Oct 16 (Reuters) - In 1923, Walt Disney left his failing
animation company called Laugh-O-gram Films and used his last
$40 to buy a train ticket to join his brother, Roy, in Los
Angeles, where they began making animated films out of their
uncle's garage. The company they founded would become one of the
most influential media and entertainment brands in history.  
    The Walt Disney Co turns 100 this month.
    The company, which Walt Disney famously observed "was all
started by a mouse", is now a $156 billion behemoth, spanning
theme parks, television networks, films and a streaming service
that reaches millions of people across continents.
    As it marks its centennial, Disney is navigating a
tumultuous period for the industry, marked by the decline of the
traditional television business, slumping ad revenue, a movie
box office that has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and
video streaming services that for the most part have failed to
achieve profitability.
    Here's a timeline of Disney's journey from a small studio in
Burbank to a global media behemoth: 
    
 Oct 1923   Walt Disney and brother Roy Disney start "Disney
            Brothers Cartoon Studio" after signing a contract
            with distributer M.J. Winkler for "Alice Comedies" 
 March      "Alice's Day at Sea", the first short film of the
 1924       Alice Comedies series, is released
 Jan 1926   Renames to "Walt Disney Studio"
 Sept 1927  All-cartoon series "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit", a
            character created by Walt Disney, is released by
            the distributor MJ Winkler. However, Disney later
            has a falling-out with Winkler after realizing he
            doesn't own the rights to his work
 May 1928   Popular character Mickey Mouse, co-created with Ub
            Iwerks, debuts in relatively unsuccessful cartoon
            shows "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho"
 Nov 1928   Mickey's claim to fame, "Steamboat Willie",
            premiers. "Minnie Mouse" is introduced 
 Dec 1929   Company spun off into four unit - Walt Disney
            Productions, Walt Disney Enterprises, Liled Realty
            and Investment Co, and the Disney Film Recording Co
 1930       Disney merchandising begins, the first Mickey Mouse
            book and newspaper comic strip are published
 1932       One of the first full-color cartoons, "Flowers and
            Trees", a part of the "Silly Symphony" series, wins
            the Academy Award for best cartoon 
 Feb 1935   First Mickey Mouse cartoon in color, "The Band
            Concert", is released
 Dec 1937   First feature-length animated film, "Snow White and
            the Seven Dwarfs", is released
 1942       Begins making propaganda and training films for the
            American military during the Second World War.
            "Saludos Amigos" is created to promote good
            relations with South America     
 Jan 1943   Anti-Nazi film "Der Fuehrer's Face" is released,
            wins the Academy Award for Best Cartoon
 1945       Releases "Destino", a film made in collaboration
            with Spanish artist Salvador Dalí
 Dec 1948   Releases "Seal Island", its first documentary film
 Oct 1949   Launches Walt Disney Music Company
 July 1950  Release of "Treasure Island", first completely
            live-action feature. 
 Dec 1950   Releases its first television show "One Hour in
            Wonderland" 
 Feb 1953   Releases "Peter Pan" 
 Oct 1954   First airing of "Disneyland" television show
 Jul 1955   Opens the first Disneyland theme park
 Oct 1955   First program of the "Mickey Mouse Club" television
            series airs 
 Aug 1964   Release of "Mary Poppins"
 Dec 1966   Walt Disney dies
 Dec 1971   Roy Disney dies
 Nov 1976   Card Walker named CEO, replacing Donn Tatum
 Nov 1977   Roy E. Disney, son of co-founder Roy O. Disney,
            announces his resignation
 1982       Coca-Cola launches a series of unsuccessful
            attempts to buy Disney
 April      First Disney Theme Park outside of the United
 1983       States opens in Tokyo
 1983       Ron W. Miller replaces Walker as CEO; Raymond
            Watson becomes chairman
 April      Disney Channel begins airing
 1983       
 Feb 1984   Launches Touchstone Film label in an attempt to
            cater to mature audiences 
 1984       Walt Disney's nephew Roy Edward Disney and his
            business partner, Stanley Gold, remove Ron Miller
            as CEO and president and Raymond Watson as
            chairman, replacing them with Michael Eisner and
            Frank Wells in the aftermath of an unsuccessful
            buyout attempt by investor Saul Steinberg.
                Eisner became the first person with no personal
            connection to Walt Disney to lead Walt Disney
            Productions. His first 4 years as CEO would see
            Disney surge from last place to first in box-office
            receipts among the 8 major studios
 1986       Walt Disney Productions renamed The Walt Disney
            Company
 Feb 1989   Launches Hollywood Pictures label to produce comedy
            films aimed towards mature audiences
 1989       Launches Hollywood Records, offering recordings
            ranging from rap to movie soundtracks
 May 1991   Joins the Dow Jones Industrial Average index
 Jan 1992   Sets up Disney Publishing Group, which includes
            Hyperion Books, Hyperion Books for Children and
            Disney Press 
 April      Euro Disneyland, now Disneyland Paris, opens in
 1992       Marne-la-Vallée, France
 April      First show from Disney Theatrical Productions -
 1994       Beauty and the Beast - opens on Broadway 
 April      Frank Wells, president of the Walt Disney Co, dies
 1994       in a helicopter crash
 July 1994  Releases animated musical "The Lion King"
 July 1995  Announces acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC Inc for
            $19 billion
 1996       Acquires Jumbo Pictures 
 1997       Enters a 10-year distribution partnership with
            Pixar
 2000       Bob Iger becomes president
 Dec 2003   Walt Disney's nephew Roy Disney resigns as chairman
            of Feature Animation division and as vice chairman
            of the company's board.
