. From special Disney on Ice events to a retrospective at the British Film Institute and limited edition Disney100 merchandise, Disney’s celebration is big business.
The first two decades of the studio established Disney’s desire for innovation and profit. This was illustrated through their early adoption of merchandising and various technologies, such as Technicolor and sound. In 1966, Walt died. Roy then passed in 1971 and Walt Disney World opened in Florida the same year. In many ways, the Disney Company was never the same after the loss of the founding brothers.
The list of former Disney animators that went on to work elsewhere or open their own animated studios is long and diverse.