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Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 motion picture produced by Disney subsidiary Touchstone and Amblin Entertainment, that combines animation and live action. The film takes place in a fictionalized Los Angeles in 1947, where animated characters (derogatorily referred to as "Toons") are real beings who live and work alongside humans in the real world, most of them as actors in animated cartoons. At $70 million, it was one of the most expensive films ever at the time of its release, but it eventually brought in over $150 million during its original theatrical release. The film is notable for offering a unique chance to see many cartoon characters from different studios interacting in a single film and for being one of the last star turns for Mel Blanc and Mae Questel from animation's Golden Era.

Cast, crew, and studio

The live-action sequences were directed by Robert Zemeckis and mostly filmed at Borehamwood film studios in Hertfordshire, England. The animated sequences were directed by Richard Williams and produced at his London animation studio. The film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy and the voice of Charles Fleischer. The screenplay was adapted by screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from the 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf, and the music was composed by perennial Zemeckis film composer Alan Silvestri and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. It was released by Buena Vista Distribution under its Touchstone Pictures division.

Plot

Touchstone Pictures The movie opens with a Baby Herman short subject. This introduces the film's title character, who plays the supporting comic foil to infant cartoon star (actually a midget) Baby Herman. Eventually, it is revealed that Marvin Acme, the owner of the Acme Company and of Toontown, has been murdered. All signs point to Roger Rabbit, a toon star at Maroon Cartoons, who had recently been shown evidence that Acme and Roger's wife, Jessica Rabbit, a sexy Toon femme fatale (uncredited speaking voice by Kathleen Turner, singing voice by Amy Irving), had been playing pattycake together (literally) -- this is tantamount to infidelity in the eyes of a Toon. The only person who can help clear Roger's name is Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), a washed-up, alcoholic detective who hates Toons because his brother, Teddy, was murdered by a Toon during a routine criminal investigation in Toontown years before when a piano was dropped on his head. Eddie is reluctantly forced into helping when Roger hides in his apartment, and soon finds himself shielding Roger from Judge Doom of the Toontown District Superior Court (Christopher Lloyd) and his "Toon Patrol" henchmen, a group of weasels. Meanwhile, Doom's giant Cloverleaf Corporation, is plotting to buy out the interurban railway, the Pacific-Electric Red Car, and replace it with freeways (based on the General Motors streetcar conspiracy and the National City Lines). With Acme dead and no will having been found, Toontown is in danger of being bulldozed in order to make way for the freeway. Eddie and Roger must find the will of the late Marvin Acme, which purportedly gives ownership of Toontown to the toons. Judge Doom is also trying to find the will in order to dispose of it, so he can destroy Toontown and build his freeway, and make himself profit out of the deal. If any toons happen to get in his way, Judge Doom feels no qualms about subjecting them to the "dip": a mixture he concocted of acetone, benzene, and turpentine (essentially paint thinners), and the only sure way to kill a Toon. Eddie goes to the studios of Maroon Cartoons, Roger's employer, to help clear the rabbit's name. There he speaks to R.K. Maroon, who is shot during the confrontation. Thinking the shooter to be Jessica Rabbit, playing Roger as a patsy, Eddie chases the assassin all the way into Toontown, despite his trepidation after the death of his brother there years before. There Eddie discovers that the assassin was actually Judge Doom, who manages to kidnap Jessica, and later Roger so he can "dip" them. In the film's climax, set in the Acme Warehouse, Judge Doom spews "dip" from a huge machine and tries to eradicate Roger and his wife, Jessica. He reveals his plans to then use his "dip" vehicle to erase Toontown. To combat Doom's weasel henchmen, the normally hard-nosed Eddie plays a clown, (not completely out of sync with his character, as the audience has been shown a photo of him and his brother working for Ringling Brothers earlier in the film) causing the weasels to die of laughter (evidently another way to kill a Toon, but one that merely turns them to angels, possibly to come back again). During the final battle with Eddie, Judge Doom is revealed to be a Toon after a steam-roller flattens him, and he reinflates himself by using one of the air tanks, revealing his Toon features. To Eddie's horror, Doom then reveals himself to be not just any Toon, but the one who murdered Eddie's brother. Just when it seems that Judge Doom will get the upper hand, Eddie uses a scissor-spring-loaded punch-glove mallet to knock open the drain valve on the "dip" machine. Judge Doom is drenched with "dip" and melts away. The police soon arrive, and realize that Judge Doom was responsible for the murders of both Maroon, Acme, and Eddie Valiant's brother Teddy, though no one knows for sure who he was. Marvin Acme's will is found (Acme wrote it in "disappearing re-appearing ink" and Roger used the "blank" paper to write Jessica a love letter), and Toontown is handed over to the control of the Toons, who all cheer and sing a chorus of "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile."

Critical reaction

Although test screenings proved disastrous, Roger Rabbit opened to generally positive reviews on June 21 1988. Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert included the film on their lists of ten favorite films of 1988, with Ebert calling it "sheer, enchanted entertainment from the first frame to the last - a joyous, giddy, goofy celebration" [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19880622/REVIEWS/806220301/1023]. Rotten Tomatoes lists Who Framed Roger Rabbit as being #43 on its Best Of Rotten Tomatoes list [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt_year.php] all-time list with 100% positive reviews. As the website was created in 1995, and would only have the option of searching past archives, it is not able to give an accurate contemporary depiction of the review success. While Who Framed Roger Rabbit is considered a modern film classic, the film has also had its share of criticism. Much of the criticism revolves around the inconsistent tone of the film: the juxtaposition of the zany cartoon characters and the rough film noir story they appear in. While a blend between the two was the intended result of the producers, some people feel that the tone of the film deviates too much to properly identify it as either a film for children or a film for adults. While sex and violence were very prominent in Golden Age animation, the more blatant and saturated usage of such elements in this film, particularly in the characters of Jessica Rabbit (sex) and Judge Doom (violence), make many American parents and viewers unaccostumed to seeing such elements in animation uncomfortable. The film's finale, during which its main characters are essentially tied to a rope waiting to be sprayed by a hose, was cited as being weak and unimaginative. The film's animation is also accused of using too much superfluous movement. Held cels are very rarely used in Roger Rabbit, and (for technical reasons due to camera moves) most of the animation is on "ones" (each frame is animated, as opposed to the cheaper, more familiar method of animating every other frame, i.e. "twos"). Even when characters are standing still, they continue to move (particularly Roger, whose ear movements were based upon ballet patterns), and some animators and animation artists have cited the extra movement as unnecessary and distracting. The movie won four Academy Awards: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing, Best Effects, Visual Effects, Best Film Editing and a Special Award for Richard Williams for "animation direction and creation of the cartoon characters". The film received four further nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography and Best Sound.

