It is impossible to understate The Walt Disney Company’s impact on the United States and the greater world over the last 100 years. The House of Mouse’s white-gloved fingerprints can be found on everything from copyright laws, to wartime propaganda, to long-held artistic and creative standards. There are very few elements of modern American culture that The Walt Disney Company has not impacted in some way over the years!

“The Disney Legacy”, a free comic and teaching guide, encourages students to learn about the history of The Walt Disney Company and the legacy it has left on American society in the fields of media, merchandizing, corporate expansion, and cultural influence.

• Written and researched by: Fred Van Lente

• Designed and Drawn by: Ryan Dunlavey

Estimated Lexile Levels:

• Comic: 1010-1400

• Endnotes: 1010 – 1200

Projects and discussion questions are aligned to Common Core standards for grades 9-12. 

In Colorful History #85: “The Disney Legacy”, long-time comic creators Fred Van Lente (Marvel Zombies, Action Presidents, The Comic Book History of Animation) and Ryan Dunlavey (M.O.D.O.K. Reign Delay, Action Philosophers, The Comic Book History of Comics) team up once again to take readers on a theme park dark ride—not dissimilar to Disney’s own multicultural animatronic attraction, “It’s A Small World”.

Using the project ideas featured in this guide, students can:

• Evaluate the comic’s claims using research, including the claim “It really is a Disney World, and we’re just living in it!”

• Learn more about the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, otherwise known as “The Mickey Mouse Protection Act”
• Research and design their own historical theme park dark ride