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101-456: Disney began producing live-action films in the 1950s. The live-action division became Walt Disney Pictures in 1983, when Disney reorganized its entire studio division; which included the separation from the feature animation division and the subsequent creation of Touchstone Pictures . At the end of that decade, combined with Touchstone's output, Walt Disney Pictures elevated Disney to one of Hollywood 's major film studios . Walt Disney Pictures

202-468: A distinct business operation . Established on February 15, 1984, by then-Disney CEO Ron W. Miller as Touchstone Films , Touchstone operated as an active film production division of Disney during the mid 1980s through the early 2010s, releasing a majority of the studio's PG-13 and R-rated films. In 2009, Disney entered into a five-year, thirty-picture distribution deal with DreamWorks Pictures under which DreamWorks' productions would be released through

303-586: A Baby , Sister Act , and Real Steel — for Disney+ and Hulu . Some well-known Touchstone Pictures releases include Beaches , Turner & Hooch , Splash , The Color of Money , Down and Out in Beverly Hills , Good Morning, Vietnam , Who Framed Roger Rabbit , Dead Poets Society , Dick Tracy , Pretty Woman , Sister Act , Ed Wood , Up Close & Personal , The Waterboy , The Insider , The Royal Tenenbaums , Sweet Home Alabama , The Hitchhiker's Guide to

404-452: A Miami Herald crime reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize. The company would eventually sign a deal with ABC to develop 5 television movies for the 1993–94 and 1994-95 TV seasons. In 1992, KTMB Productions left Disney for Paramount. Eventually the team split into two separate production companies, one led by Speer and Grossman, the other led by Fanaro and Nathan. Within that same year, Wind Dancer Productions had received an exclusive deal with

505-496: A deal with Imagine Entertainment to launch a television venture. On November 1, 1997, David Neuman assumed the presidency of Touchstone TV while retaining his post as president of Walt Disney Network Television. In March 1998, Touchstone TV was placed under Buena Vista Television Productions, a newly formed group under chairman Lloyd Braun , along with Walt Disney Network Television. In June 1998, former ABC chief Greer Shephard and NYPD Blue director Michael M. Robin launched

606-489: A deal with Neal Marlens and Carol Black , creators of The Wonder Years , to produce three series for ABC. With difficulties of selling in the off-network syndicated market, Disney television executives decided in late September 1990 that Hull High , then on NBC, or a potential NBC mid-season replacement in Disney Action-Adventure Hour , would be its last hour-long drama. High' s pilot cost

707-494: A deal with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment , the distributor of ABC Studios/Touchstone Television shows on DVD, to acquire the distribution rights to several shows including According to Jim , Reaper , Hope & Faith , 8 Simple Rules and Boy Meets World . At the same time, new DVDs of ABC and ABC Family shows phased out the Buena Vista Home Entertainment logo at the beginning of

808-456: A deal with the studio to produce shows. In February 2007, Disney announced that Touchstone Television would be renamed ABC Television Studio as part of Disney's push to drop secondary brands like Buena Vista in favor of the Disney, ABC and ESPN brands. By the time the name change was implemented that fall, the new name had been modified to ABC Studios. On August 4, 2008, Lionsgate completed

909-478: A development deal with Touchstone Television to produce television series. Also that year, Marc Cherry signed a development deal at the studio. The following year, the Russo brothers has struck a two-year deal with the studio, with veteran writer and producer Steven Bochco , who had produced several shows for ABC, signing a deal with the studio that same year to produce future shows. In 2006, Marti Noxon struck

1010-534: A few animated films such as Brother Bear , the 2003 re-release of The Lion King and The Wild (the final film to use this logo) used this logo. In 2006, the studio's vanity card logo was updated with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest at the behest of then-Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook and studio marketing president Oren Aviv. Designed by Disney animation director Mike Gabriel and producer Baker Bloodworth,

1111-730: A hit in The Golden Girls using the Touchstone Films brand. The Touchstone name would be used for more mature shows, while the Disney name would be used for more family friendly series. By the 1986-1987 television season, Disney was producing two shows for the fall season, Sidekicks , produced under the Walt Disney Television label; and The Ellen Burstyn Show , produced under the Touchstone Television label. Both were cancelled after

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1212-424: A long-term contract with producer Michael Jacobs and his production company . Among the first projects under the collaboration was Singer & Sons , for NBC in 1990. The company also had a contract with producer Terry Louise Fisher , after she quit L.A. Law due to disputes with co-creator Steven Bochco and studio 20th Television , then-known as 20th Century Fox Television. Later that year, Disney signed

1313-420: A loss of $ 33 million in 1983, resulting primarily from such films as the adaptation of Ray Bradbury 's horror-fantasy novel Something Wicked This Way Comes , the horror-comedy The Devil and Max Devlin starring Elliott Gould and Bill Cosby , and the dramas Tex and Never Cry Wolf , the latter a PG release that featured male nudity , which did well as the studio downplayed the film's association with

