Disney Television Animation Celebrates 35 Years

It was 35 years ago this month that the Walt Disney Co. formally opened Disney Television Animation (DTVA).

The following summer, the first output from the studio hit the airwaves when Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears and The Wuzzles aired as part of Saturday morning cartoon blocks. Two years later, DuckTales kicked things into high gear, and in the decades since, the studio’s creations have been seen daily by millions of families and currently air across Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD.

To celebrate the legacy, Disney released a video that highlights some of the studio’s talented creatives, crew, and executives behind series such as TaleSpin, Sofia the First, Recess, Kim Possible, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Phineas and Ferb, and Gravity Falls, along with the upcoming titles such as The Curse of Molly McGee and Marvel’s Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, which will debut next year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIIbBsEORm4&

Another big project in the pipeline from DTVA is the Monsters, Inc. spinoff, Monsters at Work, which will debut on Disney+, the company’s new streaming service that launches in the U.S. on Nov. 12.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.