Significance

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is seen as a landmark film that sparked the most recent era in American animation. The field had become lackluster and worn-out during the 1970s and 1980s, to the point where even giants in the field such as The Walt Disney Company were considering giving up on major animated productions. This expensive film (production cost of $70 million - a staggering amount for the time) was a major risk for the company, but one that paid off handsomely. It inspired other studios to dive back into the field of animation; it also made animation acceptable with the moviegoing public. After Roger Rabbit, interest in the history of animation exploded, and such legends in the field as Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, and even Ralph Bakshi were seen in a new light and received credit and acclaim from audiences worldwide. Also interesting was despite being produced by Disney's Touchstone Pictures division (in association with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment), Roger Rabbit also marked the first (and to date, only) time that characters from several animation studios (including Universal, MGM, Republic, Turner Entertainment, and Warner Bros.) appeared in one film. This allowed the first-ever meetings between Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse and between Daffy Duck and Donald Duck. Eventually, several additional animated shorts featuring Roger Rabbit, Jessica Rabbit, and Baby Herman would be released. These shorts were presented in front of various Touchstone/Disney features in an attempt to revive short subject animation as a part of the moviegoing experience. These shorts include Tummy Trouble released in front of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (this was included on the original video release of the film), Roller Coaster Rabbit shown in front of Dick Tracy and Trail Mix-Up shown in front of A Far Off Place. They were all released on video in 1996 on a tape called The Best of Roger Rabbit, and in 2003 on a special edition DVD of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Tummy Trouble was produced at the main Walt Disney Feature Animation studio in Burbank, California; the other two shorts were produced at the satellite studio located at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Trivia


- The plot of the film is derived from the infamous General Motors streetcar conspiracy, in which General Motors, Standard Oil and Firestone Tires formed the National City Lines holding company that bought out and deliberately destroyed the Los Angeles Red Car trolley system in the 1940s and 1950s. In the film, the real-life role of NCL is filled by the fictional "Cloverleaf Industries," owned solely by Judge Doom.
- The R.K. Maroon cartoons in which Roger appears are billed as Baby Herman and Roger Rabbit cartoons (or simply referred to as Baby Herman cartoons). Although Roger is arguably the focal point of each cartoon, he does not receive star billing. Many 1930s/1940s cartoon series featured a comic secondary character in support of a cute main character, often resulting in the secondary character outshadowing the first (for example, Mickey Mouse and his co-stars Donald Duck and Goofy, Gandy Goose and Sourpuss, Andy Panda and Woody Woodpecker, Tweety and Sylvester, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, etc.) Daffy Duck
- Several Easter eggs were hidden into the film by its animators. Tape-based analog video such as VHS did not reveal these, but better image quality delivering technologies such as the laserdisc were said to reveal amongst others the phone number of Disney CEO Michael Eisner. Also, when Bennie the Cab wrecks at night and Eddie and Jessica roll out, there are two separate frames, within two seconds of each other, showing a blurry shot of her private area (near her crotch). Disney recalled the laserdisc and issued another disc, later claiming that it was an incorrectly painted cel. Oddly, they also stated that the cel in question could be seen on the new disc and on the VHS version, promting many to raise the question "if it's on the VHS version too, why was only the laserdisc recalled, and if the new discs were reissued with the same flawed cel, why did they go through the trouble in the first place?". The best way to see this on VHS is with a 4 head VCR or a 6 head VCR as these have a much clearer pause function than a 2 head VCR with no interference such as noise bars and loss of colour whilst paused.
- A brief scene consisting of the toon Baby Herman giving a sexual gesture to a female (human) extra on the set of the opening cartoon was edited out of the first DVD edition of the movie, though it can be found on editions of the VHS,laserdisc and Vista Series DVD issues.
- Much of the cinematography and several scenes of the film are an homage to Roman Polanski's Chinatown.
- The film's credits run for nearly ten minutes. At the time of its release, Roger Rabbit held the record for having the longest end credits sequence in cinema history.
- The lack of question mark in the title is allegedly due to a superstition that films with a question mark in the title do badly at the box office.
- A contract was signed between Disney and Warner stating that Bugs and Mickey would each receive exactly the same amount of screen time. This is why the script had Bugs, Mickey, and Eddie altogether in one scene falling from a skyscraper; in this scene, the mouse and the rabbit speak the same exact number of words of dialogue, as per the contract.
- As many as 100 separate pieces of film were optically combined to incorporate the animated and live-action elements. The animated characters themselves were hand-drawn without computer animation; analogue optical effects were used for adding shadows and lighting to the toons to give them a more "realistic," three-dimensional appearance.
- Gary Wolf, author of the original novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, corresponded with many fans of the film through written letters and the Internet, compiling an exhaustive listing of the many hidden "easter eggs" in the film and in the later Roger Rabbit short films. He has provided copies of this list to anyone who requests it. Wolf also sued Disney in 2001 for unpaid earnings related to the film.
- In the scene where Judge Doom comes to the cafe looking for Roger, Angelo speaks up when he hears that there is a reward saying: "Yeah, I've seen a rabbit" turns around and addresses thin air: "Say hello, Harvey." Many think this is a reference to the James Stewart movie Harvey and perceive it as an error, because the movie came out in 1950 and Roger Rabbit takes place in 1947. However the stage version of Harvey came out in 1944, to which, logically, Angelo must be referring, although whether the writers intended this is unclear.
- A slightly earlier draft of the screenplay revealed Judge Doom to also be the hunter who mortally shot Bambi's mother, thus providing more insight into his sadistic, cruel, and calloused nature towards his fellow 'toons'. However, Disney allegedly nixed the idea, most likely believing the idea to be overkill and not wanting to scare younger audiences with the character more than necessary for the emotional purpose of the movie. This idea was later incorporated into Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and suggested that Gaston (the villain) was the one who shot Bambi's mother. To this date it has not been revealed who Judge Doom really was, but there has been plenty of fan specuation about the possibilities.
- The road to be built through Toon Town is described as running "from here to Pasadena". Possible roads include the Pasadena Freeway running from downtown Los Angeles (completed in 1940 it would be an anachronism), or California State Route 134, running from near Burbank, CA.
- Many film buffs label Jessica Rabbit a "Frankenstein of Film Goddesses": with a Lauren Bacall-ish speaking voice (courtesy of an uncredited Kathleen Turner), Betty Grable's legs, Marilyn Monroe's torso and buttocks, Jayne Mansfield's breasts, Veronica Lake's hair, Marlene Dietrich's eyes, and a Judy Garland-like singing voice (provided by Amy Irving).
- This is the first Disney movie to be shown on Time Warner's Cartoon Network. However, when it was shown, it was edited for time.
- In 1991, the Disney Imagineers began to develop a new land for the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, completely based on the Toontown of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Mickey's Toontown opened to rapturous applause in 1993 and spawned a Mickey's Toontown Fair land at the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and a Toontown (without the Mickey's prefix) at Tokyo Disneyland in Japan. The Californian and Japanese Toontowns feature a ride based on Roger Rabbit's adventures, and a Jolly Trolley attraction, as well as Mickey Mouse's, Minnie Mouse's and Goofy's 'houses', which are also featured at the Florida Toontown.