            In a letter to then-CEO Michael Eisner, he alleged
            that the company failed under Eisner during the
            previous seven years, citing low attendance at
            theme parks and "loss of public trust" among other
            reasons. 
            After his resignation, he helped establish the
            website called SaveDisney.com aimed at ousting
            Eisner.
 May 2003   "Finding Nemo" releases.
 July 2003  "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black
            Pearl" releases.
 2004       Comcast           launches an unsolicited $54.1
            billion takeover offer for Disney in February,
            triggering a battle to keep the entertainment
            company independent. The cable TV provider
            abandoned its bid two months later, after it became
            apparent that it was too low to succeed.
 March      Eisner announces that he would resign that
 2005       September, one year before his contract expired.
 Oct 2005   Iger becomes CEO
 Jan 2006   Announces acquisition of "Toy Story" creator Pixar
            Animation Studios in a $7.4 billion deal
 Feb 2006   Announces merger of its ABC Radio stations with
            Citadel Broadcasting in a $2.7 billion deal
 Aug 2009   Announces acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in $4
            billion deal
 Jan 2012   Acquires controlling interest in Indian
            entertainment firm UTV 
 Oct 2012   Announces acquisition of "Star Wars" producer
            Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion
 Feb 2013   Achieves $100 billion in market capitalization
 Nov 2013   Releases "Frozen", one of its top-grossing animated
            movies
 Dec 2015   Releases "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", the first
            Lucasfilm titled release under the new owner
 2016       Shanghai Disney Resort opens, the first Disney
            theme park in mainland China
 Aug 2017   Acquires majority stake in BAMTech
 Dec 2017   Announces a deal to buy 21st Century Fox's film and
            television studios, entertainment networks and
            international TV businesses, for $52.4 billion.
            Comcast launches a competing bid of $65 billion for
            Fox, driving up the price Disney paid for the
            assets. The acquisition closed in 2019 at a raised
            bid of $71.3 billion.
 Nov 2019   Launches Disney+ streaming service
 Jan 2020   Hong Kong Disneyland closes, as the region deals
            with the rising threat of COVID-19. The spread of
            the deadly virus causes the company to shutter all
            its theme parks.  The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim,
            California, remained closed for 412 days – the
            longest closure in its history
 Feb 2020   Elevates parks head Bob Chapek to CEO of Disney
 March      Disney issues statement opposing Florida's law that
 2022       banned classroom discussion of sexuality and gender
            identity with younger children. Opponents labeled
            the measure the "don't say gay" bill, saying it
            would hurt LGBTQ children.
 April      Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs a bill that
 2022       strips Disney of self-governing authority at its
            Orlando-area parks in apparent retaliation for its
            opposition to the Parental Rights in Education law.
 Aug 2022   Activist investor Third Point discloses stake worth
            $1 billion, recommends changes at Disney
 Sept 2022  Disney announces truce with activist investor Third
            Point, appoints tech and media veteran Carolyn
            Everson to the board of directors
 Nov 2022   Iger reinstated as CEO, replacing Chapek
 Dec 2022   Launches ad-supported subscription tier on its
            streaming service Disney+
 Jan 2023   Activist investor Nelson Peltz of Trian Fund
            Management formally launches a battle for a board
            seat at Disney to rescue the entertainment giant
            from what he called a "crisis" of overspending on
            the streaming business, the purchase of 21st
            Century Fox and failed succession planning.
 Feb 2023   Announces a sweeping restructuring, including 
            7,000 job cuts, in an effort to save $5.5 billion
            in costs and to make its streaming business
            profitable
 Feb 2023   Peltz ends his quest for a board seat
 April      Disney sues Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in
 2023       federal court, claiming he was "weaponizing" state
            government in retaliation for the company's
            criticism of a law that banned classroom discussion
            of sexuality and gender identity with younger
            children
 May 2023   Thousands of film and television writers go on
            strike after the Writers Guild of America (WGA)
            called its first work stoppage in 15 years after
            failing to reach an agreement with major studios
            such as Disney and Netflix over payment and limits
            on the use of artificial intelligence 
 July 2023  Hollywood actors go on strike after talks with
            studios break down, joining film and television
            writers who have been on picket lines since May and
            deepening the disruption of scores of shows and
            movies
 Oct 2023   Activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund
            Management amasses roughly $2.5 billion worth of
            shares in Disney, and is expected to ask the
            company for multiple board seats
 Oct 2023   Hollywood writers union ratifies three-year labor
            contract after strike
 
 (Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa, Zaheer Kachwala, Tanya Jain,
Chavi Mehta and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)