1414-434: A majority of the smaller genre films were becoming financially unsustainable in the theatrical market. By July 2016, Disney had announced development of nearly eighteen films consisting of sequels to existing adaptations, origin stories and prequels. In 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced it was creating its own streaming service platform. The new service, known as Disney+ , would feature original programming created by

1515-579: A new group taking in Touchstone Television and other TV units of the Disney studios. In 1995, they returned to producing dramas with Nowhere Man . That same year, Wind Dancer was signed to a new deal with Disney, following the expiration of their contract with ABC. In April 1996, with the ongoing post-Disney-CC/ABC merger and the retirement of its president, Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications' divisions were reassigned to other groups, with Walt Disney Television and Touchstone Television transferred to The Walt Disney Studios . In 1997, Disney struck

1616-681: A potential to grow to additional series. Hulu had dropped out of the Grisham Universe by September 5, 2019, with the pair being shopped given other interested outlets. From its pilot, Signature's The Wilds , a young adult drama, was picked up in May 2019 by Amazon, its first from the company. Underwood was promoted in February 2020 to the new position of executive vice president, creative affairs of ABC Studios to oversee development at ABC Studio in addition to managing ABC Signature. After

1717-626: A production company with an exclusive agreement at the studio. In May 1999, J.J. Abrams , who created Felicity at that time, signed a film and television deal with the studio. By June 1999, Neuman left for the Digital Entertainment Network. In 1999, after Disney's Smart Guy was cancelled, all Disney shows for primetime would be produced under the Touchstone Television label. In late 1999, Walt Disney Television Studios (also called Buena Vista Television Group or Buena Vista Television Productions), were transferred from

1818-557: A six-picture deal with Disney and became a major film star again with these hits as well as Beaches and Outrageous Fortune . One of the most notable producers of Touchstone films was Jerry Bruckheimer , who had a production deal with Disney from 1993 to 2014. Touchstone films produced by Bruckheimer include The Ref , Con Air , Armageddon , Enemy of the State , Gone in 60 Seconds , Coyote Ugly , and Pearl Harbor . Bruckheimer also produced several other films released under

1919-464: A traditional production logo , the opening credits of Disney films used to feature a title card that read "Walt Disney Presents", and later, "Walt Disney Productions Presents". Beginning with the release of Return to Oz in 1985, Walt Disney Pictures introduced its fantasy castle logo. The version with its accompanying music premiered with The Black Cauldron . The logo was created by Walt Disney Productions in traditional animation and featured

2020-511: A two-year first-look with Black Label Media , started by Molly Smith , Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill three years prior as a finance and production company. McG's Wonderland Sound & Vision signed a two-year overall production agreement with Signature, Freeform and ABC Studios in October 2015. This follows two productions from McG on Freeform/ABC Family. Signature signed SMILF creator, executive producer and star Frankie Shaw to

2121-534: A two-year overall deal in July 2018. In March 2019, the deal was suspended following an investigation into allegations of misconduct against Shaw on the set of SMILF . In April 2016, Freeform greenlit Cloak & Dagger with a straight-to-series order, as Marvel Television 's first co-production with Signature. Another co-production with Marvel Television was greenlit in August 2016, with Runaways confirmed for

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2222-457: A white silhouette of Disneyland 's Sleeping Beauty Castle against a blue background, with the studio's name in Walt Disney’s signature style and underscored by " When You Wish Upon a Star ", in arrangement composed by John Debney . A short rendition of the logo was used as a closing logo as well as in the movie Return to Oz , although the film was released months before The Black Cauldron

2323-509: A whole. That same year, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny marked the studio's first official co-production with Lucasfilm. On February 26, 2024, Disney announced a leadership change, with Bailey stepping down as president and replaced by David Greenbaum, who formerly co-led Searchlight Pictures . Greenbaum will lead Walt Disney Pictures and co-lead 20th Century Studios with current 20th Century president Steve Asbell. Until 1983, instead of

2424-479: Is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios , a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company . The studio's banner was also used by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for its distribution of the studio's shows on home video starting 2008. Established in 1950 as the television unit of the company under the name Walt Disney Productions it

2525-602: Is currently one of five live-action film studios within the Walt Disney Studios, alongside Marvel Studios , Lucasfilm , 20th Century Studios , and Searchlight Pictures . Inside Out 2 is the studio's highest-grossing release overall with $ 1.6 billion, and Pirates of the Caribbean is the studio's most successful commercial film series , with five films earning a total of over $ 4.5 billion in worldwide box office gross. The studio's predecessor (and

2626-534: Is the case with its motion picture and television counterparts, Touchstone Interactive merely acted as a brand label of Disney Interactive and not its own entity. The only title it released was the Turok video game in 2008. In the early 1990s, after having pulled their comic licenses from Gladstone Publishing and begun to create comics based on Disney properties themselves through the Disney Comics label,

