The Walt Disney Company is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney as
Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names
Walt Disney Studio and
Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the
Walt Disney Company in 1986. In 1928, Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film
Steamboat Willie. The film used synchronized sound to become the first post-produced sound cartoon, and popularized Mickey Mouse, who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon.