Disney 100th anniversary: Celebrate the Mouse's house with some of our favorite things
Disney turned 100 Monday, so hopefully Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Buzz Lightyear, Moana, Cruella de Vil and the Hulk blew out the candles on one extremely large birthday cake.
On Oct. 16, 1923, Walt Disney was a fledgling filmmaker in LA when he signed a distribution deal for a series of live-action/animated comedy shorts about a girl in a cartoon world based on "Alice in Wonderland," and the company was born. Originally called Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt and sibling Roy Disney soon changed it to what we all know: the Walt Disney Studio.
A century later, the Mouse House has given us, of course, Mickey (who debuted in the 1928 short "Steamboat Willie") but also countless characters, movies, TV shows and theme parks, making Disney a part of pretty much everyone's life at some point.
Disney has created the celebratory short film "Once Upon a Studio," now streaming on Disney+ and featuring many of the company's iconic personalities assembling for the mother of all group photos. But we're also digging into our own Disney history to shout out some of our favorite things:
Live-action movies have revamped Disney classics for fans new and old
Generations have grown up with the classic Disney animated movies, dating back to 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." And another one is on the way: "Wish," starring Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, is a culmination of the Disney 100 celebration.
In recent years, though, Disney has reached back into the vault and revamped its most legendary movies with live-action redos for today's kiddos. They haven't all been winners – looking directly at you, "Alice Through the Looking Glass" – but standouts like "Cruella," "Cinderella" and "Maleficent" have added nuance to familiar tales and characters.
'The Little Mermaid': A definitive ranking of the Disney live-action remakes
Nothing compares to a classic Disney song – and there are plenty of them
What do you get with a classic Disney movie? A classic Disney song. Everyone from Elton John to Christina Aguilera has contributed to the Mouse House's musical canon, and the company still commands the best talent. For example, "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda collaborated with Alan Menken on new tunes for this year's "Little Mermaid," plus wrote songs for "Moana" and "Encanto." (In this case, it's definitely all right to talk about "Bruno.")
Looking through Disney history, there are a few that top our charts – like "Feed the Birds" from "Mary Poppins," a fave of Walt's back in the day, and the title love song of "Beauty and the Beast." And if you don't dig them, well ... let it go.
Ranked: The 25 best classic Disney songs, from 'Mary Poppins' to 'The Lion King'
'Monsters, Inc.,' 'Coco' are top-notch Pixar animation outings
Since Woody, Buzz and the crew first stole our hearts in 1995's "Toy Story," Disney's Pixar has launched a slew of great animated movies. To date, the studio has won 23 Academy Awards – including 11 for best animated feature – and two films, "Toy Story 3" and "Up," were nominated for best picture.
While the "Cars" movies have never exactly been our speed, "Monsters, Inc.," "Coco" and "The Incredibles" rank high on our all-time Pixar list. And the studio is rolling into the next 100 years without a hiccup: "Elemental" (now streaming on Disney+) was a word-of-mouth summer hit – and Pixar's first rom-com – and next year brings the out-of-this-world original "Elio" (in theaters March 1) and the sequel "Inside Out 2" (June 14).
'Elemental': The definitive ranking of all 27 Pixar movies
Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy lead the Marvel superhero business
No one puts comic book icons on screen like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU started with 2008's "Iron Man," yet it really soared when Disney took over with 2012's "Avengers" film. Dozens of movies later, the MCU has delivered cinematic phenomenons and worldwide hits like "Avengers: Endgame," "Black Panther" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
For us, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" are top-tier MCU choices in a universe that continues to grow. The upcoming pipeline includes new films such as "The Marvels," starring Brie Larson, "WandaVision" standout Teyonah Parris and "Ms. Marvel" actress Iman Vellani.
Ranked: Every Marvel superhero movie (including 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3')
'The Force Awakens' was a Disney 'Star Wars' phenomenon
"Star Wars" has been a pop-culture powerhouse for more than 40 years but the franchise is one of the newer additions to the Disney portfolio: The company purchased Lucasfilm (also the home of the "Indiana Jones" movies) from George Lucas in 2012.
The Force has been strong with Disney, with a new "Star Wars" sequel trilogy – 2015's "The Force Awakens" is the all-time domestic box-office champ with a $936.7 million haul – and an expansion into streaming with Disney+ series including "The Mandalorian" and "Ahsoka." But the best stuff is still Lucas' old-school "The Empire Strikes Back" and original 1977 "Star Wars," proving alongside other Disney classics of the past 100 years that vintage is often a good thing.
Contributing: Patrick Ryan and Kelly Lawler
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 100 years of Disney: Mickey, Marvel, Pixar and more things we love