2727-483: The Academy Award for Best Picture : Dead Poets Society , The Insider , The Help , War Horse , Lincoln , and Bridge of Spies . Through Touchstone, Disney's first R-rated film, Down and Out in Beverly Hills , was released on January 31, 1986, and was a box office success. Ruthless People followed on June 27, 1986, and was also very successful. Both of these pictures starred Bette Midler , who had signed

2828-582: The Hulu streaming service. Signature also put a live-action Mighty Ducks series in development beginning in January 2018, which later ended up as a Disney+ original series called The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers . Signature is teaming with John Grisham , Hulu and Michael Seitzman's Maniac Productions to create a Grisham Universe set of series. The franchise would begin with two series, The Rainmaker and Rogue Lawyer , based on Grisham's books, with

2929-425: The acquisition of 21st Century Fox completed on March 20, 2019, ABC Studios and ABC Signature Studios both became part of Disney Television Studios. In July 2019, Disney TV Studios announced a reorganization in executive leadership. Fox TV executives Jonnie Davis and Josh Sussman have replaced Patrick Moran and Howard Davine as president and executive vice president of business affairs of ABC Studios respectively. It

3030-780: The "Theatrical | Film: Design" medium at the 2023 Clio Entertainment Awards in November 2023. The standard version was unveiled on the "Disney" hub of the Disney+ app on December 23, 2023 and made its official debut in 2024 on the second trailer for Inside Out 2 , with the full version premiering on the documentary film The Beach Boys . The studio's first live-action film was Treasure Island (1950). Animated films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar are also released by Walt Disney Pictures. The studio has released four films that have received an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination: Mary Poppins (1964), Beauty and

3131-568: The 1930s, culminating with the 1937 release of the first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , which becomes a huge financial success. With the profits from Snow White , Walt relocated to a third studio in Burbank, California . In the 1940s, Disney began experimenting with full-length live-action films, with the introduction of hybrid live action-animated films such as The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and Song of

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3232-477: The ABC television network, with Disney serving as distributor of their series. And also that year, Michael Jacobs had renewed his deal with the studio. In 1993, Disney had reached a deal with comedian Sinbad and his David & Golitah Productions company for a film and TV deal. On August 24, 1994, with Jeffrey Katzenberg 's resignation, Richard Frank became head of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications ,

3333-953: The Beast (1991), Up (2009), and Toy Story 3 (2010). Walt Disney Pictures has produced five live-action films that have grossed over $ 1 billion at the worldwide box office: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), Beauty and the Beast (2017) and Aladdin (2019); and has released nine animated films that have reached that milestone: Toy Story 3 (2010), Frozen (2013), Zootopia , Finding Dory (both 2016), Incredibles 2 (2018), Toy Story 4 , The Lion King , Frozen II (three in 2019), and Inside Out 2 (2024). —Includes theatrical reissue(s). Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures

3434-439: The Beast . In 2022, a new vanity card logo was introduced for the studio's 100th anniversary in 2023, which premiered at the 2022 D23 Expo . The new castle logo features an updated opening sequence in computer animation created by Industrial Light & Magic and an arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" composed by Christophe Beck and conducted by Tim Davies . The magical arc that usually flies from right to left above

3535-539: The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (both 2003). The latter film—the first film produced by the studio to receive a PG-13 rating —began a film series that was followed by four sequels, with the franchise taking in more than $ 5.4 billion worldwide from 2003 to 2017. On January 12, 2010, Aviv stepped down as the studio's president of live-action production. In January 2010, Sean Bailey

3636-655: The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003 and other films that in the 1980s and 1990s would have been released as Touchstone or Hollywood Pictures films, Disney weighed distribution of films more toward Disney-branded films and away from Touchstone, though not entirely disbanding them as it continued to use the Touchstone label for R and most PG-13-rated fare. In 2006, Disney limited Touchstone's output to two or three films in favor of Walt Disney Pictures titles due to an increase in film industry costs. Disney indicated scaling back on using multiple brands in 2007 with

3737-724: The Disney Studios to the ABC Television Network to merge with ABC's primetime division, ABC Entertainment, forming the ABC Entertainment Television Group. By then, the Walt Disney Television label was dropped and all primetime programming produced by Disney would use the "Touchstone Television" name. Shortly afterwards, writer Seth Kurland struck a deal with the studio to produce shows. Following Kurland's deal, writer Don Reo , formerly of Lenny and Blossom when Witt-Thomas

3838-586: The Disney and Hollywood Pictures labels. Releases from Touchstone were distributed theatrically by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and through home media platforms by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (branded as "Touchstone Home Entertainment"). Touchstone Television served as Touchstone Pictures' counterpart label for television programming, producing television series including The Golden Girls , Blossom , Home Improvement , My Wife and Kids , Desperate Housewives , Lost , Grey's Anatomy , Scrubs , Criminal Minds , and Monk . In 2007,