Other films combining live action with animation

Audiences were amazed by the ground-breaking special effects used in Who Framed Roger Rabbit to create a "realistic" portrayal of the interaction of animated characters and live actors. While the film did this with more advanced technology than previous films, the combination of animation and live action had been practised since the beginnings of animated cartoons, often to very good effect. See Live-action/animated film.

Errors


- Despite the film being set in 1947, the model sheets used for many of the characters in it, especially the Warner Bros. stars, who were on paid license from Warner Bros., were typically older ones that were not actually in use at the time (Bugs Bunny, noticeably, used an early sheet that was phased out of use at Warner Bros./Leon Schlesinger Pictures in 1943). Also, several characters who weren't created by 1947 were included at the behest of the film crew; for example, the Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote appear because they are Robert Zemeckis' favorite cartoon characters. The appearance of post-1947 Toons can be explained by the idea that (in the universe of the film), Toons are sentient beings who exist independent of humans and that certain Toons were around but hadn't started working in films yet. Besides, as Peter Seaman said, the aim was "entertainment, not animation history."

Cartoon characters that make cameo appearances


- Disney
  - Mickey Mouse
  - Minnie Mouse
  - Donald Duck
  - Daisy Duck
  - Goofy
  - Pluto
  - Black Pete
  - Horace Horsecollar
  - Clarabelle Cow
  - Clara Cluck
  - Peter Pig
  - Hummingbirds from Disney's Song of the South
  - Dumbo
  - Crows from Disney's Dumbo
  - Broomsticks from Disney's Fantasia
  - Dancing hippo from Disney's Fantasia
  - Jose Carioca from Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros
  - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  - Bambi
  - Bill, the lizard with a ladder from Alice in Wonderland
-
  - The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs
  - Maleficent's goons from Sleeping Beauty
-
  - Mr. Toad from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
  - The penguins from Disney's Mary Poppins
-
  - Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket
  - Tinkerbell
-
- Warner Bros.
  - Bugs Bunny
  - Daffy Duck
  - Porky Pig
  - The Road Runner
-
  - Wile E. Coyote
-
  - Yosemite Sam
  - Speedy Gonzales
-
  - Tweety
  - Sylvester the Cat
  - Foghorn Leghorn
  - Marvin the Martian
-
- MGM
  - Droopy Dog
- Paramount/Max Fleischer
  - Betty Boop
  - Koko the Clown
- Walter Lantz
  - Woody Woodpecker (
- ) Denotes anachronisms; these characters (or, in the cases of characters such as Tinkerbell, the animated versions of them that appear in the film) were created after 1947.

External links


- [http://video.movies.go.com/products/2439803.html Disney's official site for this film]
-
- [http://www.filmsite.org/whof.html Filmsite.org - Who Framed Roger Rabbit]
- [http://www.davesrailpix.com/pe/perr.htm Dave Mewhinney's Pacific Electric Photos - Roger Rabbit Collection]

References


- "Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit". (2003). Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Vista Series [DVD]. Burbank: Buena Vista Home Video.
- Gray, Milton (1991). Cartoon Animation: Introduction to a Career. Lion's Den Publications. ISBN 096-284445-4. Category:Walt Disney Company motion picture Category:1988 films Category:Disney animated films Category:Films based on novels Category:Films directed by Robert Zemeckis

1988 in film

See also: 1987 in film, other events of 1988, 1989 in film, list of 'years in film'.

Events


- Michael Jackson's first film was Moonwalker

Top grossing films

# Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise # Who Framed Roger Rabbit # Coming to America # Big, starring Tom Hanks # Crocodile Dundee II # Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis # Cocktail # The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! # Oliver and Company

Academy Awards


- Best Picture: Rain Man - Mirage Entertainment, Star Partners II, United Artists
- Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man
- Best Actress: Jodie Foster - The Accused

Births


- April 10 - Haley Joel Osment
- August 24 - Rupert Grint
- November 15 - Zena Grey

Deaths


- January 7 - Trevor Howard, actor
- January 25 - Colleen Moore, actress
- March 6 - Jeanne Aubert, French actress
- May 30 - Ella Raines, actress
- August 4 - Florence Eldridge, actress
- September 5 - Gert Fröbe, actor
- October 1 - Lucien Ballard, cinematographer
- December 23 – Frederick W. Elvidge, actor

Other movies released


- Beetlejuice
- Child's Play
- Cocoon: The Return
- Dangerous Curves
- Dangerous Liaisons
- A Fish Called Wanda
- Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
- Gangster World
- Hawks, starring Timothy Dalton and Anthony Edwards
- Killer Klowns from Outer Space
- Mac and Me
- Masters of the Universe, starring Dolph Lundgren and Courteney Cox
- Midnight Run
- Mississippi Burning
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
- Paperhouse
- Punchline
- She's Having a Baby
- A Short Film About Love by Krzysztof Kieslowski
- Working Girl, starring Harrison Ford
- A World Apart, starring Barbara Hershey and Jodhi May Category:1988 Category:1988 films Category:Years in film



The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company (most commonly known as Disney) () is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. Founded on October 16, 1921 by Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, it is today the number two media company in the United States. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Burbank, California. Disney had revenues of $30.8 billion in 2004, and it is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. For much of its history, the company was known as Walt Disney Productions, Ltd., until February 6, 1986, when it was rechristened with its current name. "Disney Enterprises, Inc.," commonly seen in company legal notices, is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

Divisions

Disney's main operating units are Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Media Networks, and Consumer Products.

