The Walt Disney Company started in 1923 in the rear of a small office occupied bởi Holly-Vermont Realty in Los Angeles. It was there that Walt Disney, and his brother Roy, produced a series of short live-action/animated films collectively called the ALICE COMEDIES. The rent was a mere $10 a month. Within four months, the ever-growing staff moved tiếp theo door to larger facilities, where the sign on the window read "Disney Bros. Studio." A năm later, in 1925, the Disneys made a deposit on a Hyperion Avenue lot in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. Construction began on the new studio shortly thereafter. During the tiếp theo 14 years, many changes took place at the Disney studio: Mickey chuột was "born" in 1928, followed bởi Pluto, Goofy, Donald Duck, and the rest of the Disney gang.

In 1937, Disney's innovative first full length animated feature, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, was released to critical acclaim and worldwide success. In order to expand and meet the expectations of his audience, Walt saw a need to increase the size of his studio. With profits from SNOW WHITE, he made a deposit on 51 acres of land in Burbank and began designing a modern studio specifically for the purpose of making animated films.

Walt was personally involved with all aspects of designing the studio. From the layout of the buildings to thiết kế of the animators' chairs, nothing was left to chance. His main concern was to produce a self-sufficient, state-of-the-art production factory that provided all the essential facilities for the entire production process.

Employees in front of the phim hoạt hình Building.    The phim hoạt hình Building, housing the Disney Artists and animators, was planned in the center of the lot. Across a small đường phố, street were built the Inking and Painting and the Camera buildings, where the artwork was completed and photographed.

tiếp theo to Camera, in the Cutting building, the post production process occurred. Sound facilities included dubbing, scoring, effects, and voice recording studios. Many of the buildings were linked together bởi an underground tunnel, so even in bad weather, the process of making animated films was not disrupted. To enhance the campus-like setting, all of the utilities were placed underground which was an innovation for 1940.

During the 1940s and 1950s many prominent animated features were produced in Burbank, including FANTASIA, BAMBI, CINDERELLA, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and PETER PAN.

Beginning in the late 1940s, Disney launched into the production of live-action features and ti vi programs. The Studio lot was subsequently expanded during the 1950s, to include sound stages and production craft facilities.