Touchstone Pictures
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The Touchstone "lightning" logo, used from 1986 to 2003. |
Touchstone Pictures (formerly
Touchstone Films) is a film division of
The Walt Disney Company. Its releases are typically more adult than those under the Disney label, although some of its features, including
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (
1988) and
The Nightmare Before Christmas (
1993) strayed to some extent onto Disney territory thanks to the inclusion of
Mickey Mouse,
Donald Duck and many other Disney and non-Disney characters in the former and the inclusion of the latter in the
Kingdom Hearts series. Touchstone also has a television production arm,
Touchstone Television.
The origins of Touchstone Pictures can be traced to the
1979 release of
The Black Hole, a
science fiction film that sparked controversy due to the fact that it was the first Disney film to receive a
PG rating. Over the next few years, Disney experimented with more PG-rated fare, such as the
1981 film
Condorman,
1982's
Tron and
1983's
Never Cry Wolf and
Trenchcoat. The latter film attracted major criticism for including adult themes that were considered inappropriate for a Disney film. The controversy over
Trenchcoat is generally considered the catalyst that sparked the creation of Touchstone Pictures. One title considered for the new company was "Hyperion Pictures," named after the location of the studio in the 1930s before the move to Burbank. Eventually,
Hyperion would become the name of Disney's publishing arm.
Some critics felt that the creation of Touchstone side-stepped but did not address the view that mature content was inappropriate for Disney. The Touchstone name was taken from a
William Shakespeare play.
Founded by Disney CEO
Ron W. Miller in
1984, Touchstone's first release was
Splash, a huge hit for the studio. The film included brief nudity on the part of star
Daryl Hannah and adult language.
The unit became a top source of income for
Disney during the
1980s. Touchstone/Disney's first
R-rated film,
Down and Out in Beverly Hills, came in January of
1986 and was another smash.
Ruthless People followed in April of 1986 and was also huge. One example of a recent release is
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (
2005). Touchstone is still an active unit of the company today. The studio's sister company,
Touchstone Television currently produces the smash hits
Desperate Housewives and
Lost, as well as
Scrubs.
Splash (1984)
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985)
My Science Project (1985)
Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Off Beat (1986)
Ruthless People (1986)
Tough Guys (1986)
The Color of Money (1986)
Outrageous Fortune (1987)
Tin Men (1987)
Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)
Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
Stakeout (1987)
Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
Hello Again (1987)
Three Men and a Baby (1987)
Good Morning Vietnam (1988)
Shoot to Kill (1988)
D.O.A (1988)
Big Business (1988)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Cocktail (1988)
The Rescue (1988)
Heartbreak Hotel (1988)
The Good Mother (1988)
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
Beaches (1988)
Three Fugitives (1989)
New York Stories (1989)
Disorganized Crime (1989)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Turner and Hooch (1989)
An Innocent Man (1989)
Gross Anatomy (1989)
Blaze (1989)
Stella (1990)
Where the Heart Is (1990)
Pretty Woman (1990)
Ernest Goes to Jail (1990)
Fire Birds (1990)
Dick Tracy (1990)
Betsy's Wedding (1990)
Mr. Destiny (1990)
Three Men and a Little Lady (1990)
Green Card (1991)
Oscar (1991)
What About Bob (1991)
The Doctor (1991)
Scenes from a Mall (1991)
True Identity (1991)
Decevise (1991)
Paradise (1991)
Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)
Billy Bathgate (1991)
Father of the Bride (1991)
Noises Off (1992)
Sister Act (1992)
A Stranger Among Us (1992)
The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag (1992)
3 Ninjas (1992)
Crossing the Bridge (1992)
Captain Ron (1992)
Alive: 20 Years Later (1992)
Alive (1993)
The Cemetery Club (1993)
Life with Mikey (1993)
What's Love Got to Do with It? (1993)
Another Stakeout (1993)
My Boyfriend's Back (1993)
The Program (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Sister Act 2 Back in the Habit (1993)
Cabin Boy (1994)
My Father the Hero (1994)
The Ref (1994)
The Inkwell (1994)
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
Renaissance Man (1994)
I Love Trouble (1994)
It's Pat (1994)
A Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
Ed Wood (1994)
Bad Company (1995)
The Jerky Boys (1995)
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
Mad Love (1995)
Feast of July (1995)
Father of the Bride II (1995)
Mr. Wrong (1996)
Up Close and Personal (1996)
Two Much (1996)
Boys (1996)
Last Dance (1996)
Phenomenon (1996)
Kazaam (1996)
The War at Home (1996)
Ransom (1996)
The Preacher's Wife (1996)
Metro (1997)
The Sixth Man (1997)
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)
Con Air (1997)
Nothing to Lose (1997)
A Thousand Acres (1997)
Playing God (1997)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Kundun (1997)
Krippendorf's Tribe (1998)
He Got Game (1998)
Armageddon (1998)
Holy Man (1998)
Beloved (1998)
The Waterboy (1998)
Enemy of the State (1998)
Rushmore (1999)
The Other Sister (1999)
Cradle Will Rock (1999)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Instinct (1999)
Summer of Sam (1999)
The 13th Warrior (1999)
Mumford (1999)
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
The Insider (1999)
Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo (1999)
Play It to The Bone (2000)
Mission to Mars (2000)
High Fidelity (2000)
Keeping the Faith (2000)
Shanghai Noon (2000)
Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
Coyote Ugly (2000)
The Crew (2000)
Unbreakable (2000)
O Brother Where Art Thou (2000)
Double Take (2001)
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Crazy/Beautiful (2001)
High Heels and Low Lifes (2001)
Bubble Boy (2001)
New Port South (2001)
Corky Romano (2001)
Out Cold (2001)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Sorority Boys (2002)
Big Trouble (2002)
Bad Company (2002)
Ultimate X the Movie (2002)
Reign of Fire (2002)
Signs (2002)
Moonlight Mile (2002)
Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
The Hot Chick (2002)
25th Hour (2003)
The Recruit (2003)
Shanghai Knights (2003)
Bringing Down the House (2003)
Hope Springs (2003)
Calendar Girls (2003)
Open Range (2003)
Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Veronica Guerin (2003)
Cold Creek Manor (2003)
Hidalgo (2004)
The Ladykillers (2004)
The Alamo (2004)
Raising Helen (2004)
King Arthur (2004)
The Village (2004)
Mr 3000 (2004)
Ladder 49 (2004)
The Last Shot (2004)
The Life Aquatic (2004)
A Lot Like Love (2005)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Flightplan (2005)
Goal! The Dream Begins (2005)
The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)
Shopgirl (2005)
Casanova (2005)
Annapolis (2006)
Rearranged (2006)
Stick It (2006)
Step Up (2006)
The Guardian (2006)
Deja Vu (2006)
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Touchstone Pictures
