Also see: general Walt Disney Pictures or Buena Vista.

Current Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures logo

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is a motion picture and television feature distribution company owned by The Walt Disney Company. Buena Vista International was the international distribution arm, and Buena Vista Home Entertainment was the firm's video and DVD distribution arm.

In April 2007, Disney decided to retire the Buena Vista brand^[1], although today the Buena Vista name is used only for video and DVD distribution through certain divisions of Disney's home entertainment.

[edit] History

Prior to 1953, Walt Disney's productions were distributed by Columbia Pictures (1929–1932), United Artists (1932–1937) and RKO Radio Pictures (1937–1954). However, a dispute over the value of Disney's True-Life Adventures series of live-action documentary featurettes in 1953 led to Walt and his older brother Roy Oliver Disney to form its wholly-owned subsidiary the Buena Vista Film Distribution Company, Inc. to handle the U.S. distribution of their own product. Buena Vista's first release was the Academy Award winning live-action feature The Living Desert (1953). Buena Vista International was formed in 1992 after Disney opted to end a joint venture with Warner Bros. to distribute their films in overseas markets.

The BV company name comes from Buena Vista Street, the road on which the current Walt Disney Studios and company headquarters are situated in Burbank, California. Lake Buena Vista is also Walt Disney World's mailing address in Florida.

16 of the 20 highest grossing G rated movies were distributed by Buena Vista.^[2]

[edit] Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The company distributes all features produced by:

• Walt Disney Pictures
• Pixar Animation Studios
• Walt Disney Studios Television Animation
• DisneyToon Studios
• Walt Disney Animation Studios
• ESPN Films
• Disneynature
• Touchstone Pictures
• Hollywood Pictures
• DreamWorks (starting in 2010)
• Studio Ghibli (within the United States)

[edit] References

1. ^ Fixmer, Andy (25 April 2007). "Disney to Drop Buena Vista Brand Name, People Say". http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0MG17nO.PG8&refer=home. Retrieved 2007-08-08. 
2. ^ "DOMESTIC GROSSES BY MPAA RATING". http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic/mpaa.htm?page=G&p=.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-11.