The American firm celebrates this anniversary during a retrospective presented since this week in Munich, the first stage of a European tour.
Having become an entertainment empire brewing billions of dollars, Disney wants to convince that it has lost none of the spirit of the origins: its story is that of "a century of adventure, magic and imagination," say the organizers.
To evoke the past, Disney went to dig into its archive that brings together thousands of objects and documents: original scenarios, photos, film props, correspondence, commercial items and theme parks.
The organizers have released 250 original pieces including costumes from Pinocchio or Cruella, the snow globe from the movie Mary Poppins, or the first entrance ticket to Disneyland Park.
Long before these successes, Walter Elias Disney, a young advertising cartoonist from Kansas City, had begun in 1923 by making a series of silent short films featuring Alice, a little heroine in flesh and blood evolving in a cartoon universe.
A room of the exhibition "Disney 100" for the centenary of the Walt Disney Studios, April 17, 2023 in Munich, Germany © Christof STACHE / AFP
This series marked the launch of the Disney animation studio and the first stone of the saga. The contract signed by Walt Disney for the distribution of "Alice's Wonderland" is one of the exhibit's pieces.
Mickey sailor
"Many children and young people today do not understand that Walt Disney was a real person," as his characters have ended up obscuring their creator, notes Becky Cline, director of the Disney archive.
The event is a "great opportunity to tell stories about Walt Disney himself and show that all the foundations of the company began with him," she continues.
A room of the exhibition "Disney 100" for the centenary of the Walt Disney Studios, April 17, 2023 in Munich, Germany © Christof STACHE / AFP
A life-size video of the animation pioneer welcomes visitors.
Mickey Mouse arrives on the screens three years after Alice, in 1928, recalls the exhibition. A page from the original script of "Steamboat Willie", the first cartoon featuring the famous mouse in the role of a sailor, is also presented.
Through the gallery of Disney characters, from Snow White to Pirates of the Caribbean and Cinderella, the journey lifts a veil behind the scenes of the making of films.
"We wanted to do something that everyone could enjoy, that everyone would understand, regardless of age or cultural background, big Disney fans, as well as those who don't know a lot about it," Cline says.
The journey also recalls how the multinational entertainment company expanded its empire by swallowing Pixar Studios, Marvel, the Star Wars franchise, which are now an integral part of the "Disney legend".
A room of the exhibition "Disney 100" for the centenary of the Walt Disney Studios, April 17, 2023 in Munich, Germany © Christof STACHE / AFP
The Enchanted Kingdom is now a major player in the contested streaming market with its Disney+ platform with 161 million subscribers worldwide.
The exhibition is to be seen until September in the Bavarian metropolis, a choice that Walt Disney would not have denied: it is by taking inspiration from Neuschwanstein Castle, a building hanging on the mountainside, south of Munich, that the American designer imagined the palace of Sleeping Beauty, which has become the logo of the group.
© 2023 AFP