Studio Entertainment

Its Studio Entertainment unit, also known as The Walt Disney Studios, is headed by Chairman Dick Cook. It includes the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, a collection of movie studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, and Hollywood Pictures. The Miramax Films and Dimension Films studios are also a part of the unit, but operate autonomously in New York. Disney's Buena Vista Music Group, which includes Walt Disney Records, Mammoth Records, Lyric Street Records, and Hollywood Records, also falls under the umbrella of The Walt Disney Studios. The unit also includes Walt Disney Theatrical and Disney's distribution companies: Buena Vista International and Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Buena Vista Home Entertainment One of the company's most successful subsidiaries is its animation studio, Walt Disney Feature Animation, responsible for producing a number of successful and influential traditionally animated features. The traditional Disney films referred to by most fans are those with which Disney took a well-known fairy tale or story and injected its own, distinctively American, style, adding popular-style songs to make them into animated musicals. The first feature length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, began this tradition in 1938. It was followed by such films as Cinderella (1950), Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Aladdin (1992). In addition to these romantic tales, Disney has dabbled in action animations, again of well-known stories, such as Peter Pan (1953), 101 Dalmations (1961), The Jungle Book (1967), and Robin Hood (1973). The traditional animated movies ended with such movies as The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, Hercules and Mulan. In the aftermath of the box office failures of some of its recent animated films and the stellar successes of computer-animated films from Pixar, Disney has shifted its production from "traditional" hand-drawn animated films (which in recent years have incorporated much work done on computer) to entirely computer-animated films. The last traditionally-animated film produced by Disney was Home on the Range. Its first computer-animated film will be Chicken Little. Disney has fallen under much criticism for this change in direction, especially from fans who see the strength of a movie as its plot and its characters and not as the technology used to make it. Disney is becoming a direct competitor to Pixar in a market dominated by the latter. Disney has failed to renew its contract with Pixar to release Pixar's films under the Disney name, an arrangement which had been extremely profitable to Disney and whose termination means that Pixar is now free to pair up with a competing studio. Walt Disney Studios, the company's main film and television production facility and corporate headquarters located in Burbank, California, is the only major Hollywood film studio that has never offered tours to the public. A partial tour of the Orlando, Florida feature animation satellite studio was available to attendees of Disney-MGM Studios until 2003.

Parks and Resorts

2003 Disney operates a total of nine theme parks at the Disneyland Resort, the Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort Paris and the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan is operated and owned by the Oriental Land Company with licenses from Disney, and was built by the company's Imagineers. The company also owned through Anaheim Sports, Inc. the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim hockey club, which it recently agreed to sell to Broadcom executive Henry Samueli, and owned the Anaheim Angels baseball team, which was later sold to advertising magnate Arturo Moreno. Walt Disney Imagineering, Walt Disney Creative Entertainment, the Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, and the chain of ESPN Zone sports-themed restaurants also operate as a part of the Parks & Resorts unit.

Media Networks

Its Media Networks unit is centered around the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network, which it acquired through a merger with Capital Cities/ABC in 1996. Disney also owns a group of cable networks including The Disney Channel, ABC Family, Toon Disney, the ESPN group and SOAPnet. Disney also holds substantial interest in Lifetime (50%), A&E (37.5%), and E! (40%). Through ABC, Disney also owns 10 local television stations, 26 local radio stations, and ESPN Radio, Radio Disney, and the ABC Radio, which carries such radio personalities as Sean Hannity and Paul Harvey and distributes news bulletins by ABC News. Buena Vista Television, which also is a part of the Media Networks unit, produces such syndicated television programs as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Live with Regis and Kelly, and Ebert & Roeper. Disney also operates its Hyperion publishing company and Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIC) through Media Networks. Hyperion has recently published books by comedian-author Steve Martin and bestselling author Mitch Albom. WDIC includes the Go.com web portal, based on the old Infoseek search engine which it purchased in 1998, and leading websites such as Disney.com, ESPN.com, and ABCNews.com.

Consumer Products

Its Consumer Products unit includes Disney's merchandising and licensing business and its Disney Publishing Worldwide group, whose imprints include Disney Editions, Hyperion Books for Children, Disney Press. It also published the Disney Adventures children's magazine. The unit once included the Disney Store chain of shopping mall locations, which it sold in 2004. It does now include Jim Henson's Muppets characters, which it purchased from The Jim Henson Company in 2004.

History

1923-1936


- 1923: The Disney Bros. Studio, founded in October 16th by brothers Walt and Roy Disney and animator Ub Iwerks, produces the Alice in Cartoonland series.
- 1925: At Walt Disney's insistence, the company is renamed Walt Disney Studios.
- 1927: The Alice series ends; Disney picks up the contract to animate Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
- 1928: Walt loses the Oswald series contract; first Mickey Mouse cartoon: Plane Crazy
- 1929: First Silly Symphony: The Skeleton Dance. On December 16, the original partnership formed in 1923 is replaced by Walt Disney Productions, Ltd. Three other companies, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company, are also formed.
- 1930: First appearance of Pluto
- 1932: First three-strip Technicolor short released: Flowers and Trees; first appearance of Goofy
- 1934: First appearance of Donald Duck Donald Duck

1937-1954


- 1937: Studio produces its first feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- 1938: On September 29th, Walt Disney Enterprises, Disney Film Recording Company, and Liled Realty and Investment Company are merged into Walt Disney Productions.
- 1940: Studio moves to the Burbank, California buildings where it is located to this day
- 1941: A bitter animators' strike occurs; as the USA enters World War II, the studio begins making morale-boosting propaganda films for the government
- 1944: The company is short on cash; a theatrical re-release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs generates much-needed revenue and begins a reissue pattern for the animated feature films (See: List of Disney film reissues by year)
- 1945: The studio hires its first-ever live actor for a film, James Baskett, to star as Uncle Remus in Song of the South
- 1949: The studio begins production on its first all-live action feature, Treasure Island; the popular True-Life Adventures series begins
- 1952: Walt Disney forms WED Enterprises on December 16 to design his theme park.
- 1953: Walt Disney forms Retlaw Enterprises on April 6 to control the rights to his name. It will later own and operate several attractions inside Disneyland, including the Monorail and the Disneyland Railroad.
- 1954: The studio founds Buena Vista Distribution to distribute its feature films; beginning of the Disneyland TV program Disneyland

1955-1983


- 1955: Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California. Walt Disney Productions owns 34.5 percent of Disneyland, Inc. It increases its stake in 1957 to 65.5 percent, then purchases the remaining shares from ABC in 1960.
- 1961: The studio licenses the film rights to Winnie-the-Pooh, whose characters continue to be highly profitable to this day; international distribution arm Buena Vista International is established.
- 1964: The company starts buying land near Orlando, Florida for Walt Disney World (then known as Disney World or The Florida Project)
- 1965: The regular production of short subjects ceases, as theatres no longer have any demand for them. Walt Disney Productions acquires WED Enterprises.
- 1966: Official plans are announced for Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort, later canceled.
- 1966: Walt Disney dies. His brother Roy takes over.
- 1967: Construction begins on Walt Disney World; the underlying governmental structure (see Reedy Creek Improvement District) is signed into law.
- 1971: The Walt Disney World Resort opens in Orlando, Florida; Roy Oliver Disney dies; Donn Tatum becomes chairman and Card Walker becomes president.
- 1977: Roy Edward Disney, son of Roy and nephew of Walt, resigns from the company citing a decline in overall product quality and issues with management.
- 1978: The studio licenses several minor titles to MCA Discovision for laserdisc release; only TV compilations of cartoons ever see the light of day through this deal.
- 1979: Don Bluth and a number of his allies leave the animation division; the studio releases its first PG-rated film, The Black Hole
- 1980: Tom Wilhite becomes head of the film division with the intent of modernizing studio product; a home video division is created
- 1981: Plans for a cable network are announced.
- 1982: EPCOT Center opens at Walt Disney World; Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron W. Miller succeeds Card Walker as CEO
- 1983: As the anthology series is canceled, The Disney Channel begins operation on US cable systems; Tom Wilhite resigns his post; Tokyo Disneyland opens in Japan

