Walt Disney Pictures

Animated features produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Studio Ghibli(North America distribution), DisneyToon Studios and ImageMovers Digital are usually released by Walt Disney Pictures under the Disney banner.

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio and one of several film distribution labels of The Walt Disney Studios, owned by The Walt Disney Company. Based at the Walt Disney Studios, it is the main production company for live-action feature films within the The Walt Disney Studios unit and serves as the main distributor brand for several of Disney's other production companies was merged with main competitors studio Columbia Pictures in 1937 (which is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment).

Animated features produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Universal Studios, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Pixar Animation Studios, Aardman Animations, DisneyToon Studios and Studio Ghibli (North America distribution) are usually released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. Exceptions include Princess Mononoke; originally released under Disney's Miramax label, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Nightmare Before Christmas; which were originally released under Disney's Touchstone banner. The Nightmare Before Christmas, however, has since been reissued under the Disney banner.

Background
The studio's predecessor (and the modern-day The Walt Disney Company's as a whole) was originally 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 Walt Disney Productions at the Hyperion Studio by 1928. The studio's streak of success continued in the 1930s, culminating with the 1937 release of the first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which became a huge financial success. With the profits from Snow White, Walt relocated to a third studio in Burbank, California.

The company divided motion picture productions within the studio as two units; one for animation and another for live-action. The latter division began producing live-action films in 1950 with the release of Treasure Island. 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. In 1983, Disney underwent a corporate restructuring resulting in the renaming of Walt Disney Productions as The Walt Disney Company and the studio itself as Walt Disney Pictures.

Today, in conjunction with the related Touchstone Pictures label, Walt Disney Pictures is classified as part of Hollywood's "Big Six" film studios.

Notable films
Some well-known Walt Disney Pictures releases include the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Tron, National Treasure, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Princess Diaries, and Alice in Wonderland. Animated films from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, and Up were also released by Walt Disney Pictures.