Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: When did Disney buy Star Wars?
Although the "Star Wars" film series itself has never been rebooted, a decision was made, due to works set after the original trilogy that contradict and deviate from Lucas' own view of the "Star Wars" story, to discard the "EU" works from the franchise canon. Lucas decided to cease creative involvement after selling, in October 2012, the "Star Wars" franchise as well as Lucasfilm (the production company of "Star Wars") to The Walt Disney Company. When Disney began development of a sequel trilogy of films and other works, and needed its films to have full creative freedom unbound by the "EU", nearly all "EU" works were removed from "Star Wars" franchise canon and rebranded as "Star Wars Legends". (The two 2008 "EU" works which remained in canon were and its .)
Pixar () is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio is best known for its CGI-animated feature films created with PhotoRealistic RenderMan, its own implementation of the industry-standard RenderMan image-rendering application programming interface used to generate high-quality images. Pixar began in 1979 as the Graphics Group, part of the computer division of Lucasfilm before its spin-out as a corporation in 1986 with funding by Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, who became its majority shareholder. Pixar and Disney had a seven feature agreement that allowed Disney to distribute the films with Disney owing the character rights. With the success of "Toy Story 2" in 1999, then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs began to disagree on how Pixar should be run and the terms of their continued relationship. Eisner claimed that Toy Story 2 would not count towards the "original" film count of the agreement. Jobs announced in January 2004 that Pixar would not renew their agreement with Disney and would seek out other distributors for releases starting in 2006. In 2004, Disney Circle 7 Animation was formed as a CG animation studio to create sequels to the Disney-owned Pixar properties. In Late January 2006, new Disney CEO Bob Iger and Jobs agreed to have Disney purchase Pixar which led to Disney closing Circle 7.
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 the Beast" (1991), "Up" (2009), and "Toy Story 3" (2010).
In August 2015, Marvel Studios was moved into the Walt Disney Studios, with president Kevin Feige now reporting directly to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn instead of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter, who continues to oversee Marvel Television and Marvel Animation that were previously a part of Marvel Studios. Disney received ownership rights to the thirteen DreamWorks films it distributed, in compensation for outstanding loans as DreamWorks was restructured into Amblin Partners.
"Star Wars Rebels" is an American 3D CGI animated television series produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation. Beginning fourteen years after "" and five years before "A New Hope", "Rebels" takes place during an era when the Galactic Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy. Imperial forces are hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights while a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking form.
Capital Cities/ABC merged with The Walt Disney Company on January 5, 1996, and assumed The Walt Disney Company name and headquarters in California on that same day. Michael Eisner also retained his position as Disney's CEO. Disney CFO Stephen Bollenbach, who had crafted the deal, left Disney in February 1996 to become Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hilton Hotels Corporation. A subsidiary operating the combined company's television operations, ABC, Inc., was established on September 19, 1996.Stations are listed alphabetically by state and city of license.
Sony has since created numerous other film production and distribution units, such as creating Sony Pictures Classics for art-house fare, by forming Columbia TriStar Pictures (also known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group) by merging Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures in 1998, revitalizing Columbia's former television division Screen Gems. It expanded its operations on April 8, 2005, when a Sony-led consortium acquired the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, in a US$4.8 billion leveraged buyout, through the holding company MGM Holdings Inc.
Despite the influence, Fujiwara received no money from Lucas, and Lucas never personally thanked Fujiwara. Fujiwara may or may not have seen the Star Wars films, but he did not comment on what he thought of R2D2 or any other of the characters, though the subject of "Star Wars" was brought up in a televised discussion between himself, Akira Kurosawa, and his costars Misa Uehara and Minoru Chiaki. George Lucas acknowledged heavy influence of "The Hidden Fortress" on "Star Wars", particularly the technique of telling the story from the perspective of the film's lowliest characters, C-3PO and R2-D2.
In June 2010, Marvel Entertainment set up a television division within Marvel Studios, headed up by Jeph Loeb as Executive Vice President, under which Marvel Animation would be operated. On October 18, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures acquired the distribution rights for "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3" from Paramount Pictures with Paramount's logo and credit remaining on the films.
Bob Chapek, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, stated that the "Star Wars" hotel would be Disney's "most experiential concept ever" when it opens. Chapek described the hotel as a "100% immersive" experience that "will culminate in a unique journey for every person who visits.” Some examples of the planned features included creatures and droids acting as certain hotel staff such as butlers; guests wearing "Star Wars" costumes; and an ability to interact with features of the hotel as if visitors were really in the "Star Wars" universe. Visitors would also be able to have lightsaber training and duels (an extension of the in Disney's Hollywood Studios); explore and pilot "Star Wars" spacecraft; and go on "secret missions" personalized toward the visitors' experience.
