13 THINGS Magical Facts About the World of Disney

1 The Walt Disney Co. turned 100 this year. What started in 1923 as a tiny animation studio has become the world's second-largest media and entertainment conglomerate, after Apple.

- By Courtney Shea

Disney films have won 135 Oscars, and Walt himself holds the record for the most Academy Awards won by an individual: 22.

2 MICKEY MOUSE may not have been the first Disney character (that would be Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who looks strikingly similar to Mickey), but he is undeniably the most popular. Mickey is better known in this country than anyone living or dead, real or fictional, the Los Angeles Times reports. Market researchers say that his 97% recognition rate even edges out Santa Claus. The iconic "mouse ears" souvenir remains Disney's most popular piece of merchandise, with annual sales of $3 million.

3 IN A CASE of life imitating art, the voice actors behind Mickey and Minnie Mouse fell in love while on the job. Wayne Allwine, who voiced Mickey for a record 32 years, met Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie, in 1988. They married three years later.

4 HITTING THEATERS in 1937, Snow Seven Dwarfs was Disney's first full-length film. It took three years to produce and came in three times over budget. Insiders nicknamed the project Disney's Folly. But it paid off: The film earned more than $8 million during its initial release (about $165 million in today's money), making it the top-grossing animated movie of all time.

5 FRESH OFF this success, Walt Disney purchased a home for his parents in 1938. But his mother, Flora, tragically died inside from carbon monoxide poisoning. Some fans say this explains the "dead mother trope" in many subsequent Disney films.