The Walt Disney Company Disney Media Networks, and Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A&E Networks, and Freeform; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a group of 14 theme parks around the world. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. Mickey Mouse was created in 1928 and is the signature mascot and emblem for Disney and one of the world's most recognizable characters. On December 14, 2017, Disney announced an agreement to acquire 21st Century
Criticism of The Walt Disney Company a little kid," said Broderick. "So I kept telling everybody I was going to play Kimba. I didn't really know anything about it, but I didn't really care." In addition, a memo written by Roy E. Disney in July 1993 refers to Simba as "Kimba," causing critics to claim that Disney was aware of the similarities. Upon the release of "The Lion King" in Japan, multiple Japanese cartoonists including Machiko Satonaka signed a letter urging the Walt Disney Company acknowledge due credit to "Jungle Emperor Leo" in the making of "The Lion King". As Tim Hornyak wrote in "The Japan