Walt Disney Pictures refers to several different entities associated with The Walt Disney Company:
Walt Disney Pictures, the film banner, was established as a designation in 1983, prior to which Disney films since the death of Walt Disney were released under the name of the parent company, then named Walt Disney Productions. Another label, Touchstone Pictures, was created in 1984 to enable Disney to release films with a more mature content than what was associated with the Disney name.
Walt Disney Pictures historically distributes films rated G or PG. This has however changed when Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was rated PG-13. Previous films with a rating above PG would have been released under the Touchstone Pictures or Hollywood Pictures banners. It's sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (their most successful film to date), and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End are the only other Walt Disney Pictures releases with a PG-13 rating.
Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studio Entertainment and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney Studios, acquires and produces output that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures banners. Their most commercially successful production partners in later years has been Jerry Bruckheimer, Spyglass Entertainment and Walden Media.
Animated feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios (formerly Walt Disney Feature Animation), Pixar Animation Studios, and DisneyToon Studios are usually released by Walt Disney Pictures. Exceptions include Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Nightmare Before Christmas which were originally released by Touchstone Pictures.
