Disney, as a company, and now a conglomerate many times over is an extraordinary story of American ingenuity and success. It all started with a mouse as well as taking some very clever steps.
One of the keys to entertainment industry success is having a “known entity” at the core of a project which guarantees a certain amount of attendance by fans.
Hence the concept of a celebrity exists. It has been shown that the likelihood that more people are apt to attend, rent or buy an experience, is if there is someone who is a draw, which a marketing role that famous people can have for an undertaking.
We as humans want to support those we know, but are much less willing to do that if we do not know of any of the ingredients, so to speak, that go into a product.
So, taking public domain fairy tales like Snow White and Cinderella was an example of the Disney practical genius. These were stories that were known by hundreds of thousands of people, but could be used without having to pay a fee because they were in the public domain.
These stories had an automatic audience so when Disney used them in animated movies, they had a built in fan base without having to spend a dime in initially developing this market of attendees.
People came initially because they loved and already knew about the stories and eventually loved Disney and would attend Disney forays into entertainment as it became a brand they trusted for wholesome family entertainment.
And this is just one of the ways that Disney Fans known as Disneyites applaud Disney.