Steamboat Willie (1928)

In early 1928, Walt Disney traveled to New York City, New York, to negotiate an increase in pay for the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series with Universal’s distributor, Charles Mintz. Mintz offered Walt less money than he expected, and Walt learned that Universal, not Disney, owned the rights to Oswald. Walt would also learned that Mintz had hired away many of his animators. So Walt left New York City without a new deal, without Oswald and without most of his animators. 

Walt was no doubt devastated, but also determined to be a success, and upon returning to California, he went to work immediately creating a new animated character. Along with Ub Iwerks, a new character was born, Mickey Mouse. 

Trolley Troubles (1927)

The popularity of the Alice Comedies had begun to wane in 1927. Julius the Cat had taken over as the main character, with Alice becoming less important to the storyline. Julius had begun to emulate the popular Felix the Cat, which Walt Disney did not want, but Walter Mintz and George Winkler had insisted on it. Mintz was looking for a new animated character and was in talks with Universal Pictures. There were already too many animated cats, Felix the Cat, Krazy Kat, and Julius the Cat from the Alice Comedies. Universal wanted something new, and Mintz convinced Walt to create it. In early 1927, Walt and Ub Iwerks created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Alice’s Wonderland (1923)

If you are a fan of Walt Disney it’s very likely you have heard the quote, “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse,” it is one of the more famous quotes of his, talking about his creation, Mickey Mouse. Things really started to come together for the company Walt Disney started when Mickey came on the scene in 1928.  But if you go back before Mickey, there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Julius the Cat from the Alice Comedies, and the star of those comedies, Alice who was originally played by a young Virginia Davis. So, some may argue that it was all started by a little girl. 

Welcome to the Disney Movie and Film Encyclopedia!

Welcome to the Disney Movie and Film Encyclopedia. I love Disney movies and films, I love talking about them and especially researching and writing about them. My initial goal here is to watch (all that are available) and write about all the Disney movies and films starting in the 1920s and working through present day. My end goal is creating the most complete listing of all things Disney movies and films on the Internet. 

This will be a long and ongoing project with all the shorts, animated feature films, live-action films, documentaries, etc., produced by The Walt Disney Company. 

You can follow the Disney Movie and Film Encyclopedia on X @dismovieandfilm. I can also be reached via email at disneymovieandfilmencyclopedia@gmail.com.

Jason Culley