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{{about|the current feature animation division of [[The Walt Disney Company]]|this company's history prior to 1986|Walt Disney Productions}}
{{PageCredits|description=Logoboy95|capture=V of Doom, EnormousRat, and LogosForTheWin}}
{{PageCredits|description=Logoboy95, TheLogoFan2004, and Henrynguye5|capture=V of Doom, EnormousRat, and LogosForTheWin|edits=Henrynguye5, Scj323347, Prodigy012‎, Omoniyi.ade0614, Tjdrum2000, TheLogoFan2004, and Michael Kenchington|video=Raphael Freire Zanardo and EnormousRat}}
{{Infobox company
|name=Walt Disney Animation Studios
|image=Walt_Disney_Animation_Studios_logo.png
|founded=February 6, 1986 ({{age|1986|2|6}} years ago)
|predecessors=[[Walt Disney Productions]]
|formerly=Walt Disney Feature Animation<br>(1986-2007)
|key people=Clark Spencer (president)<br>Jennifer Lee (CCO)
|country=[[:Category:United States|United States]]
|parent=[[Walt Disney Studios|The Walt Disney Studios]]<br>([[The Walt Disney Company]])
|website=https://www.disneyanimation.com/
}}
===Background===
===Background===
Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio founded in 1923 as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio (name used until 1926) by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney after their previous studio Laugh-O-Gram Studio went defunct for bankruptcy. It is one of the oldest-running animation studios in the world, and was known for making feature-length movies, though it does make animated shorts as well. The company didn't have a on-screen logo until John Lasseter took in change of the studio and renaming it to its current name in 2007. Other former names the company had were Walt Disney Studio until 1929, Walt Disney Productions until 1986, and Walt Disney Feature Animation. The current CEO of the studio is ''Frozen'' co director and winter Jennifer Lee since 2017.
'''Walt Disney Animation Studios''' is an American animation studio owned by [[Walt Disney Studios|The Walt Disney Studios]], a division of [[The Walt Disney Company]]. It was formed on February 6, 1986 as '''Walt Disney Feature Animation''', inheriting the animation staff of [[Walt Disney Productions]] following that company's reorganization as The Walt Disney Company. In its current incarnation, the studio has produced 37 animated films within the larger Disney Animated Canon, with its most recent being ''Wish'', released on November 22, 2023. All of its films are released by [[Walt Disney Pictures]] through the [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] banner.

===(March 30, 2007-)===
Walt Disney Animation Studios did not have an official onscreen logo until it took on its current name in 2007.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>

File:WDASMTR2007.jpg
{{SeparateTOC|Walt Disney Feature Animation|
File:WDASTPATF2009.jpg
{{ImageTOC
File:WDASTANGLED2010.jpg
|Walt Disney Feature Animation (1993).jpg|1st Logo (1993)
File:WDASWIR2012.jpg
|Funcom & Disney Animation (1996).jpeg|2nd Logo (March 1996)
File:WDASFROZEN2013.jpg
}}|Walt Disney Animation Studios|
{{ImageTOC
|WDASTPATF2009.jpg|Logo (March 23, 2007-)
}}}}
==Walt Disney Feature Animation==
===1st Logo (1993)===
<tabber>
Images=
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
Walt Disney Feature Animation (1993).jpg
Walt Disney Feature Animation (1993, variant).jpg
</gallery>
</gallery>
|-|
{{YouTube|id=MJkQ-1Jvf0g|id2=IhOTzR1xiuQ|id3=uK7HoALmvYw}}
Videos=
'''Nickname:''' "Steamboat Willie"
{{YouTube|id=hIfGc8SCXOs|id2=MDga98_KV2s}}
</tabber>


'''Visuals''': Just the short version of the 1986 [[Walt Disney Pictures]] logo, except the "PICTURES" is replaced with a purple box with "FEATURE ANIMATION" in Times New Roman written on it.
'''Logo:''' On a gold paper background, a red circle is drawn in. As the camera zooms out, more pieces of paper fold out on the screen like a flipbook, and quickly the red circle becomes a rough sketch of Mickey Mouse in his appearance from the 1928 Disney cartoon ''Steamboat Willie''. Eventually, the pages stop flipping, and the sketch animates (showing Mickey happily whistling while turning the wheel on the steamboat he is driving) before slowly turning into the original scene it depicts from the short. The scene zooms out onto a yellow-gold spotlight background, and below the picture, the words "WALT DiSNEY" write themselves in a sketchier version of the signature corporate font, with "ANIMATION STUDIOS" fading in underneath.