3939-410: The Disney brand. Touchstone Films was founded by then-Disney CEO Ron W. Miller on February 15, 1984, as a label for their PG films, with an expected three to four movies released under the label. Touchstone Films' first film was Splash , a huge hit that grossed $ 68 million at the domestic box office that year. Touchstone Films was a brand chosen from over 1,200 potential names; the runner-up name

4040-537: The Galaxy , The Prestige , The Help , War Horse , Lincoln , and Bridge of Spies . Its highest-grossing film release is Armageddon . Although animated films produced by Walt Disney Studios are primarily released by Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone's animated releases include the original theatrical release of The Nightmare Before Christmas , Gnomeo & Juliet , The Wind Rises , and Strange Magic . Six Touchstone films have received nominations for

4141-457: The Seven Dwarfs , The Little Mermaid , Tangled , Brave and Beauty and the Beast , with the addition of Disneyland's Matterhorn from Third Man on the Mountain and Pride Rock from The Lion King in the background beyond the castle. Its first film appearance was with the release of Strange World . The logo received widespread praise from critics and audiences and won Gold in

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4242-719: The Sleeping Beauty Castle, as well as fireworks and Walt Disney 's family crest on the flag. Mark Mancina wrote a new composition and arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" to accompany the 2006 logo. It was co-arranged and orchestrated by David Metzger . In 2011, starting with The Muppets , the sequence was modified to truncate the "Walt Disney Pictures" branding to "Disney", which has mainly been used originally in home media releases in 2007. The new logo sequence has been consistently modified for high-profile releases including Tron: Legacy , Maleficent , Tomorrowland , The Jungle Book , and Beauty and

4343-578: The South (1946). That same decade, the studio began producing nature documentaries with the release of Seal Island (1948), the first of the True-Life Adventures series and a subsequent Academy Award winner for Best Live-Action Short Film . Walt Disney Productions had its first fully live-action film in 1950 with the release of Treasure Island , considered by Disney to be the official conception for what would eventually evolve into

4444-473: The Touchstone banner; the label then distributed DreamWorks' films from 2011 to 2016. Following the release of The Light Between Oceans , the final film of the DreamWorks deal, the Touchstone label was retired. Due to the increased public assumption that Disney films were aimed at children and families, films produced by Walt Disney Productions began to falter at the box office. This began in 1975 with

4545-750: The Tramp , Noelle , and Togo ) exclusively for Disney+. On March 12, 2020, 20th Century Family president Vanessa Morrison was named president of live-action development and production of streaming content for both Disney and 20th Century Studios , reporting directly to Bailey. That same day, Philip Steuer and Randi Hiller were also appointed as president of the studio's physical, post-production and VFX, and executive vice president for casting, respectively–overseeing these functions for both Walt Disney Pictures and 20th Century Studios. In 2023, Walt Disney Pictures celebrated its centennial alongside Walt Disney Animation Studios and their corporate parent company as

4646-600: The Walt Disney Studios announced the formation of the Hollywood Pictures division, which would only share marketing and distribution with Touchstone, to fill the void. Mestres was appointed president of Hollywood. On July 27, 1992, Touchstone agreed to an exclusive, first-look production and distribution agreement with Merchant Ivory Productions for three years. Following the success of the Disney-branded PG-13-rated Pirates of

4747-444: The cancellation of the three prime-time series on CBS in 1983, Disney ventured back into primetime television. The Touchstone Films banner was used for television by then-new Disney CEO Michael Eisner in the 1984–1985 television season, with the short lived western Wildside . By 1985, Disney signed an agreement with sitcom producers Witt-Thomas-Harris Productions . In the next season, Disney's television production unit produced

4848-565: The castle now flies from left to right. A byline appeared below the Disney100 logo during the studio's 100th anniversary in 2023, reading "100 Years of Wonder", which was later removed starting with Chang Can Dunk but returned with the international prints of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in theaters. While containing the same visual references as the previous logo, new references added to it include Pocahontas , Up , Hercules , The Hunchback of Notre Dame , Snow White and

4949-598: The co-producers of Harrow , by February 2018. With ABC picking up the international unit's Reef Break in August 2018, ABC Studios started co-producing. In August 2017, Ryan Seacrest Productions left CBS at the end of their deal to move over to ABC Studios. Following the expansion of its cable/streaming unit, ABC Studios launched a new alternative division for the full range of unscripted work, from documentaries to game shows to social experiment series. The former executive vice president of development and production at Ryan Seacrest Productions, along with Fernando Hernandez,

5050-427: The commercial success of Alice in Wonderland (2010), that became the second billion-dollar-grossing film in the studio's history. With the continued success of Maleficent (2014) and Cinderella (2015), the studio saw the potential in these fantasy adaptations and officiated a trend of similar films , which followed with The Jungle Book (2016) and Beauty and the Beast (2017). In March 2015, Iger expanded