1984-present


- 1984: Touchstone Pictures is created; after the studio narrowly escapes a buyout attempt by Saul Steinberg, Roy Edward Disney and his business partner, Stanley Gold, remove Ron W. Miller as CEO and president, replacing him with Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. The Walt Disney Black Diamond Classics video series is created.
- 1985: The studio begins making cartoons for television beginning with Adventures of the Gummi Bears and The Wuzzles ; The home video release of Pinocchio is a best-seller.
- 1986: The studio's first R-rated release comes from Touchstone Pictures; the anthology series is revived; the company's name is changed from Walt Disney Productions to The Walt Disney Company.
- 1987: The company and the French government sign an agreement for the creation of the first Disney Resort in Europe: the Euro Disney project starts.
- 1989: Disney offers a deal to buy Jim Henson's Muppets and have the famed puppeteer work with Disney resources; the Disney-MGM Studios open at Walt Disney World.
- 1990: Jim Henson's death sours the deal to buy his holdings; the anthology series canceled for second time.
- 1992: The controversial Euro Disney Resort opens outside Paris, France.
- 1993: Disney acquires independent film distributor Miramax Films; Winnie the Pooh merchandise outsells Mickey Mouse merchandise for the first time; the policy of periodic theatrical re-issues ends with this year's re-issue of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but is augmented for video.
- 1994: Frank Wells is killed in a helicopter crash; Jeffrey Katzenberg resigns to co-found his own studio, DreamWorks SKG.
- 1994: Plans for Disney's America, a historical theme park in Haymarket, Virginia, are abruptly dropped. No explanation is given, and Disney announces a search for an alternate location.
- 1994: Euro Disneyland is renamed Disneyland Paris. The Classics line is unofficially cancelled and replaced with the Masterpiece Collection.
- 1995: In October, the company hires Hollywood super agent, Michael Ovitz, to be president.
- 1996: The company takes on the Disney Enterprises name for non-Walt Disney branded ventures and acquires the Capital Cities/ABC group, renaming it ABC, Inc. In December, Michael Ovitz, president of the company, leaves "by mutual consent." To celebrate the pairing, ABC's first Super Soap Weekend is held at Walt Disney World.
- 1997: The anthology series is revived again; the home video division releases its first DVDs.
- 1998: Disney's Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World.
- 2000: Robert Iger becomes president and COO. Disney begins their Gold Classic Collection DVD line, replacing their Masterpiece Collection series.
- 2001: Disney-owned TV channels are pulled from Time Warner Cable briefly during a dispute over carriage fees; Disney's California Adventure and Tokyo DisneySea open to the public; Disney begins releasing Walt Disney Treasures DVD box sets for the collector's market. Disney buys Fox Family for $3 billion in July, giving Disney programming and cable network reaching 81 million homes.
- 2002: Walt Disney Studios open near Disneyland Paris (renamed Disneyland Park). The entire area is now called Disneyland Resort Paris. Disney finishes negotions to acquire Saban Entertainment, owner of children's entertainment juggernaut Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Subsidary Miramax acquires the USA rights to the Pokemon movies starting with the fourth movie.
- 2003: Roy E. Disney resigns as the chairman of Feature Animation and from the board of directors, citing similar reasons to those that drove him off 26 years earlier; fellow director Stanley Gold resigns with him; they establish "Save Disney" to apply public pressure to oust Michael Eisner. He will end his campaign against Eisner and rejoin the company as a consultant in July 2005. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl becomes the first film released under the Disney label with a PG-13 rating. PG-13]
- 2004: Comcast makes a hostile bid for the company, CEO Michael Eisner is replaced by George J. Mitchell as chairman of the board as a 43% vote of no confidence, The Muppets become Disney property and Disney turn down distributing Fahrenheit 9/11 which ends up making $100 million. On February 17, 2004, Disney buys the Muppets (excluding the Sesame Street characters).
- 2005: Disneyland celebrates its 50th birthday on July 17. Hong Kong Disneyland officially opens on September 12. Robert A. Iger replaces Michael Eisner as CEO on October 1. Also on October 1, Miramax co-founders Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein leave the company to form their own studio. Most recent financial statements [http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=DIS&annual Income Statement] [http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=DIS&annual Balance Sheet] [http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cf?s=DIS&annual Cash Flow] Annual reports [http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?type=10-k&dateb=&owner=include&action=getcompany&CIK=0001001039 1996-2004]

Management, 1923-present

Current board of directors


- John Bryson
- John S. Chen
- Roy E. Disney (Director Emeritus; non-voting)
- Judith Estrin
- Robert Iger
- Fred Langhammer
- Aylwin Lewis
- Monica Lozano
- Robert Matschullat
- George J. Mitchell
- Leo O'Donovan
- John E. Pepper, Jr. (beginning 1 January 2006)
- Orin C. Smith (beginning 1 January 2006)
- Gary L. Wilson

Current division heads


- Walt Disney International - Andy Bird
- Walt Disney Parks and Resorts - Jay Rasulo
- Walt Disney Studios - Richard Cook
- Buena Vista Music Group - Bob Cavallo
- Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group - Nina Jacobson
- ESPN - George W. Bodenheimer
- Consumer Products - Andrew P. Mooney
- Walt Disney Feature Animation - David Stainton
- Disney-ABC Television Group - Anne Sweeney
- Walt Disney Imagineering - Don Goodman
- Walt Disney Creative Entertainment - Anne Hamburger
- Walt Disney Theatrical - Thomas Schumacher

Disney Chairmen of the Board


- 1945-1960: Walt Disney
- 1964-1971: Roy O. Disney
- 1971-1980: Donn Tatum
- 1980-1983: E. Cardon Walker
- 1983-1984: Raymond Watson
- 1984-2004: Michael Eisner
- 2004-present: George J. Mitchell