At the time, Walt Disney Productions had suffered from losing connections to the European film markets due to the outbreak of World War II, enduring some box office bombs like "Pinocchio" (1940), "Fantasia" (1940), and "Bambi" (1942), all of which would later become more successful with several re-releases in theaters and on home video. At the time, however, the studio was over $4 million in debt and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Walt Disney and his animators turned back to feature film production in 1948 after producing a string of package films with the idea of adapting Charles Perrault's "Cendrillon" into a motion picture. It is the first Disney film in which all of Disney's Nine Old Men worked together as directing animators. After two years in production, "Cinderella" was finally released on February 15, 1950. It became the greatest critical and commercial hit for the studio since "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), and helped reverse the studio's fortunes. It received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Music, Original Song for "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo".
"The Cactus Kid" (April 11, 1930) was the last film to be animated by Ub Iwerks at Disney. Shortly before the release of the film, Iwerks left to start his own studio, bankrolled by Disney's then-distributor Pat Powers. Powers and Disney had a falling out over money due Disney from the distribution deal. It was in response to losing the right to distribute Disney's cartoons that Powers made the deal with Iwerks, who had long harbored a desire to head his own studio. The departure is considered a turning point in Mickey's career, as well as that of Walt Disney. Walt lost the man who served as his closest colleague and confidant since 1919. Mickey lost the man responsible for his original design and for the direction or animation of several of the shorts released till this point. Advertising for the early Mickey Mouse cartoons credited them as "A Walt Disney Comic, drawn by Ub Iwerks". Later Disney Company reissues of the early cartoons tend to credit Walt Disney alone.
Star Wars Rebels is an American 3D CGI animated television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation. With its story beginning fourteen years after "" and five years before "A New Hope", "Rebels" takes place during an era when the Galactic Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy. Imperial forces are hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights while a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking form. The visual style of "Rebels" is inspired by the original "Star Wars" trilogy concept art by Ralph McQuarrie.
The musical film adaptation "Mary Poppins" was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1964. Primarily based on the original 1934 novel of the same name, it also lifted elements from the 1935 sequel "Mary Poppins Comes Back". The novels were loved by Disney's daughters when they were children, and Disney had spent 20 years trying to purchase the film rights to "Mary Poppins", which included visits to Travers at her home in London. In 1961, Travers arrived in Los Angeles on a flight from London, her first-class ticket having been paid for by Disney, and he finally succeeded in purchasing the rights. Travers was an adviser in the production, but she disapproved of the Poppins character in its Disney version, with harsher aspects diluted; she felt ambivalent about the music; and she so hated the use of animation that she ruled out any further adaptations of the series. She received no invitation to the film's star-studded première until she "embarrassed a Disney executive into extending one". At the after-party, she said loudly “Well. The first thing that has to go is the animation sequence.” Disney replied, "Pamela, the ship has sailed", and walked away.
Founded in 2003 in Singapore as a means to tap into the talent pool, Lucasfilm Animation Singapore (LAS) opened its doors in October 2005. LAS works closely with Lucasfilm Animation. The LAS production schedule also includes contributions to projects from other Lucasfilm companies. While the largest of LAS’ production groups focused on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars", in July 2006 LAS announced the creation of the Game Group and the Digital Artists Group (DAG). With difficulty in meeting the technical and aesthetic requirements of Clone Wars, LAS was ultimately removed from the production and released a number of employees.
Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. LLC is the animation division of Lucasfilm, established in 2003. Its first major production was the feature film "" and its . In September 2016, Dave Filoni, known for his contributions to "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars Rebels", accepted a promotion to oversee the development of all future Lucasfilm Animation projects.
