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 statements, many Disney scholars and artists defended Disney, including Disney Legend Floyd Norman, who said "Much has changed, and changed for the better." Other journalists found the speech ironic, noting that Streep just finished filming the then-upcoming Disney film, "Into the Woods". The Walt Disney Company has also been criticized for the lack of feminist values seen on the older, original Disney Princesses. Snow White in particular, is under constant criticism for her lack of feminist ideals. The film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)" features a main protagonist whom at the time, fit the domestic and docile expectations