Disney CEOs


- 1968-1971: Roy O. Disney
- 1971-1976: Donn Tatum
- 1976-1983: E. Cardon Walker
- 1983-1984: Ron W. Miller
- 1984-2005: Michael Eisner
- 2005-present: Robert Iger

Disney Presidents


- 1940-1945: Walt Disney
- 1945-1966: Roy O. Disney
- 1966-1971: Donn Tatum
- 1971-1977: E. Cardon Walker
- 1977-1984: Ron W. Miller
- 1984-1994: Frank Wells
- 1994-1995: Michael Eisner
- 1995-1997: Michael Ovitz
- 2000-Present: Robert Iger

Disney COOs


- 1968-1977: E. Cardon Walker
- 1977-1983: Ron W. Miller
- 1984-1994: Frank Wells
- 2000-2005: Robert Iger

See also


- Notable feature films released under the Walt Disney name
- Notable television series produced by Disney subsidiaries
- Disney characters' names in various languages
- List of assets owned by Disney
- List of Disney characters
- Disney feature film source material
- List of Disney animated features
- List of Disney people
- 100 Years of Magic lists
- Disneyization
- A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios, a documentary from 1937

External links


- [http://www.disney.go.com The Official Website of The Walt Disney Company]
- [http://www.disney.com/corporate The Walt Disney Company corporate web site]
- [http://www.ultimatedisney.com UltimateDisney.com - List of all Disney movies and DVD status]

SEC


- [http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001001039&owner=include SEC - Company Information: WALT DISNEY CO/] Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company, The Walt Disney Company, The Walt Disney Company, The ja:ウォルト・ディズニー・カンパニー simple:The Walt Disney Company

Amblin Entertainment

right Amblin Entertainment is a United States-based film and television production company founded by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1982. Amblin was only a production studio, and never distributed its own movies. Its logo features the silhouette of E.T. riding in the basket on Elliot's bicycle flying in front of the moon from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the first movie produced by Amblin. Amblin is named after Spielberg's first commercially-released film Amblin. Amblin, a short film about 30 minutes long, is about a man and woman thumbing through the desert in the late 1960's. The film, which cost $15,000 to produce, was shown for Universal Studios and won Spielberg more directing roles. Universal distributes many Amblin productions and Amblin operates out of a building on the Universal lot. In addition to various Spielberg films, Amblin has produced movies by other directors including Joe Dante (the Gremlins movies, Innerspace, Small Soldiers), Robert Zemeckis (the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Don Bluth (Rugrats, An American Tail, The Land Before Time), Thomas Rickman (Redinger), Gil Kenan (Monster House) and Barry Sonnenfeld (the Men in Black movies). Amblin's most critically acclaimed production is Schindler's List (1993). The film was nominated for twelve Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Picture. The movie has also become a teaching tool in high schools. A companion study guide, Facing History, was prepared through a grant from Amblin and Universal. Amblin's television series credits include Amazing Stories, seaQuest DSV, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, ER, and Fievel's American Tails. Fievel's American Tails and others were produced by Amblin's animation division Amblimation, which was active from 1991 until 1997.

External links


- [http://www.imdb.com/List?production-companies=Amblin%20Entertainment%20%5Bus%5D&&tv=on Listing of Amblin productions] at the Internet Movie Database Category:Hollywood movie studios

Live action

In film and video, live action refers to works that are acted out by flesh-and-blood actors, as opposed to animation. Live action is the norm in film and video, and thus the term is usually superfluous. It is an important distinction, however, in situations where one might normally expect animation, as in a Disney movie, a video game, or when the work is adapted from an animated cartoon, such as the Flintstones or Josie and the Pussycats movies, or The Tick television show. The term is also used within the animation world to refer to non-cartoon characters. For example, in a movie such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit where humans and cartoons co-exist, "live action" characters are the "real" actors such as Bob Hoskins, as opposed to the animated "actors," such as Roger Rabbit himself. In role-playing games, live-action refers to games in which the players physically act out their characters, as if in a theater production, as opposed to sitting around a table and simply describing the actions their characters take. See Live action role-playing game for more details. Category:Film techniques ja:実写

Los Angeles, California

The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish; Los Ángeles, ) also known simply as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the world's most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. It was incorporated as a city in California on April 4, 1850, when the city's population was only 1,610, and is the county seat of Los Angeles County. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 3,694,820, but a May 1, 2005 California Department of Finance estimate shows the city's population at 3,957,875, with the metropolitan area at 17,545,623. The city is also large by geographic standards since it sprawls over more than 465 square miles (1200 square kilometers), making it physically larger than New York City and Chicago. In addition, Los Angeles hosted two Olympic Games (in 1932 and 1984) and is home to world-renowned scientific and cultural institutions. The city is one of the biggest entry points for immigrants to the United States, making it one of the most culturally diverse places in the world. People are attracted to the city for its warm weather, its vibrant lifestyle, its unique energy, and the opportunity to realize the "American Dream."

History

The Los Angeles coastal area was occupied by the Tongva, Chumash, and even earlier Native American peoples for thousands of years. The Spanish arrived in 1542, when Juan Cabrillo visited the area. In 1769, the Spanish returned to California to stay. Father Juan Crespi described a "beautiful river", which the explorers named in Spanish "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula", English: "The Village of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the Porciuncula River". The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was founded in 1771, thus establishing a permanent presence in the area and securing Spanish territory. territory On September 4, 1781, settlers from the San Gabriel Mission founded the town and named it after the river, but used a slighly shorter version. The official name was El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles, "The Town of the Queen of the Angels", showing Franciscan affiliation. It remained a small mission and ranch town for decades. Mexican independence from Spain was achieved in the 1820s, but the greatest change took place in present-day Montebello after the Battle of Rio San Gabriel in 1847, which decided the fate of Los Angeles. Yankees gained control after they flooded into California during the Gold Rush and secured the subsequent admission of California into the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a city in 1850. Railroads arrived when the Southern Pacific completed its line to Los Angeles in 1876. Oil was discovered in 1892, and by 1923, Los Angeles was supplying one-quarter of the world's petroleum. Even more important to the city's growth was water. In 1913, William Mulholland completed the aqueduct that assured the city's growth and led to the annexation by the City of Los Angeles, starting in 1915, of dozens of neighboring communities without water supplies of their own. A somewhat fictionalized account of the Owens Valley Water War can be found in the motion picture Chinatown. In the 1920s the motion picture and aviation industries both flocked to Los Angeles and helped to further develop it. The city was the proud host of the 1932 Summer Olympics. World War II brought new growth and prosperity to the city, although many of its Japanese-American residents were transported to internment camps for the duration of the war. This period also saw the arrival of the German exiles, which included such notables as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht and Lion Feuchtwanger. The postwar years saw an even greater boom as urban sprawl expanded into the San Fernando Valley. The Watts riots in 1965 reminded the country of the deep racial divisions that even the nation's youngest city faced. The XXIII Olympiad was successfully hosted in Los Angeles in 1984. The city was once again tested by the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. A city-wide vote on San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secession was defeated in 2002.