'''Variant:''' The opening variant has "PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR" fading at top part of the logo.
'''Variants:'''
*Starting in 2008 with the movie ''Bolt'', the logo was given a high definition look, which used the same animation.
*On ''Tangled'', the animation stays in place as it is slowly overtaken by a large orange circle outline. It zooms out to reveal it is part of a large "50", and as the company name appears at the top, the stacked text "ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE" appears under the "50", and a small "TH" appears at the top right of the "0". The closing version of this variant has the finished product of the animation, then it animates as usual, but the company name is already there and only "ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE" and "TH" fading in.
*On ''Wreck-It Ralph'', the logo is done in a retro video-game style on a black background.
*On ''Frozen II'', the ending of the logo fades into the opening scene of the movie.
*On new animated shorts, as well as at the end of movies, the logo is cut down to its last few seconds.
*On the ''Prep & Landing'' specials and ''Operation: Secret Santa'', the logo is still.


'''Technique:''' Traditional ink-and-paint animation.
'''FX/SFX:''' Mostly CGI. The logo was directed by Mike Gabriel and produced by Roy Conli, using Ub Iwerks' original animation drawings from Steamboat Willie as reference.


'''Audio:'''. A triumphant fanfare.
'''Music/Sounds:''' The sound of pages turning followed by Mickey whistling a cheerful tune.

'''Availablity:''' Was only seen on the internal documentary ''Walt Disney's Animazing Features: Sixty Years of Feature Length Animation Production''.

===2nd Logo (March 1996)===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
Funcom & Disney Animation (1996).jpeg
</gallery>

'''Visuals:''' Above the [[Funcom]] logo on a white background, there's a sunlight. Over the sunlight, a Mickey Mouse silhouette is seen with a hand drawing a picture. Below it, there are the smaller texts "{{font|Times New Roman|Animation Services}}" and "'''Walt Disney''' {{font|Times New Roman|Feature Animation}}" with "'''Walt Disney'''" being in a corporate font.

'''Technique:''' A still, digital graphic.

'''Audio:''' None.

'''Availability:''' Only seen on ''Pocahontas'' for Sega Genesis.

==Walt Disney Animation Studios==
===Logo (March 23, 2007-)===
<tabber>
|-|Images=
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:WDASTPATF2009.jpg|Flat version
File:WDASFROZEN2013.jpg|Scope version
File:WDASTANGLED2010.jpg|50th Animated Motion Picture variant
File:Walt_Disney_Animation_Studios_(60th_Animated_Motion_Picture_Variant,_2021).png| 60th Animated Motion Picture variant
File:Walt_Disney_Animation_Studios_(60th_Animated_Motion_Picture_Alternate_Variant,_2021).jpg| Alternate 60th Animated Motion Picture variant, seen on trailers for ''Encanto''
File:WDASWIR2012.jpg|''Wreck-It Ralph'' variant
Excerpt from Steamboat Willie (1928), used as part of Walt Disney Animation Studios Logo.gif|A .gif of the footage from ''Steamboat Willie'' used in the logo
</gallery>
|-|Videos=
{{YouTube|id=jyrI2jLcq1w|id2=84u-NYUnylY|id3=NEfdQAuUk_E|t3=17|id4=qnelIlWkmd4|id5=K7ZXuSR30bU|id6=LB2JDA7lQ2c}}
</tabber>

'''Visuals:''' On a paper background, a red circle is drawn. As the camera zooms out, more pieces of paper fold out on the screen like a flipbook, and the circle quickly becomes a rough sketch of Mickey Mouse in his appearance from the 1928 cartoon ''Steamboat Willie''. Eventually, the pages stop flipping, and the sketch animates (showing Mickey happily whistling while turning the wheel on the steamboat he is driving) before slowly turning into footage of the original scene from the short. The scene zooms out onto the background with a spotlight, and below the picture, the words "{{color|#964B00|WALT DiSNEY}}" write themselves in a sketchier version of the signature corporate font, with "{{color|red|ANIMATION STUDIOS}}" (set in ITC Kabel Demi) fading in underneath.

