| Buena Vista | |
| Currentowner: | The Walt Disney Company |
| Country: | United States |
| Discontinued: | (as a trade name) |
| Markets: | United States Asia Pacific |
| Trademarkregistrations: | United States |
Buena Vista (Spanish for "good view")[1] is a brand name that has historically been used for divisions and subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company, whose primary studios, the Walt Disney Studios, are located on South Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California.[2] The studio lot is also home to the company's corporate headquarters, the Team Disney Burbank building. The logos for the various Buena Vista brands featured the "Buena Vista" wordmark superimposed over the traditional Disney castle logo to signal the affiliation between Buena Vista and Disney.
The brand was originally used for the Buena Vista Film Distribution Company, which had been established by Walt and Roy O. Disney to distribute The Living Desert (1953) after RKO Radio Pictures, Disney's longtime distributor, refused to. The company would go on to distribute all of Disney's future films, though some were still distributed by RKO until 1956 because of preexisting contracts.[3] Disney semi-retired the Buena Vista name in May 2007 and the company was designated Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.[2]
Portions of the Walt Disney World Resort are located in the city of Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The city's namesake lake was known as Black Lake before Walt Disney Enterprises acquired the land in the 1960s. The entrance area and themed land of Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort also makes reference to the brand and real-life street in Burbank.
In 1994, the first Spanish-language production emerged from Buena Vista Productions International, "Navidad en las Americas", a holiday program that aired on the Univision network.[4]
In 1996, Buena Vista International was described as the "international distribution division of the Walt Disney Company",[5] including "marketing and distribution" of films in the United Kingdom (as of 1995),[6] and Japan (as of 2005).[7]
The following Buena Vista brands have been semi-retired, fully retired, or renamed to a Disney and/or ABC name, in accordance with the company's branding strategy. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Buena Vista Records and Lake Buena Vista, however, have not legally changed their names.[2] Gaumont Buena Vista International, however, was a joint venture between Gaumont Film Company and the Walt Disney Company, established in January 1993. GBVI ensured the distribution of films of its two parent companies in France. After 11 years of existence, it was dissolved in 2004 as Disney prefers to distribute its own films as Buena Vista International (France).[8] Buena Vista was revived as a name, Buena Vista Theatrical, for the former Fox Stage Production as a Disney Theatrical Group division.[9] [10]
| Buena Vista Brand | Corporate function | Re-branding | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (BVPD) | Motion picture distributor in the United States | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[11] [12] [13] | |
| Buena Vista International (BVI) | International distribution arm of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. Name is still in use in some countries | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International Buena Vista International (remains in use as a label for non-Disney and non-Star Studios theatrical movies in countries outside the United States) | |
| Buena Vista Studios Entertainment (BVSE)Buena Vista Studios International (BVSI) | Formerly Saban Entertainment. After the acquisition, it was regrouped within the BVI brand. It continued to produce animation and live action productions with its semi-affiliated subsidiary SIP Animation until 2009. | Remains in use as a legal entity. | |
| Buena Vista International Latin America (BVILA) Buena Vista International Brazil (BVIB) | Latin American and Brazilian distribution branch of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. | Star Distribution | |
| Buena Vista Original Productions | Latin American and Brazilian film and television production company of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and The Walt Disney Company Latin America. | Star Original Productions[14] | |
| Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) | Home media distribution arm of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. / Disney's home video distributor. | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment | |
| Buena Vista International Television (BVIT) | The international television distribution in countries and channels of Disney | Disney–ABC International Television [15] | |
| Buena Vista International Television Latin America (BVITLA)[16] | Disney Media Distribution Latin America (DMDLA) | ||
| Buena Vista Worldwide Television (BVWT) | Disney–ABC Worldwide Television | ||
| Buena Vista International Television Asia Pacific (BVITAP) | Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific (formerly Disney–ABC International Television Asia Pacific from to before merging with Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific Limited) | ||
| Buena Vista Games (BVG) | Software company | Disney Interactive Studios | |
| Buena Vista Music Group (BVMG) | Disney's music division arm | Disney Music Group | |
| Buena Vista Concerts | Live concert | Disney Concerts | |
| Buena Vista Productions (BVP) | ABC Media Productions (2009)[17] | ||
| Buena Vista Publishing Group (BVPG) | Disney Publishing Worldwide (1999) | ||
| Buena Vista Sound Studios (BVSS) | Disney's sound department | Disney Digital Studio Services Sound Department | |
| Buena Vista Television (BVT) | Disney's television syndication unit | Disney–ABC Domestic Television | |
| Buena Vista Theatrical Group Ltd. (BVTG) | Disney's stage play and musical production subsidiary | Disney Theatrical Group |