In November 1992, Don Bluth Entertainment found investment from UK filmmaker John Boorman's production company Merlin Films and Hong Kong-based company Media Assets. Merlin Films and Media Assets invested $14 million to purchase the studio's next three films and a further $6 million to ensure the completion of the two partially completed films, with further investment to follow on the third film, "The Pebble and the Penguin", then still in early development. A condition of the investment was that Merlin Films and Media Assets would have a close involvement in the management of Don Bluth Entertainment's financial operations, following reports of the studio's past mismanagement. In 1993, STAR TV, the parent company of Media Assets, was purchased by Rupert Murdoch (son of former Australian journalist Keith Murdoch, an editor for Adelaide's former "The News"), effectively making the studio a subsidiary of "The News"' namesake News Corporation.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an American 3D CGI animated television series created by George Lucas and produced by Lucasfilm Animation, Lucasfilm and CGCG Inc. The series began with released on August 15, 2008, and debuted on Cartoon Network on October 3, 2008. It is set in the fictional "Star Wars" galaxy during the three years between the prequel films "" and "", the same time period as the previous 2D 2003 TV series "". Each episode has a running time of 22 minutes to fill a half-hour time slot. Dave Filoni is the supervising director of the series. Genndy Tartakovsky, director of the first "Clone Wars" series, was not involved with the production, but character designer Kilian Plunkett referred to the character designs from the 2D series when designing the characters for the 3D series. There is also an online comic depicting story snippets between episodes.
In 1948, Disney returned to the production of full-length features with "Cinderella", a full-length film based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault. At a cost of nearly $3 million, the future of the studio depended upon the success of this film. Upon its release in 1950, "Cinderella" proved to be a box-office success, with the profits from the film's release allowing Disney to carry on producing animated features throughout the 1950s. Following its success, production on the in-limbo features "Alice in Wonderland", "Peter Pan", and "Lady and the Tramp" was resumed. In addition, an ambitious new project, an adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" set to Tchaikovsky's classic score, was begun but took much of the rest of the decade to complete.
Released by TriStar Pictures in 1989, the film grossed almost $3 million domestically, and has since become a cult film like its predecessor. In 2003, it received a brief issuing on DVD by Artisan Entertainment in a full frame presentation, but the release quickly went out of print and has since become a rare collector's item.
The series premiered as a one-hour television film, "Spark of Rebellion", on October 3, 2014, on Disney Channel prior to the premiere of the series on October 13 on Disney XD. The first season consisted of 14 episodes (released as four shorts, a film, "Spark of Rebellion", and 13 regular episodes) and the series features new characters along with ones from the original trilogy. The second season of 20 episodes premiered on June 20, 2015, with a one-hour television film, "The Siege of Lothal". The third season of 19 episodes premiered on September 24, 2016, with another one-hour television film, "Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow". On April 15, 2017, during "Star Wars" Celebration, it was announced the fourth season would be its last: it premiered on October 16, 2017, with another one-hour television film, "Heroes of Mandalore", and its final episode aired on March 5, 2018.
"Star Wars": Galaxy's Edge was first publicly announced by The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger at the D23 Expo on August 15, 2015, though it did not have an official name at the time. According to Iger, it will be "occupied by many inhabitants; humanoids, aliens and droids … the attractions, the entertainment, everything we create will be part of our storytelling. Nothing will be out of character or stray from the mythology." Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, stated that the land "will introduce you to a "Star Wars" planet you've never seen before — a gateway planet located on the outer rim, full of places and characters familiar and not so familiar."
Disney Consumer Products and Lucasfilm announced that September 4, 2015 would be deemed "Force Friday" and would be the official launch of all the merchandise for "The Force Awakens". Beginning at 12:01 am, fans could buy toys, books, clothing and various other products at Disney Stores and other retailers throughout the world. Disney and Maker Studios hosted an 18-hour live-streaming presentation on YouTube, showcasing multiple merchandise products beginning on September 3, 2015. Among these products were a remote-controlled BB-8 developed by Sphero. Sphero had participated in a Disney-run startup accelerator in July 2014, where they were invited into a private meeting with Disney CEO Bob Iger, in which they were shown on-set photos and imagery of BB-8 before its public unveiling. Many retailers were unable to meet demand for "Star Wars" products.
After the purchase of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, Disney Interactive assumed the role of developing "Star Wars" games for the casual gaming market, while Electronic Arts would develop "Star Wars" games for the core gaming market through an exclusive license (although LucasArts did retain the ability to license "Star Wars" games to other developers for the casual gaming market).
Lucas decided to leave the franchise in the hands of other filmmakers, announcing in January 2012 that he would step away from making blockbuster films.
In October 2012, The Walt Disney Company agreed to buy Lucasfilm and announced that "Episode VII" would be released in 2015. The co-chairman of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, became president of the company and served as executive producer of new "Star Wars" feature films. The sequel trilogy also meant the end of the existing "Star Wars" expanded universe, which was discarded to give "maximum creative freedom to the filmmakers and also preserve an element of surprise and discovery for the audience."