'''Trivia:''' In 2024, ''Steamboat Willie'' entered the public domain in the United States. However, it has been speculated that this logo was created using footage of the cartoon to extend its protection under trademark law.

'''Variants:'''
* Starting in 2008, the logo was given a high-definition look, which used the same animation.
* On the iPad app ''Disney Animated'', the logo is in a 4:3 aspect ratio and is shown before the first section "Art in Motion". In this variant, the logo zooms in to focus on an abridged version of the ''Steamboat Willie'' footage. As the animation finishes, it cuts to a scene from ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''.
* On ''Tangled'' (the 50th Disney animated feature and the 25th film produced by WDAS) and ''Encanto'' (the 60th Disney animated feature and the 35th film produced by WDAS), a custom variant was used:
** The former has the animation staying in place as it is slowly overtaken by a large, orange circle outline, with the wheel being filled with black before transforming into the normal scene. It then zooms out to reveal it is part of a large "50", with the company name entirely in {{color|#964B00|brown}} at the top, while the stacked text "{{color|red|ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE}}" appears under the "{{color|red|50}}" and a small "{{color|red|TH}}" appears at the top-right corner. The closing version of this variant has the finished product shown up close before animating as usual (albeit at a faster pace); the company name is already formed while the rest of the text fades in.
** The latter has the "{{color|red|50}}" replaced by a "{{color|red|60}}", and the logo is shortened to the number zooming out to its place. The closing variant just has the last seconds of the normal logo.
*** A trailer for the latter film has the company name replaced with "{{color|red|OUR}}".
* On ''Wreck-It Ralph'', the logo is done in an 8-bit video game style on a black background.
* On ''Frozen II'', the logo crossfades into the opening scene of the movie.
* A shortened version exists which has the logo in its last few seconds, with the cartoon footage already fixed in place as the text writes in. This seems to have replaced the standard logo on films.
* Sometimes, the logo is still.
* On the Disney100 "4th of July" special look video on Disney's social pages, the first few seconds of the logo are shown in black and white before it fades into footage from ''Steamboat Willie''. On Disney's TikTok page, it is cropped in a 9:21 ratio to fit the phone's portrait orientation.


'''Technique:''' CGI directed by Mike Gabriel and produced by Roy Conli, using Ub Iwerks' original animation drawings from the ''Steamboat Willie'' short as reference.
'''Music/Sounds Variants:'''
*The ''Wreck-It Ralph'' variant has an 8-bit version of the music.
*The animated shorts variant has the last few seconds of Mickey whistling with the music.
*On ''Frozen'', its sequel ''Frozen II'', and ''Moana'', the movie's opening theme plays over the logo.
*The closing variant is silent, except for on ''The Princess and the Frog'' where it just has Mickey's whistling without any background music at all, ''Zootopia'', where nature-like sounds play over the logo, and ''Ralph Breaks the Internet'', wherein Ralph talks over the logo and the 2011 [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] logo before being cut off by the latter turning off with a TV effect, similar to the closing of the previous installment.
*The still logo has the end theme play over it.


'''Audio:''' The sound of pages turning, followed by audio of Mickey whistling the song Steamboat Bill (music by The Leighton Brothers and lyrics by Ren Shields) with a piano playing along, taken directly from the original ''Steamboat Willie'' cartoon.
'''Availability:''' Current. It was first seen on ''Meet the Robinsons'', and can be seen on every Disney animated feature henceforth, most recently ''Frozen II'', as well as short films like ''How to Hook Up Your Home Theater'', ''The Ballad of Nessie'', ''Tangled Ever After'', ''Paperman'', ''Get a Horse!'', ''Feast'' and ''Inner Workings''. The still version can be seen on the ''Prep & Landing'' TV specials, as well as the short ''Operation: Secret Santa''. It was also seen on the reissue's of ''Beauty of the Beast'' (1991) and the 3D version of ''The Lion King'' (1994).


