It's a global player whose product reaches 96 territories outside the United States, as well as a trailblazing producer of TV series and specials, DVD/video and features that has had a significant hand in revolutionizing the business of children's television while employing thousands worldwide.

Walt himself would scarcely recognize the division that bears his name. What began with mice and ducks has evolved to comprise plucky high school girls ("Disney's Kim Possible"), a Chinese-American boy descended from dragons (the forthcoming "American Dragon: Jake Long") and pampered pooches and bunnies ("Brandy & Mr. Whiskers"). WDTA has greatly expanded the brand over the past two decades and moved the fabled Disney reputation into a variety of experimental realms while staying true to the company's wholesome roots.

Beginning operations just after Disney Channel's launch in April 1983, WDTA spent its first decade in search of its niche. Originally, WDTA president Barry Blumberg says, there were lots of web-footed critters to be found.

"There was an attempt to replicate the programming that had come before," Blumberg, who arrived on the scene in 1994, recalls. "So, there were a lot of shows that involved ducks: 'Darkwing Duck,' 'DuckTales,' 'Quack Pack,' 'The Mighty Ducks.'"

Those shows also formed the backbone for the division's first breakthrough with the syndicated "The Disney Afternoon," a two-hour block that launched nationally in the fall of 1990. It consisted of "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears," "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers," "DuckTales" and "Tale Spin." "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" was another early success story.

But as man (and boy) cannot live by ducks alone, WDTA invariably expanded into new realms in the mid-1990s. One of those was the spinning off of franchise concepts and characters from the studio's theatrical releases, first with "Disney's Aladdin" and later with series based on "The Lion King," "Toy Story," "Hercules" and others. The division's acknowledged breakthrough, however, came with the launch of the hugely popular "Disney's One Saturday Morning" block on ABC in the fall of 1997 that originally introduced "Doug," "Pepper Ann" and "Recess."

"With 'One Saturday Morning,' ABC became the top-rated broadcast network for the first time since 1990," Blumberg notes. "That was a key moment for us in terms of understanding the importance of having creator-driven animated shows as opposed to us being more reliant on the assets of the company. It showed us that we needed a balance between past and present."

Indeed, Blumberg helped spearhead the repackaging of Disney's core toon stars with the launch of the popular "Disney's Mickey MouseWorks" in May 1999, which marked the first time that Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Minnie ever were featured in the same original project -- followed by 2001's "House of Mouse," the first show starring Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

In typical Disney style, WDTA and Blumberg have been out front in pioneering new ways to market and expand established animation franchises. One is through the use of direct-to-video to launch TV programs such as "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command," "Disney's Hercules" and "Lilo & Stitch: The Series." While the studio has a long history of taking features and adapting them to the small screen, Blumberg and his staff also have gone in the other direction with big-screen editions of TV properties including "Recess," "Teacher's Pet" and "Doug."

"We're very conscious and aware of the Disney brand," Blumberg maintains.

"A lot of the success we have as a company and as a programr-producer is to stay close to who we are and not deviate from the past too greatly. But that doesn't mean we won't continue to expand outside the realm of traditional animation to embrace other techniques like CG."

That has certainly been evident in the shift at WDTA over the past five years, in particular, the move toward more creator-driven projects including "Kim Possible," "Recess" and the new JETIX action-adventure block series "Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!" They also are indicative of a move away from being strictly a producer of shows derived from features.

Indeed, Disney's ingrained reputation as an animation purveyor proved both a blessing and a curse in WDTA's attempts to expand beyond the studio's original core characters and uncomplicated style. More than perhaps any name in entertainment, the Disney brand conjures a specific, well-known image that early on scared off many creators with a more free-form agenda. But under Blumberg, word began to circulate that the company was open to new ideas and concepts, supplying an environment where genuine creativity was encouraged.

Too, whereas Disney Channel was long driven by live-action "'tween" shows such as "Even Stevens" and "Lizzie McGuire," as well as Disney library product, it is now a primary destination (along with ABC Family and Toon Disney) for the wealth of original WDTA output.

"We now have a wonderfully symbiotic relationship," Disney Channel executive vp original programming and production Gary Marsh says. "It's been an important part of our evolution as a channel to add animation to our mix via shows like 'Kim Possible' and 'Recess.' We're now able to take advantage of the best skill sets of both Disney TV Animation and our own programrs."

Adds Disney Channel Worldwide president Rich Ross: "What's important in my mind is that (WDTA) knows no bounds in terms of the types of animation with the creators they work with. It has become quite a broad platform. Barry and his group are striving to mine talent worldwide. With JETIX, we are able to tap a side and style that we really hadn't done much before."

Says Marsh of JETIX: "We're starting to tiptoe into the world where Cartoon Network and the Kids' WB! have really lived. It's a huge opportunity for the company overall."

Another significant aspect of the WDTA story is surely its explosion internationally. With the launch earlier this month of Disney Channel India (yes, India), the division's series will be seen on 18 Disney Channels in 69 countries (including the United States). That doesn't even include the Disney-branded blocks that play in an additional 66 countries on every continent. "Recess" continues to be the biggest draw worldwide.

"What's amazing about 'Recess' is that it's big even in those countries that have no recess in their schools," says Jill Casagrande, the company's senior vp worldwide programming strategy. "And 'Kim Possible' is No. 1 in France, Italy, Spain, Russia and the U.K."

Anne Sweeney, co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group, says she has been "very privileged" to watch how WDTA has grown during her eight years with Disney and evolved from a studio that fueled syndication to one that fuels cable and the global market.

"For Disney to have kids' platforms all over the world is really an amazing accomplishment," she says. "The reason for it is the way that Barry Blumberg and his team have stayed true to Disney's storytelling roots while putting great attention to detail and development of characters both in design and personality."

Supporting creativity will always be Blumberg's focus. "I mean, we'll always be a place for the 'Lilo & Stitches' of the world," he says. "But looking down the road, we're looking to be increasingly creator-driven, develop for all platforms and use technology to expand into every area of animation. As always, the kids will continue to tell us who we need to be."