This Week in Disney History: July 16-22

There’s always a great, big, beautiful tomorrow at The Walt Disney Company, because every day is tied to a milestone in the heritage and rich history of a company that has been entertaining millions of people every year. Published every week, this interesting series features highlights from all the divisions of The Walt Disney Company. Let's see what happened this week:

This week:

On July 21, 1939, the Mickey Mouse cartoon “The Pointer,” directed by Clyde Geronimi was released. In the film, Mickey tries to teach Pluto to be a pointer in their hunt for quail. But they have a harrowing encounter with a huge bear and Pluto points instead to a can of beans—their dinner. The cartoon was nominated for an Academy Award. It was in this cartoon that the public saw for the first time a redesigned Mickey Mouse, supervised by animator Fred Moore. Most noticeable were his eyes—now they had pupils in a white eye where before they were simple black ovals.

July 16

1954 – “Dragon Around” (Donald Duck cartoon short) debuts

1993 – Walt Disney Pictures releases “Hocus Pocus”

July 17

1943 -Walt Disney Productions releases “Victory Through Air Power”

1955 -Disneyland Park opens for an invitational press preview in Anaheim, Calif., televised live on ABC

1989 – Splash Mountain opens at Disneyland Park

1996 – Disney announces plans to open Disney California Adventure Park

2009 – Imagineer and Disney Legend Marty Sklar retires after 54 years of service

July 18

1932 – The animated short “Mickey in Arabia” debuts

1955 – Disneyland Park opens to the general public for the first time

1965 – Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln opens at Disneyland Park

1978 – The Lake Buena Vista Office Plaza (now the Partners Building and home to Disney offices) opens across from the Downtown Disney Marketplace (now Disney Springs) at the Walt Disney World Resort

July 19

1940 – The Donald Duck animated short “Put-Put Troubles” debuts

1946 -The Pluto animated short “The Purloined Pup” debuts

1950 – Walt Disney Productions releases “Treasure Island,” the first Disney live-action film without animation, and the first Disney film shot in England

July 20

1951 – The Donald Duck animated short “Lucky Number” debuts

1985 – The 200 millionth Guest visits the Walt Disney World Resort

July 21

1939 – “The Pointer” a Mickey Mouse cartoon directed by Clyde Geronimi is released

1993 – Tokyo Disneyland opens The Swiss Family Treehouse attraction

2017 – “Raven’s Home,” A spin-off from the That’s So Raven series, debuts on the Disney Channel

2017 – “Descendants 2,” a Disney Channel original movie premieres on the Disney Channel

July 22

1994 – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction opens on Sunset Boulevard at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios)

2016 – Elena of Avalor Television series premiers on the Disney Channel

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