5151-674: The company $ 4.5 million. The company also had another drama in collaboration with Stephen J. Cannell , The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage , which was produced under the Walt Disney TV label. In 1991, Disney collaborated with Michael Jacobs and Jim Henson Productions on a primetime sitcom with puppets by Jim Henson's Creature Shop , Dinosaurs , which debuted on ABC. In 1992, the Touchstone TV label moved into producing longer forms for TV, focusing on more adult-oriented fare with its first telefilm for CBS about Edna Buchanan,

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5252-466: The company additionally considered an expansion into the burgeoning adult comics market (the expansion also included Hollywood Comics , modeled after Hollywood Pictures, and Vista Comics , offering stories based on Disney's superhero and adventure films). Former DC Comics editor Art Young led the nascent effort, which was aided by his contacts within the British and American comic markets. The new label

5353-453: The company to cut back on its comic book ambitions, and Touchmark was scrapped. Young subsequently returned to DC and helped launch the Vertigo imprint in 1993, using many of the intended projects from Touchmark. Now as Marvel Comics. ABC Studios#Touchstone Television ABC Signature was an American television production studio and the flagship production arm of ABC , which

5454-412: The company was renamed ABC Studios as part of a move by Disney to re-align its studios around core brands such as ABC. On August 10, 2020, Disney announced that it would revive the Touchstone Television brand as a renaming of Fox 21 Television Studios as part of its phase-out of the "Fox" brand from the studios it acquired from 21st Century Fox . At the same time, the existing ABC Studios merged with

5555-431: The company's vast array of film and television production studios, including Walt Disney Pictures. As part of this new distribution platform, Bailey and Horn confirmed that Walt Disney Pictures would renew development on smaller-budgeted genre films that the studio had previously stopped producing for the theatrical exhibition market a few years prior. In 2018, nine films were announced to be in production or development for

5656-502: The company, and Jacobson was appointed by Roth to the role of president of production. During her tenure, Jacobson oversaw the production of films at Walt Disney Pictures, including Pirates of the Caribbean , The Chronicles of Narnia , Bridge to Terabithia , National Treasure , Remember the Titans , and The Princess Diaries , and was responsible for establishing a first-look deal with Jerry Bruckheimer Films . In 2006, Jacobson

5757-488: The disc and replaced it with the ABC Studios and ABC Family logos, respectively. In June 2009, ABC Entertainment announced a new organization, effective immediately as ABC Entertainment Group, while consolidating back office functions like business affairs, distribution and scheduling of ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment and retaining separate creative units. In January 2010, Disney-ABC Television Group announced it

5858-489: The edge we can add to the humor." He stated that one of the first films that would be released under this new brand was Trenchcoat , a comedy caper starring Margot Kidder and Robert Hays ; however, the new brand had not yet been created by the time of the film's release in March 1983, so it was instead released by Walt Disney Productions, but with no production company credited in the released prints. The company registered

5959-698: The fall 1986 season, to be followed up by two more shows produced by Touchstone, the ABC show Harry , and the Fox show Down and Out in Beverly Hills . In 1987, Randy Reiss was named president of both television units. In the fall of 1987, Disney sold its third television drama, The Oldest Rookie , to CBS. In late 1988, after Witt/Thomas/Harris pulled out of the TeleVentures production unit (they were co-founders along with Tri-Star Pictures and Stephen J. Cannell Productions ), Disney began selling, marketing and distributing Witt/Thomas programs exclusively. It

6060-560: The final theatrical film released by Disney under the Touchstone banner. Universal Pictures then replaced Disney as DreamWorks' distributor. Disney retained the film rights to these DreamWorks films in perpetuity as compensation for the studio's outstanding loan. Following the release of The Light Between Oceans , the label became defunct. Since then, several other Disney divisions have produced or are developing television series and films based on previous Touchstone properties—such as Turner & Hooch , High Fidelity , Three Men and

6161-656: The former head of Universal Television Alternative Studios , were hired by the studio to lead the division around January 2018. This division was announced in October 2018 with a small slate under production executive Gareth Provan, and an in-house development group called The Originals Group. The division is tapping existing production companies with deals at ABC Studios, including Ryan Seacrest Productions, Larry Wilmore's Wilmore Films and Bob Sertner Productions, in addition to partnerships that Hernandez has developed, including those with Mission Control Media, Parker Paige Media, INE Entertainment, and Party Pit Productions. ABC Studios

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6262-653: The head of Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, the newly formed division that oversaw all live-action production within the Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, and Hollywood labels. The move was orchestrated by Walt Disney Studios chairman Joe Roth , as an effort to scale back and consolidate the studio's film production. As a result of the restructuring, De Line resigned. That same year, Nina Jacobson became executive vice-president of live-action production for Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group. Jacobson remained under this title until May 1999, when Vogel resigned from

6363-426: The international unit's top executives including managing director Keli Lee occurred. However, no replacements have been named given a re-assessing of the unit is taking place. On August 10, 2020, ABC Studios and ABC Signature were merged into one unit as part of a restructuring plan by Disney regarding their television production units; the merged company took on the latter's name. Meanwhile, Fox 21 Television Studios