'''Audio Variants:'''
'''Editor's Note:''' A very nice throwback to the very first Disney cartoon.
* On ''Wreck-It Ralph'', a short 8-bit version of Steamboat Bill plays.
* The shortened variant has a truncated version of the whistle tune.
* On some films, the opening theme or sound effects play over the logo instead.
* The closing variant is silent or has the ending theme of the movie.
* At the end of ''The Princess and the Frog'' and on post-2011 prints of ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), only the whistling is heard with no piano accompaniment.
* The still version has the ending theme of the film play over it.


'''Availability:''' This appears on every film produced by the studio beginning with ''Meet the Robinsons''.
* It also appears on post-2011 prints of ''Beauty of the Beast'' (1991).
* The shortened variant appears at the end of the studio's films starting with ''Bolt'', as well as on short films and movies beginning with ''Strange World'' (due to the length of the 2022 Disney logo).
** It also appears on the Disney+ series ''Baymax!'' and ''Zootopia+''.
* The still version appears on the ''Prep & Landing'' TV specials, as well as the short ''Operation: Secret Santa''.
* Although a new print logo was introduced in 2020, this logo is still used onscreen.
* This logo does not appear on the 2022 short ''Oswald the Lucky Rabbit'', despite it being produced by the company.


'''Legacy:''' This is a throwback to one of Disney's most important films, which marked the debut of Mickey Mouse, the company's mascot (the character actually made his debut on a test screening of ''Plane Crazy'', an earlier short that was produced before ''Steamboat Willie'' but not officially released until a few months after said short).


{{Chronology|[[Walt Disney Productions]]|}}
{{Animation-Navbox}}{{Navbox-WaltDisney}}
[[Category:Animation Logos]]
{{Animation-Navbox}}
{{Navbox-WaltDisney}}
[[Category:Movie Logos]]
{{American film logos}}
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Animation logos]]
[[Category:Film logos]]
[[Category:American animation logos]]
[[Category:American film logos]]
[[Category:The Walt Disney Studios]]
[[Category:The Walt Disney Company]]
[[Category:The Walt Disney Company]]
[[Category:Logos with popular characters]]
[[Category:Logos with film and television footage]]

Latest revision as of 01:27, 20 August 2024


Background

Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio owned by The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It was formed on February 6, 1986 as Walt Disney Feature Animation, inheriting the animation staff of Walt Disney Productions following that company's reorganization as The Walt Disney Company. In its current incarnation, the studio has produced 37 animated films within the larger Disney Animated Canon, with its most recent being Wish, released on November 22, 2023. All of its films are released by Walt Disney Pictures through the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures banner.

Walt Disney Animation Studios did not have an official onscreen logo until it took on its current name in 2007.


Walt Disney Feature Animation

1st Logo (1993)

Visuals: Just the short version of the 1986 Walt Disney Pictures logo, except the "PICTURES" is replaced with a purple box with "FEATURE ANIMATION" in Times New Roman written on it.

Variant: The opening variant has "PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR" fading at top part of the logo.

Technique: Traditional ink-and-paint animation.

Audio:. A triumphant fanfare.

Availablity: Was only seen on the internal documentary Walt Disney's Animazing Features: Sixty Years of Feature Length Animation Production.

2nd Logo (March 1996)

Visuals: Above the Funcom logo on a white background, there's a sunlight. Over the sunlight, a Mickey Mouse silhouette is seen with a hand drawing a picture. Below it, there are the smaller texts "Animation Services" and "Walt Disney Feature Animation" with "Walt Disney" being in a corporate font.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Only seen on Pocahontas for Sega Genesis.