Geography and climate

Geography

2002 According to the United States Census Bureau,the city has a total area of 1,290.6 km² (498.3 mi²). 1,214.9 km² (469.1 mi²) of it is land and 75.7 km² (29.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.86% water. The extreme north-south distance is 44 miles (71 km), the extreme east-west distance is 29 miles (47 km), and the length of the city boundary is 342 miles (550 km). The land area is the 9th largest in the Lower-48th of United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). The highest point in Los Angeles is Sister Elsie Peak (5,080 feet) at the far reaches of the northeastern San Fernando Valley, part of Mt. Lukens. The Los Angeles River is a short, largely seasonal river flowing through the city, with headwaters in San Fernando Valley. Its length is almost entirely lined in concrete. The Los Angeles area is remarkably rich in native plant species. With its beaches, dunes, wetlands, hills, mountains, and rivers, the area contains a number of important biological communities. The largest area is coastal sage scrub, which covers the hillsides in combustible chaparral. Native plants include: California poppy, matilija poppy, toyon, coast live oak, giant wild rye grass, and hundreds of others. Unfortunately, many native species are so rare as to be endangered, such as the Los Angeles sunflower. There are many exotic flowers and flowering trees that are blooming year-round, with subtle colors, including the jacaranda, hibiscus, phlox, bougainvillea, coral tree blossoms and bird of paradise. If there were no city here, flower-growing could still flourish as an industry, as it does in Lompoc. Wisteria has been known to grow to house-lot size, and in Descanso Gardens there are forests of camellia trees. Orchids require special attention in this Mediterranean climate.

Cityscape

Mediterranean climate Mediterranean climate The city is divided into many neighborhoods. Most of the neighborhood names come from farm towns that were annexed by the growing city, physical terrain features, major streets, or subdivision names coined by enterprising developers. These divisions have no legal status but are of significance to residents for cultural and financial reasons. Signs have been placed on major thoroughfares designating some of the communities, a practice going back decades. (The "neighborhood councils" of Los Angeles began in 1999 and often follow different borders).

Climate

Mediterranean climate The city is situated in a Mediterranean climate or subtropical zone, experiencing mild, wet winters and warm to hot, dry summers. Onshore breezes keep the beach communities of Los Angeles and San Diego cooler in summer and warmer in winter than those further inland. Temperatures in the summer can get well over 90 °F (32 °C) and smog can become a problem. Average Summer day time highs are 85 °F (29 °C), with overnight lows of 66 °F (18 °C). Winter day time high temperatures get up to around 67 °F (19 °C, with overnight lows of 48 °F (8 °C) and rain is a possibility. Generally the weather is warm and dry in all seasons, with 325 days of sunshine a year. The median temperature in January is 58.3 °F (14.6 °C) and 74.3 °F (23.5 °C) in July. The highest temperature recorded within city borders was 116.0 °F (46.7 °C) at Canoga Park in 1985; the lowest temperature recorded was 18.0°F (−7.8 °C) in 1989, also at Canoga Park. The highest temperature ever recorded for Downtown Los Angeles was 112.0 °F (44.4 °C) on June 26 1990, and the lowest temperature ever recorded was 28.0 °F (−2.2 °C) on January 4 1949. Accumulating snowfall is a once in a lifetime event. There has been three recorded instances of snowfall in the city; two inches (5 cm) of snow fell in 1932 and the last snowfall occurred in 1949. Rain occurs mainly in the winter and spring months (February being the wettest month) with great variations in storm severity year by year. Los Angeles averages 13-16 inches (330 to 410 mm) of rain per year.

Pollution

1949Due to the city's geography as well as the population's heavy reliance on automobiles as a major form of transportation, the city suffers from severe air pollution in the form of smog. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley hold in the fumes from automobiles, diesel trucks, shipping, and locomotive engines, as well as manufacturing and other sources. In addition, the groundwater is increasingly threatened by MTBE from gas stations and perchlorate from rocket fuel. Some consider urban sprawl to be a result of the city's transportation system. Light pollution is also a problem.

Seismic activity

Like most areas of California, Los Angeles is subject to frequent earthquakes, due to the close proximity of the San Andreas Fault, as well as the smaller San Jacinto Fault and Banning Fault, in southern California. Most earthquakes are relatively minor, however, throughout history there are several major earthquakes. The most recent was the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which was centered in the northern San Fernando Valley. Coming less than two years after the L.A. riots, the Northridge earthquake was a severe emotional shock to Southern Californians, in addition to causing physical damage worth billions of dollars. Other major earthquakes include the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and the 1971 Sylmar earthquake.

People and culture

Demographics

Sylmar earthquake

Census 2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,694,820 people, 1,275,412 households, and 798,407 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,041.3/km² (7,876.8/mi²). There were 1,337,706 housing units at an average density of 1,101.1/km² (2,851.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.93% White, 11.24% African American, 0.80% Native American, 15.89% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 25.70% from other races, and 5.18% from two or more races. 46.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race and 29.75% White, not of Latino/Hispanic origins. There were 1,275,412 households of which 33.5% had children under 18, 41.9% were married couples, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 28.5% of households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size 3.56. The age distribution was: 26.6% under 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males. The median income for a household was $36,687, and for a family was $39,942. Males had a median income of $31,880, females $30,197. The per capita income was $20,671. 22.1% of the population and 18.3% of families were below the poverty line. 30.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those aged 65 or older were below the poverty line.

Other demographics

Of 2,182,114 native people, 1,485,576 were born in California, 663,746 were born in a different state of the United States of America, and 31,792 were born in a United States territory (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas). Of 1,512,720 foreign born people, 100,252 were born in Europe, 376,767 were born in Asia, 20,730 were born in Africa, 4,104 were born in Oceania, 996,996 were born in Latin America, and 13,859 were born in Northern America. Of such foreign-born people, 569,771 entered between 1990 to March 2000. 509,841 are naturalized citizens and 1,002,879 are not citizens. The people of Los Angeles are known as Angelenos. L.A. can truly be described as a "world city" (Alpha World City) — that is, it has one of the largest and most diverse populations of any municipality anywhere. The Hispanic and Asian American populations are growing particularly quickly — the Asian American population is the second largest of any city in the U.S. Los Angeles hosts the largest populations of Armenians, Cambodians, Filipino, Guatemalans, Israelis, Koreans, Salvadorans, Thais, Mexicans, and Hungarians outside of their respective countries. Los Angeles is also home to the largest populations of Japanese and Persians (Iranians) living in the U.S., and has one of the largest Native American populations in the country. L.A. is home to people from more than 140 countries, who speak at least 224 different languages. Ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Koreatown, Little India (Artesia), Little Armenia, Thai Town, Historic Filipinotown and Little Ethiopia give testimony to the polyglot character of Los Angeles.

