list_text=          If the Walt Disney Studios were to have a real-life Jiminy Cricket, it would have to be vice chairman Roy Edward Disney, son of Roy O. Disney and nephew of Walt Disney, the Company's founders. Besides being its conscience, Roy has also been called the "soul of the Company" because he often looks to its past to define its future.
          He once said, "The thing that distinguishes us from everybody else, and always has and always will, is our past. The goal is to look over our shoulder and see Snow White and Pinocchio and Dumbo standing there, saying, 'Be this good.' We shouldn't be intimidated by them; they're an arrow pointing someplace."
          Born in Los Angeles on January 10, 1930, Roy practically grew up at the Studio, where his father managed business affairs, while his uncle inspired artists to create magical animated worlds for movie screens. Roy was there when Snow White and Pinocchio were born and once recalled, "the animators used to test stuff out on me. They'd say, 'Come on in and watch this and see if you think it's funny.'" 
          In 1951, Roy graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English from Southern California's Pomona College, and soon launched his entertainment career as an assistant film editor on the television series "Dragnet," starring Jack Webb. He joined The Walt Disney Studios in 1954, working as an assistant editor on the successful True-Life Adventure films, including "The Living Desert" and "The Vanishing Prairie," both of which won Academy Awards. He later wrote and co-produced "Mysteries of the Deep," which won an Oscar nomination in 1959.
          Roy also wrote for television series, including "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" and the popular "Zorro," starring Guy Williams. Then, in 1964, he formed his own production unit - writing, producing and directing some 35 other television and theatrical productions, including "Varda, the Peregrine Falcon," "Mustang!," "The Owl That Didn't Give a Hoot" and "Pancho, the Fastest Paw in the West." He joined the Company's Board of Directors in 1967.
          After 23 years, Roy left the Studio in 1977, to become an independent producer and investor, but returned seven years later to serve as the Company's vice chairman and head of the animation department. Since then, Disney animation has produced some of its greatest box office successes of all time, including "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King."
          Roy literally combined the Company's past with its future when he revived one of his uncle's most colorful visions of all time. "Fantasia 2000," which is a continuation of Walt Disney's 1940 classic "Fantasia," combining classical music with original animation, rang in a new millennium on January 1, 2000, at Imax Theaters across the country.&