The company's logo
The Walt Disney Company (more commonly known as simply Disney) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that was founded in 1923 by Walter Elias Disney and Roy Oliver Disney. As a conglomerate, Disney participates in a variety of industries, but their most notable industries are theme parks and production of film and television in both animation and live-action. Mickey Mouse, a cartoon character created in 1928 by Ub Iwerks and Walter, is the company's mascot and one of the most well-recognized characters in the world.
Some of Disney's primary successes in animated motion pictures include Steamboat Willie (Mickey Mouse's debut) in 1928, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Dumbo in 1941, Cinderella in 1950, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1977, The Little Mermaid in 1989, The Lion King in 1994, Lilo & Stitch in 2002, Frozen in 2013, and Encanto in 2021.
In recent years, Disney has expanded their already-extensive business through a series of acquisitions of other assets, including The Muppets (originally from The Jim Henson Company) in 2004, Pixar (known for Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and The Incredibles) in 2006, Marvel Comics (known for Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, Black Panther, and X-Men) in 2009, Lucasfilm (known for Star Wars and Indiana Jones) in 2012, and 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox; known for The Simpsons, Avatar, Alien, and Home Alone) in 2019.
Involvement with Tamagotchi[]
Disney-owned intellectual properties have been the subject of multiple crossover themes and references in the Tamagotchi franchise:
Tamagotchi P's[]
Image of the Mickey Mouse-themed costumes obtained by the Pierce.
A Tama Deco Pierce themed after Mickey Mouse was released for the Tamagotchi P's in late 2013, granting costumes based on Mickey Mouse and co for several Tamagotchis:
- Mickey Mouse for Mametchi
- Minnie Mouse for Yumemitchi
- Donald Duck for Kuchipatchi
- Daisy Duck for Kiraritchi
- Goofy for Shirimotchi
- Chip for Amakutchi
- Dale for Karakutchi
Tamagotchi Nano[]
Currently, a total of seven Tamagotchi Nano models are themed after Disney-owned intellectual properties:
- Pocket Usatama: Released in Japan on April 2nd, 2017. Based on the Tokyo Disneyland Easter mascot Usatama. It was re-issued on April 22nd, 2019.
- Pocket Usapiyo: Released in Japan on April 22nd, 2019. Based on the Tokyo Disneyland Sea Easter mascot Usapiyo.
- Twistetchi: Released in Japan on June 25th, 2021. Based on the Disney-themed battle/rhythm mobile game Twisted Wonderland, developed by Aniplex.
- R2-D2 Tamagotchi: Released in North America on November 11th, 2021 and in Japan on November 13th, 2021. Based on the Star Wars franchise from Lucasfilm, particularly the character R2-D2.
- Toy Story Tamagotchi: Released in Japan on June 25th, 2022 and in North America on July 13th, 2022. Based on Pixar's animated film series Toy Story.
- Kingdom Hearts Tamagotchi: Released in Japan on October 2022 and in the United States on December 2022. Based on the Disney-themed action/RPG video game series Kingdom Hearts, developed by Square Enix.
- Grogu Tamagotchi: Set to release in Japan and the United States on January 2023. Based on the Star Wars television series The Mandalorian, particularly the character Grogu.
Tamagotchi Smart[]
A TamaSma Card themed after Pixar, called "Pixar Friends", is scheduled to be released for the Tamagotchi Smart on February 4th, 2023, granting costumes based on protagonists from several Pixar films for the 10 raiseable Tamagotchis in the base device:
- Woody from Toy Story for Mametchi
- Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story for Kuchipatchi
- Jessie from Toy Story for Poptchi
- Sulley from Monsters, Inc. for Awamokotchi
- Nemo from Finding Nemo for Weeptchi
- A Super Suit from The Incredibles for Tsuyopitchi
- Merida from Brave for Gaogaltchi
- Joy from Inside Out for Wawatchi
- Miguel from Coco for Karapatchi
- Mei Lee from Turning Red for Milktchi
References to Tamagotchi in Disney-owned media and vice versa[]
- In the 2012-2016 television series Gravity Falls, a Tamagotchi virtual pet is shown in Grunkle Stan's Contraband box in the episode "Scary-oke".
- In the anime episode Pinch! Gotchi King is Boiling?!, one of the traps Adobentchi unintentionally sets off in the temple is a large boulder that chases after him and the others, in reference to the iconic scene from the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, though distributed by Paramount Pictures, is owned by Disney through Lucasfilm ltd.
- In the Tamagotchi! Yume Kira Dream episode Queen of Tears vs. Yume Kira Comedians, Himespetchi fantasizes herself outside a cruise ship with her arms outstretched and Ikemen Mametchi holding her in an identical fashion to Rose and Jack in the iconic "I'm Flying" scene from the film Titanic, which 20th Century Studios holds the rights to outside North America. Later in the fantasy, in a subversion of the film's events, Ikemen Mametchi prevents the cruise from colliding with an incoming iceberg by steering the ship away from it.
- In Season 2, Episode 9 of The Owl House, Luz and Amity are shown to have communicating devices that resemble a Tamagotchi device.
- Pixar's Turning Red features the main lead, Meilin Lee, with a Tamagotchi, and is used to develop the relationships between the characters. Especially the ending, where her family members are shown with Tamagotchi's to keep their red panda spirits.
Trivia[]
- At one point, Disney owned the international rights to Tamagotchi's spear counterpart, Digimon. When Disney acquired Fox Family Worldwide in 2001 and rebranded it as ABC Family, the library of Saban Entertainment, the producer of Digimon's English dub, was included in the deal. In 2012, these rights were sold to Saban Brands (Saban Entertainment's successor), and were acquired by Toei Animation's US division in 2017, a year before Saban Brands sold the bulk of their assets to Hasbro.