6464-407: The label's interest. In addition to DreamWorks' films, Touchstone also released non-Disney-branded animated films such as Gnomeo & Juliet , The Wind Rises , and Strange Magic . By the end of the DreamWorks deal in August 2016, Disney had distributed 14 of DreamWorks' original 30-picture agreement, with thirteen through Touchstone. The deal ended with The Light Between Oceans being

6565-533: The local and international co-productions, IP reinventions, and original format acquisitions and productions. This would add to Disney-ABC's international productions in Latin America, where the company has 16 years of producing local content. In April 2017, the international unit greenlit its first co-production, the Australian series Harrow . Lee signed a first look deal with Hoodlum Entertainment ,

6666-628: The modern-day The Walt Disney Company's as a whole) was founded as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio , by filmmaker Walt Disney and his business partner and brother, Roy , in 1923. The creation of Mickey Mouse and subsequent short films and merchandise generated revenue for the studio which was renamed as The Walt Disney Studio at the Hyperion Studio in 1926. In 1929, it was renamed again to Walt Disney Productions . The studio's streak of success continued in

6767-532: The modern-day Walt Disney Pictures. By 1953, the company ended their agreements with such third-party distributors as RKO Radio Pictures and United Artists and formed their own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution . By the 1950s, the company had purchased the rights to his work of L. Frank Baum . The live-action division of Walt Disney Productions was incorporated as Walt Disney Pictures on April 1, 1983, to diversify film subjects and expand audiences for their film releases. In April 1983, Richard Berger

6868-493: The modernized logo was created completely in computer animation by Wētā FX and yU+co and featured a 3D Walt Disney logo. The final rendering of the logo was done by Cameron Smith and Cyrese Parrish. In addition, the revamped logo includes visual references to Pinocchio , Dumbo , Cinderella , Peter Pan and Mary Poppins , and its redesigned castle incorporates elements from both the Cinderella Castle and

6969-461: The momentum with additional PG-13 and R-rated films with Ruthless People (1986), Outrageous Fortune (1987), Tin Men (1987), and other top movies. In April 1986, Touchstone films were licensed to Showtime/The Movie Channel for five years, starting in 1987. Touchstone Films was renamed Touchstone Pictures after the release of Ruthless People in 1986. With Touchstone films, Disney moved to

7070-528: The next few years, Disney experimented with more PG-rated fare, such as the horror-mystery The Watcher in the Woods , the spy-themed comedy Condorman , and the Paramount Pictures co-produced fantasy epic Dragonslayer . With Disney's 1982 slate of PG-rated films, which included the thriller drama Night Crossing and the science-fiction film Tron , the company lost over $ 27 million. Tron

7171-472: The previous iteration of ABC Signature Studios to form ABC Signature . However, on December 1, 2020, Disney announced the revived Touchstone Television label would be folded into 20th Television . Subsequently, on October 1, 2024, Disney announced that ABC Signature would also be folded into 20th Television. By the end of 2007, Disney's video game subsidiary Buena Vista Games had begun to produce material under its own short-lived Touchstone imprint. As

7272-505: The program, in 1981, it struck an agreement with CBS to take the anthology program there. In 1982, Disney produced the first prime-time show since the cancellation of Zorro in 1959, Herbie the Love Bug . It was cancelled after only one season. It was followed by three more programs as part of an agreement with CBS, Gun Shy , Small & Frye and Zorro and Son . These were sitcoms, and were cancelled after one season. After

7373-400: The release of Escape to Witch Mountain and its 1978 sequel . In late 1979, Walt Disney Productions released The Black Hole , a science-fiction movie that was the studio's first production to receive a PG rating (the company, however, had already distributed via Buena Vista Distribution its first PG-rated film, Take Down , almost a year before the release of The Black Hole ). Over

7474-745: The renaming of Touchstone Television to ABC Television Studio in February and the outright elimination of the Buena Vista brand in April. On January 14, 2010, Sean Bailey was appointed president of live-action production at Walt Disney Studios, overseeing all films produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. In 2009, Disney repurposed Touchstone as a distribution label for films produced by DreamWorks Studios . Disney provided $ 100 million in financing to DreamWorks productions and an additional $ 75 million credit line if DreamWorks could not get additional equity funding. In January 2012, Disney

7575-593: The service. These films would be budgeted between $ 20 million and $ 60 million. The studio was expected to produce approximately 3–4 films per year exclusively for Disney+, alongside its theatrical tentpole slate. Disney+ was launched on November 12, 2019, in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, with subsequent international expansions. Within the first two months of the service's launch, Walt Disney Pictures had released three films ( Lady and

7676-556: The studio simplified the branding in its production logo and marquee credits to just "Disney". Concurrently, Disney was struggling with PG-13 tentpole films outside of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, with films such as John Carter (2012) and The Lone Ranger (2013) becoming some of the biggest box-office bombs of all time . However, the studio had found particular success with live-action fantasy adaptations of properties associated with their animated films , which began with