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Logo (March 23, 2007-)

Visuals: On a paper background, a red circle is drawn. As the camera zooms out, more pieces of paper fold out on the screen like a flipbook, and the circle quickly becomes a rough sketch of Mickey Mouse in his appearance from the 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie. Eventually, the pages stop flipping, and the sketch animates (showing Mickey happily whistling while turning the wheel on the steamboat he is driving) before slowly turning into footage of the original scene from the short. The scene zooms out onto the background with a spotlight, and below the picture, the words "WALT DiSNEY" write themselves in a sketchier version of the signature corporate font, with "ANIMATION STUDIOS" (set in ITC Kabel Demi) fading in underneath.

Trivia: In 2024, Steamboat Willie entered the public domain in the United States. However, it has been speculated that this logo was created using footage of the cartoon to extend its protection under trademark law.

Variants:

  • Starting in 2008, the logo was given a high-definition look, which used the same animation.
  • On the iPad app Disney Animated, the logo is in a 4:3 aspect ratio and is shown before the first section "Art in Motion". In this variant, the logo zooms in to focus on an abridged version of the Steamboat Willie footage. As the animation finishes, it cuts to a scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
  • On Tangled (the 50th Disney animated feature and the 25th film produced by WDAS) and Encanto (the 60th Disney animated feature and the 35th film produced by WDAS), a custom variant was used:
    • The former has the animation staying in place as it is slowly overtaken by a large, orange circle outline, with the wheel being filled with black before transforming into the normal scene. It then zooms out to reveal it is part of a large "50", with the company name entirely in brown at the top, while the stacked text "ANIMATED MOTION PICTURE" appears under the "50" and a small "TH" appears at the top-right corner. The closing version of this variant has the finished product shown up close before animating as usual (albeit at a faster pace); the company name is already formed while the rest of the text fades in.
    • The latter has the "50" replaced by a "60", and the logo is shortened to the number zooming out to its place. The closing variant just has the last seconds of the normal logo.
      • A trailer for the latter film has the company name replaced with "OUR".
  • On Wreck-It Ralph, the logo is done in an 8-bit video game style on a black background.
  • On Frozen II, the logo crossfades into the opening scene of the movie.
  • A shortened version exists which has the logo in its last few seconds, with the cartoon footage already fixed in place as the text writes in. This seems to have replaced the standard logo on films.
  • Sometimes, the logo is still.
  • On the Disney100 "4th of July" special look video on Disney's social pages, the first few seconds of the logo are shown in black and white before it fades into footage from Steamboat Willie. On Disney's TikTok page, it is cropped in a 9:21 ratio to fit the phone's portrait orientation.

Technique: CGI directed by Mike Gabriel and produced by Roy Conli, using Ub Iwerks' original animation drawings from the Steamboat Willie short as reference.

Audio: The sound of pages turning, followed by audio of Mickey whistling the song Steamboat Bill (music by The Leighton Brothers and lyrics by Ren Shields) with a piano playing along, taken directly from the original Steamboat Willie cartoon.

Audio Variants:

  • On Wreck-It Ralph, a short 8-bit version of Steamboat Bill plays.
  • The shortened variant has a truncated version of the whistle tune.
  • On some films, the opening theme or sound effects play over the logo instead.
  • The closing variant is silent or has the ending theme of the movie.
  • At the end of The Princess and the Frog and on post-2011 prints of Beauty and the Beast (1991), only the whistling is heard with no piano accompaniment.
  • The still version has the ending theme of the film play over it.

Availability: This appears on every film produced by the studio beginning with Meet the Robinsons.

  • It also appears on post-2011 prints of Beauty of the Beast (1991).
  • The shortened variant appears at the end of the studio's films starting with Bolt, as well as on short films and movies beginning with Strange World (due to the length of the 2022 Disney logo).
    • It also appears on the Disney+ series Baymax! and Zootopia+.
  • The still version appears on the Prep & Landing TV specials, as well as the short Operation: Secret Santa.
  • Although a new print logo was introduced in 2020, this logo is still used onscreen.
  • This logo does not appear on the 2022 short Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, despite it being produced by the company.

Legacy: This is a throwback to one of Disney's most important films, which marked the debut of Mickey Mouse, the company's mascot (the character actually made his debut on a test screening of Plane Crazy, an earlier short that was produced before Steamboat Willie but not officially released until a few months after said short).

Walt Disney Productions
Walt Disney Animation Studios
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