Crime

The COMPSTAT unit of the Los Angeles Police Department tabulates Part I offenses (violent and property crimes) committed in the city. Los Angeles has been experiencing significant decline in Part I offenses since the mid 1990s hitting a record low in 2004. Criminality peaked in 1992 with 72,667 recorded acts of violence (1,096 homicides) and 245,129 recorded property crimes. In 2004, there were 31,245 recorded violent crimes of which 518 were homicides. The distribution of homicides in the city is uneven with nearly half of such crimes occurring in the four stations of the South Bureau of the LAPD encompassing South Los Angeles and the Harbor area. A further quarter occur in the areas covered by the Central Bureau which covers Downtown and its environs. Property crimes were three times more common than violent crimes; 90,374 were recorded in 2004. When compared to other large cities, Los Angeles fares relatively well with a total crime index lower than San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston. Many movies and songs about Los Angeles depict the notion that the city is home to a large number of gangsters and professional criminals. According to a May 2001 Drug Threat Assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center [http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs0/668/overview.htm], Los Angeles County is home to 152,000 gang members organized into 1,350 gangs. In Los Angeles, car chases happen more often than in most other major cities (sometimes several per week). The city's complex freeway system allows for lengthier pursuits, which may take them throughout the city. Other common crimes include: car-to-car shootings (see road rage), drive-by shootings, thrill killings, hit-and-run accidents, and carjackings. Numerous instances of all these crimes are documented on the LAPD press release Web site [http://www.lapdonline.org/portal/generic.php?page=/press_releases/press_releases.php]. One interesting example is a report on ten freeway shootings within two months [http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4449599/detail.html]. Also, Los Angeles has been a popular setting for several crime-based video games, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (which features Los Santos, a city largely based on the Los Angeles metropolitan area) and True Crime: Streets of LA (which takes place in a close replica of the Los Angeles area).

Arts and entertainment

True Crime: Streets of LA Los Angeles is sometimes considered the entertainment capital of the world. It shares the title of the cultural capital of the United States with New York City. Its largest entertainment industry is film production, but it is an important center for music, art, and architecture as well. As a major global metropolis, Los Angeles has evolved a unique culture and that is well-portrayed in popular media and is sometimes idealized as highly desirable. However, this culture has also inspired criticism that it is not really a unique culture, although most believe the contrary. Residents of the city of Los Angeles are served by the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and its branch locations. Residents of the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and various cities within the county are served by the County of Los Angeles Public Library The LAPL is funded by voter-approved bond and tax levy packages. The Main Library is located in downtown Los Angeles and has been recognized as a National Historic Site.

Media

The major daily newspaper in the area is The Los Angeles Times. La Opinión is the city's major Spanish-language paper. There are also a wide variety of smaller regional newspapers, alternative weeklies and magazines, including the Los Angeles Newspaper Group's Daily News (which focuses coverage on the Valley), Village Voice Media's L.A. Weekly, L.A. City Beat, Los Angeles magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal (legal industry paper), Variety (entertainment industry paper), and [http://www.downtownnews.com Los Angeles Downtown News]. In addition to the English and Spanish language papers, numerous local periodicals serve immigrant communities in their native languages (e.g. Korean, Persian and Japanese). Most of the above papers are center-left or left in their political stance with the clear exception of the Daily News, which is center-right. One example of this is that the L.A. Times often does high-quality investigative journalism on important inner-city issues like health care and crime, while the L.A. Daily News is usually content to run wire stories on those issues, if it covers them at all. The L.A. Daily News also focuses on business issues, education, and crime. It strongly supports lowering taxes. Many cities adjacent to Los Angeles also have their own daily newspapers whose coverage and availability overlaps into certain Los Angeles neighborhoods. Examples include the Daily Breeze (serving the South Bay), and The Long Beach Press-Telegram. The Los Angeles metro area is served by a wide variety of local television stations, and is the second largest designated market area (DMA) in the U.S. with 5,431,140 homes (4.956% of the U.S.). The major network television affiliates include KCBS 2 (CBS), KABC-TV 7 (ABC), KNBC 4 (NBC), KTTV 11 (FOX), KTLA 5 (WB), and KCOP 13 (UPN), and KPXN 30 (i). There are also four PBS stations in the area, including KVCR 24, KCET 28, KOCE 50, and KLCS 58. World TV operates on two channels, KNET 25 and KSFV-LP 27. There are also several Spanish-language television networks, including KMEX 34 (Univision), KFTR 46 (Telefutura), KVEA 52 (Telemundo), and KAZA 54 (Azteca America). KTBN 40 (Trinity Broadcasting Network), is a religious station in the area. Several independent television stations also operate in the area, including KCAL 9 (owned by CBS/Viacom), KSCI 18 (focuses primarily on Asian language programming), KWHY 22 (Spanish-language), KNLA-LP 27 (Spanish-language), KJLA 33 (variety), KPAL-LP 38, KXLA 44, KDOC 56 (classic programming and local sports), KJLA 57 (variety), and KRCA 62 (Asian language programming).

Religion

Los Angeles is home to adherents of many religions. Los Angeles has the second-largest Jewish community in the United States, rivaled only by New York City. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles leads the largest archdiocese in the country. Roger Cardinal Mahony oversaw construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, completed in 2002 at the north end of downtown. The Los Angeles Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is their second-largest temple and is located in West Los Angeles. The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909) in Los Angeles was a key milestone in the history of the Pentecostal movement. Los Angeles can be called the birthplace of Christian Fundamentalism. From 1908 to 1959 the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (B.I.O.L.A. now Biola University) was located in downtown at the corner of Hope and Sixth streets, in front and to the west of the Los Angeles Central Library building. In 1913, B.I.O.L.A. published a set of books called The Fundamentals, which presented a defense of the traditional conservative interpretation of the Holy Bible. The term fundamentalism is derived from these books. In the 1920s, Aimee Semple McPherson established a thriving evangelical ministry, with her Angelus Temple in Echo Park open to both black and white church members. Billy Graham became a celebrity during a successful revival campaign in Los Angeles in 1949. Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God used to have its headquarters in nearby Pasadena, now in