7777-477: The studio's smoking and tobacco prohibition to include all films released by the studio—including PG-13 rated films and below—unless such depictions are historically pertinent. Despite the acclaim and commercial success of several smaller-budgeted genre films throughout the 2010s, such as The Muppets (2011), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), and Into the Woods (2014), Walt Disney Pictures shifted its production model entirely on tent-pole films as they had found that

7878-482: The studio. On October 29, 2021, writer-producer Lila Byock also signed an overall deal with the studio. Matt Lopez, creator/executive producer of Promised Land , also signed an overall deal with the studio the same year on November 17. On October 1, 2024, Eric Schrier, president of Disney Television Studios & Business Operations, announced that ABC Signature would be dissolved effective immediately, with its operations folded into sister company 20th Television . As

7979-422: The success of Disneyland , in 1957, Disney was producing another primetime series for ABC, the western show Zorro . It did not last long in the ratings and was cancelled in 1959. In 1961, Disney severed its terms with ABC and moved its weekly program to NBC, where it stayed for nearly 20 years until 1981. For years, Disney's lone television show on primetime was the eponymous anthology series. After NBC axed

8080-559: The top of box office receipts, beating out all the other major film studios by 1988. On April 13, 1988, Touchstone became a unit of Walt Disney Pictures under newly appointed president Ricardo Mestres. On October 23, 1990, Disney formed Touchwood Pacific Partners I to supplant the Silver Screen Partners partnership series as their movie studios' primary funding source. With several production companies getting out of film production or closing shop by December 2, 1988,

8181-517: Was "Silver Wind". Incoming Disney CEO Michael Eisner and film chief Jeffrey Katzenberg considered renaming the label to "Hollywood Pictures", which went on to become a separate Disney film label on February 1, 1989. In 1986, Down and Out in Beverly Hills was another early success for Touchstone and was Disney's first R-rated film. It was followed in 1987 by Disney's first PG-13-rated film, Adventures in Babysitting . Disney increased

8282-493: Was a flop and sold Disney's interest in the series to Alliance Atlantis . By 2001, Steve McPherson signed on as president of the television unit. While two of their pilots were in consideration to be picked up by ABC in April 2003, Tollin/Robbins Productions signed a two-year development deal with Touchstone Television, which included a two-year option, shares in profits and outside sales. In 2004, Alias creator J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company had struck

8383-446: Was also announced that Amy Hartwick, the studio's head of the comedy department, has exited. In September 2019, ABC Studios' alternative division head Hernandez exited the post, with ABC indicating that they would remain in the businesses. ABC Studios International produced the anthology series Unsung Heroes which was in development while the company was launching ABC Discover to find more British talent. In December 2019, an exodus of

8484-406: Was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios , founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company . Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured more mature themes targeted at adult audiences than typical Walt Disney Pictures films. As such, Touchstone was merely a pseudonym label for the studio and did not exist as

8585-411: Was appointed as Walt Disney Pictures president. The following year, however Hoberman resigned from the company, and instead began a production deal with Disney and his newly formed production company, Mandeville Films . In addition to Walt Disney Pictures, Vogel added the head position of Hollywood Pictures in 1997, while Donald De Line remained as head of Touchstone. Vogel was then promoted in 1998 to

8686-450: Was appointed the studio's president of live-action production, replacing Aviv. Bailey had produced Tron: Legacy for the studio, which was released later that same year. Under Bailey's leadership and with support from then Disney CEO Bob Iger —and later studio chairman Alan Horn —Walt Disney Pictures pursued a tent-pole film strategy, which included an expanded slate of original and adaptive large-budget tentpole films. Beginning in 2011,

8787-418: Was considered a potential Star Wars -level success by the production company. In late 1982, Disney vice president of production Tom Wilhite announced that they would produce and release more mature films under a new brand. Wilhite elaborated to The New York Times : "We won't get into horror or exploitive sex, but using a non-Disney name will allow us wider latitude in the maturity of the subject matter and

8888-530: Was cutting 5% of its workforce. In October 2012, ABC Studios formed its Signature unit to sell to outside networks. In early 2016, ABC Studios International (also referred to as ABC International Studios) was set up with the appointment of Keli Lee as its managing director of international content and talent, combined with her move to London. The unit, announced at MIPCOM in October 2016, would allow more overseas local productions, leveraging fellow Disney Media Network expertises in distribution and production for

8989-427: Was dubbed Touchmark Comics , echoing the Touchstone brand used for films and television. Proposed titles included Enigma by Peter Milligan and Sebastian O by Grant Morrison . The brand got as far as a promotional booklet given out at the 1991 San Diego Comic-Con . Before the idea could progress further, however, the so-called "Disney Implosion" (the result of poor sales and aggressive overexpansion) forced

