画 | |
a tiny change in movement | 动作的一点点变化 | |
5 | movies made with real people | 真人电影 |
needed a cartoon hero | 需要一个卡通英雄 | |
6 | stood on two legs like a human | 像人一样用两条腿站立 |
gained great success | 获得了巨大成功 | |
7 | produced the first cartoon filmed in the full-color process called Technicolor | 制作了第一部采用特艺彩色技术拍摄的全彩色卡通片 |
served as the voice of his mouse | 为他的米老鼠配音 | |
8 | created cartoons with other characters | 创作了其他角色的卡通片 |
9 | first full-length cartoon movie | 第一部动画长片 |
became one of Hollywood’s most successful movies | 成为好莱坞最成功的电影之一 | |
10 | made a number of other extremely popular cartoon films | 制作了许多其他非常受欢迎的卡通片 |
11 | skills in this animation process | 在动画处理方面的技巧 |
12 | started producing live-action films with actors | 开始使用演员制作真人影片 |
started producing several popular television series | 开始制作几部大受欢迎的电视连续剧 | |
13 | a popular film called Mary Poppins | 一部名为《欢乐满人间》的受欢迎影片 |
human actors shared the action with cartoon characters | 真人演员和卡通角色同台演出 | |
14 | praised and honored the work of Walt Disney | 赞扬和尊崇沃尔特·迪斯尼的作品 |
won thirty-two Academy Awards | 获得32项奥斯卡金像奖 | |
received honors for scientific and technical inventions in filmmaking | 因电影制作方面的科技发明而获得荣誉 | |
gained great success in business | 在商业方面获得了巨大的成功 | |
15 | opened an entertainment park | 开办了一家游乐园 |
recreated places from Disney movies | 再现了迪斯尼影片中的场景 | |
had many exciting rides | 有许多激动人心的游艺设施 | |
16 | developed plans for a second entertainment and educational park | 制定了开办第二个娱乐和教育主题公园的计划 |
17 | was depending on the entertainment parks for much of its profits | 主要依靠游乐园来盈利 |
18 | television stations | 电视台 |
approved the production of programs and movies for adults | 同意制作面向成人的节目和电影 | |
expanded the idea of the Disney parks to Japan and France | 将开办迪斯尼乐园的理念推广到日本和法国 | |
19 | continues to build entertainment centers | 继续建设娱乐中心 |
20 | roller coaster | 过山车 |
makes people feel like they are hang-gliding in the air | 让人们感觉像乘坐悬挂式滑翔机在空中飞行 | |
21 | the movie-making industry | 电影制作工业 |
22 | celebrate exploration and discovery of the seas | 纪念人类对海洋的探索和开发 |
23 | media companies | 传媒公司 |
international cable television channels | 国际有线电视频道 | |
24 | a major Broadway Theater producer | 百老汇剧院的主要制片商 |
stage productions of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King | 舞台剧《美女与野兽》和《狮子王》 | |
25 | a computer-animated film produced with the Pixar Company | 和皮克斯公司联袂制作的电脑动画片 |
26 | a weak economy and the September terrorist attacks | 经济萎缩和9月恐怖分子袭击 |
the ABC television network lost viewers and advertising sales | ABC电视网络的观众流失，广告费降低 | |
attendance at the Disney parks fell | 迪斯尼乐园的游客减少 | |
cut 4,000 jobs | 裁员4000人 |
1. Early Life and Career of Walt Disney (1901-1928)
1901: Walt Disney is born in Chicago, Illinois.
1923: Walt moves to Hollywood, California, hoping to become a movie producer or director. Unable to find work, he starts creating animated films.
1928: Walt creates Mickey Mouse, and the first short film featuring Mickey, *Steamboat Willie*, is released, marking the start of Disney's success.
2. Rise of Animated Films (1930s-1940s)
1932: Disney produces the first full-color cartoon, *Flowers and Trees*, using the Technicolor process.
1937: Disney releases *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*, the first full-length animated feature film, which becomes a huge success.
1940s: Disney continues to produce popular animated films like *Fantasia*, *Cinderella*, and *Pinocchio*.
3. Expansion into Live-Action and Television (1950s)
1950s: Disney begins producing live-action films and popular television series.
4. Creation of Disneyland (1955)
1955: Walt Disney opens Disneyland in Anaheim, California, the first-ever Disney theme park, envisioned as "the happiest place on earth."
5. Post-Walt Disney Developments (1966-1984)
1966: Walt Disney passes away, but his legacy continues.
1971: Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, expanding the Disney theme park experience.
6. Michael Eisner's Leadership and Global Expansion (1984-2000)
1984: Michael Eisner becomes CEO and revitalizes the company.
1984 & 1992: Disney parks open in Tokyo and Paris, respectively.
1995: Disney acquires Capital Cities/ABC, including the ABC television network.
7. Continued Innovation and Challenges (2000s)
2000s: Disney continues to expand with new parks like Disney California Adventure (2001) and Tokyo DisneySea (2001).
2001: The company faces challenges due to a weak economy and the September 11 terrorist attacks, leading to financial losses and job cuts.
8. Recent Developments and Global Impact
Today: The Disney Company is one of the largest media conglomerates in the world, operating movie and television studios, theme parks, and Broadway productions.
Recent Success: The company produces successful animated films, such as those in collaboration with Pixar, like *Monster, Inc.* (2001).
