The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, United States, serve
as the international headquarters for media conglomerate The Walt Disney
Company. The Walt Disney Studio's house offices for each of the
company's divisions along with creative spaces designed for movie
production. The Walt Disney Company is the last remaining Big Ten
company to remain independent from a mother company. The Studios are
also the only major film/animation studio not to run backlot tours.
Team Disney - The Michael D. Eisner Building
Formally known as the Team Disney Burbank building, it is the main
building located at The Walt Disney Studios. Completed in 1990 and
designed by Michael Graves, The Team Disney Burbank building contains
the office of President and CEO Robert A. Iger, as well as the boardroom
for the Board of Directors. It also houses offices for members of Senior
Management, such as Rich Ross, Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios,
Thomas O. Staggs, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Andy
Bird, Chairman of Walt Disney International. Prior to the opening of the
Team Disney Burbank building in 1990, Disney executives were located in
the old Disney Animation Building. Disney artists and animators were
relocated into warehouses in Pasadena. The building is sometimes called
the "Seven Dwarfs Building"; it has a stunning fascia of the seven
dwarfs holding up the roof of the building, an homage to the animated
film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which provided Walt Disney with
the revenue to purchase the Burbank lot. The building is located
opposite the Frank G. Wells building, Eisner's former colleague, and
President of The Walt Disney Company from 1984–1994. In 1996 the
building was featured in Hollywood Pictures film Spy Hard. On January
23, 2006, in honor of Michael Eisner's 21-year leadership of the
company, the Team Disney building was rededicated as Team Disney - The
Michael D. Eisner Building.
The Disney Legends Plaza
The Disney Legends plaza, located between the Team Disney: The
Michael D. Eisner building and the Frank G. Wells building, is the
central hub for the Disney Legends award and pays homage to its
recipients. The plaza features the Partners statue of Walt Disney and
Mickey Mouse, designed by Imagineer Blaine Gibson, along with a replica
statue of Roy O. Disney and Minnie Mouse which can also be found at the
Magic Kingdom park. Located on the pillars in the plaza are bronze
plaques featuring receivers of the Disney Legends award. The plaques
feature the recipient's name, reason for gaining the award, and the
person's hand prints and signature if they were alive at the time they
received the award. Most famously, Legendary Animator and Imagineer,
Ward Kimball's plaque features an extra finger, a reminder of Kimball's
sense of humour. If, however, the award was presented posthumously, an
image of the Disney Legends statue is engraved instead of the
traditional hand prints and signature. The plaza formerly featured a
small fountain to honor the legends but has since been removed due to
water leakage.
Frank G. Wells Building
Dedicated to the former President of The Walt Disney Company from
1984–1994, Frank G. Wells. The building opened in 1998 and was dedicated
by Wells' widow Luanne Wells, and company CEO Michael Eisner. The 5
story building has a usable area of 240,518 square feet (22,344.9 m2)
with three underground parking levels, accommodating 600 parking spaces.
The construction was completed in two phases: phase I in August 1997 and
phase II in July 1998. The Frank G. Wells building was specifically
designed for Walt Disney Television Animation, and the division has
offices located on the third floor. It is distinctly recognizable
through its giant movie reel and film strip on the building's exterior.
The building is also home to the Walt Disney Archives, Walt Disney
Television, ABC Studios offices, The Disney University, management
offices, HR department and the Multi-Plane camera. The Walt Disney
Archives is located on the ground floor and is open to all cast members.
The archives also has additional storage and restricted areas on other
floors. The Studio's Starbucks Coffee shop is also located on the ground
floor.
Animation Building
The former main Animation building was built and completed in 1940
and designed by Ken Webber. Walt Disney personally supervised with the
'double H' design, ensuring as many rooms as possible had windows,
allowing natural light into the building to help the animators while
working. Walt Disney had 2 offices within the building, known as his
'formal' and 'working offices'. The rooms were used after Walt's death
in 1966, and personal items archived in 1970. It is believed that Walt
would have wanted his offices to be reused. The rooms still feature some
original features and are currently being used by company officials.
Members of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men, would have had their offices with
in this building, along with legendary animators such as Eyvan Earl,
Mary Blair, Andres Deja, Floyd Norman, John Lasseter, Glenn Keane, John
Musker and Ron Clements. Production was moved from the Animation
Building into warehouses located in Pasadena, during the late 1980s.
Prior to the opening of the Team Disney Burbank building in 1990, Disney
Executives used the Animation Building as corporate offices. In 1995,
animation production was relocated back to the Burbank Studio with the
opening of the Walt Disney Feature Animation Building, and some offices
with in the original Animation Building.
The Roy O. Disney Building
The Roy O. Disney building is located next to the animation building
and held the office of Roy O. Disney to whom the building is dedicated.
The building used to be the main administration building on the studio
lot prior to the opening of the Team Disney - The Michael D. Eisner
building. It still houses multiple corporate offices.