9090-432: Was fired by studio chairman Dick Cook , and replaced with by Oren Aviv, the head of marketing. In July 2007, Disney CEO Bob Iger banned the depiction of smoking and tobacco products from Walt Disney Pictures films. After two films based on Disney theme park attractions, Walt Disney Pictures selected it as a source of a line of films starting with The Country Bears (2002) and The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of

9191-412: Was folded into 20th Television , which had been acquired by Disney in 2019. In the 1930s, Walt Disney had no interest in television, but that changed by 1950 when he did an hour-long special on NBC , followed up a year after by a special on CBS . Both of these programs received excellent ratings. Disney eventually got into full series production when Disneyland debuted on ABC in 1954. Following

9292-640: Was hired by Disney CEO Ron W. Miller as film president. Touchstone Films was started by Miller in February 1984 as a label for the studio's PG-13 and R-rated films with an expected half of Disney's yearly 6-to-8-movie slate, which would be released under the label. That same year, newly named Disney CEO Michael Eisner pushed out Berger, replacing him with Eisner's own film chief from Paramount Pictures , Jeffrey Katzenberg . and Frank Wells from Warner Bros. Pictures . Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures were formed within that unit on February 15, 1984, and February 1, 1989, respectively. The Touchstone Films banner

9393-746: Was included in ABC's summer schedule and renewed for another season. In October 2013, the division placed its first outside project, Benched , for USA , with a pilot order that finished shooting by December. Other projects were in the works with A&E , WE tv and TBS. In the works with ABC, Signature has a possible straight-to-series Stephen King story adaptation called Grand Central , based on The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates . Corporate sibling Freeform picked up Rated P For Parenthood for development as its first program from Signature in June 2014. In April 2015, Signature and ABC Studios signed

9494-427: Was moving to sell to outside networks. As the studios have placed the former ABC comedy Cougar Town at TBS , and Devious Maids at Lifetime , Signature was set up in October 2012 to continue the trend. In 2013, ABC Studios vice president of drama Tracy Underwood was appointed senior vice president of ABC Signature. Signature was incorporated on September 23, 2013 . Signature developed Mistresses , which

9595-620: Was producing for Disney also struck a deal with the studio. Around the same time, Touchstone Television sold the series, Daddio to NBC. The program lasted only nine episodes before NBC cancelled it. In 2000, Touchstone Television created two departments for comedy in September, and a department for drama in December. Touchstone Television had infamously left the production of the CBS series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2000, fearing it

9696-467: Was released. An animated RenderMan variant appeared before every Pixar Animation Studios film from Toy Story until Ratatouille , featuring an original fanfare composed by Randy Newman , based on the opening score cue from Toy Story , called "Andy's Birthday". Beginning with Dinosaur (2000), an alternative logo featuring an orange castle and logo against a black background, was occasionally presented with darker tone and live-action films, though

9797-443: Was renamed Touchstone Television , restoring that brand name after a thirteen-year dormancy (only to be folded into 20th Television on December 1 that year), and 20th Century Fox Television was renamed 20th Television (the former name of that entity's domestic syndication division, which in turn was absorbed into Disney–ABC Domestic Television ). On August 18, 2021, writers Jordan Reddout and Gus Hickey signed an overall deal with

9898-414: Was renamed Walt Disney Network Television in 1983 and was merged with a separate studio known as the first incarnation of Touchstone Television , which was established in 1985. Disney rebranded the studio as ABC Studios in 2007 in an in-house push to drop secondary brands. It was then renamed to its current name on August 10, 2020, after it merged with another separate studio, ABC Signature Studios . It

9999-708: Was renewed two years later in 1990; the duo left to sign with rival Warner Bros. Television in 1992. On April 18, 1989, Walt Disney Television and Touchstone Television were grouped together under Garth Ancier , the then-president of network television for Walt Disney Studios. The following week, Disney struck development deals with upstart Wind Dancer Productions (headed by Roseanne alumnus Matt Williams ), and KTMB Productions (backed by The Golden Girls writers Kathy Speer, Terry Grossman, Barry Fanaro and Mort Nathan ). The first projects were Wind Dancer's Carol & Company and KTMB's The Fanelli Boys , both of which aired on NBC. That same year, Disney signed

10100-484: Was reportedly in the early stages of considering Touchstone's fate, including a possible sale. Following Disney's decision not to renew their long-standing deal with Jerry Bruckheimer Films in 2013, producer Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that he insisted on revitalizing the Touchstone label for production. Disney was uninterested, with studio chairman Alan Horn admitting that Touchstone's output had been reduced to only distributing DreamWorks' films as those films were in

10201-414: Was used by then new Disney CEO Michael Eisner in the 1984–1985 television season with the short lived western, Wildside . In the next season, Touchstone produced a hit in The Golden Girls . David Hoberman was promoted to president of production at Walt Disney Pictures in April 1988. In April 1994, Hoberman was promoted to president of motion picture production at Walt Disney Studios and David Vogel

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