Why Disney is Falling Apart | Video Essay

[@sleepinglionarchives]

I have complete apathy for the company at this point. They are 100% responsible for the terrible situation they're now in, so no pity here

[@matthewmagda4971]

My apathy is really revulsion. I hope they go bankrupt before they can ruin any more legacy characters.

[@etherealbladerx8153]

@@matthewmagda4971yes please 🙏🏾 I’m praying they don’t touch KH

[@wastelandlegocheem]

Not to mention lushing terrible shit. Remember when abc (owned by disney) promoted a child male stripper bevause he was a "child drag queen?" Yeah, that creepy shit.

[@uria3679]

Once everyone sees Ukraine defeat Russia, Disney will be next

[@jeniffer7799]

​@@uria3679what if I tell you that Russia is one of the reasons Disney is pulling this shit?

[@jonasbsj1]

to me is simply insane how these studios keep dumping so much money into all these high risk projects that need to make so much money just to break even

[@christopherfrazier85]

Don't bring Transformers in this please

[@clippers1731]

Well they certainly don't make things for the people that hate them. And they certainly don't make them for the people they claim to be making it for known as "the modern audience" They make it for the higher ups in the government and corporations who demand they show the nations citizens what they want.

[@brandonscott5544]

WOKE MEDIA NONSENSE AND DISASTER.

[@jk3jk35]

they still make bank on merchandise.

[@bigguy7353]

​@anarchyproductions6259Nope. High. As in spent a lot to make it and it must perform to make a return.

[@DUTTY245]

This is good for the industry, cause it will open up more avenues for competitive movie makers, or force Disney to actually put effort into movies and actually make something fans want

[@zigzagintrusion]

Even for the parks. Disney World’s quality is going down while (apparently-haven’t been yet) Universal Studios’ is going up. I think it’s good that Disney will have some competition and make them improve the quality of their products.

[@icecreaminc8013]

not until they give up the woke mentality. because while that exists, the little guys will be to afraid to do anything "not woke", lest they get canceled.

[@Mrmilkman-yb3ql]

Disney really out here killing the unkillable franchises. It’s getting to the point where it’s quite impressive how good they are at it

[@deceiver444]

They indeed managed to mercilessly massacre all their major franchises. No small feat.

[@bigguy7353]

Just put far leftists and intersectional feminists in charge and this is what you get.

[@astralclub5964]

I don’t think an intentional terrorist could’ve destroyed Disney more effectively than…Disney!

[@wastelandlegocheem]

I feel like this was the plan....jealous of star wars? Buy it, ruin it, and sell decent amounts of merch to profit for a while anyways

[@viscountrainbows2857]

This is like Shadow of the Colossus, but you are unambiguously the antagonist and slaying gentle giants.

[@SevenEllen]

"They manage to piss off both sides because nothing makes sense - It's all layered in hypocrisy" You hit the nail on head.

[@coconutcore]

And they could just be pissing off no one but the must extremist radicals by just making movies and not discriminating in any direction. It’s not that hard. You don’t need to force things in boxes if you’re not racist.

[@arthas640]

Trying to woo the CCP and China, who dislike American culture and the liberal ideals of Hollywood, is pretty stupid. Also trying to woo the "woke" crowd who hate megacorps like Disney and will turn on you when they realize they're being pandered to, is also stupid. Trying to woo either of those 2 groups will alienate the other, and there's many who hate both of those 2. Trying to pander can work when you Occupy a niche but NOT for a global company with a widespread and varied fanbase. Ruining franchises people love will also turn the fans against you.

[@Stephnbeans]

disney- scared of doing anything new, tries to milk everything they have, is failing Miyazaki- sees what his grandkid will have to watch and comes out of retirement to make a movie for him, has record breaking opening

[@ddespair]

I would argue that Disney is doing many things new, particularly in their casting. No other studio has cast women and minorities into more leading roles than what Disney has. It’s not even close. KZbin is extremely conservative so it’s a poor way to measure what people are watching. Disney plus went from 70 million subscribers to 160 million in two years. Its only “declined” by 10 million in the last year. Park revenues are up. Everything you see “failing” is only slightly dipping. They took a huge risk with avatar land and galaxy’s edge is still busy as ever. I don’t think for one second that Disney is infallible or even that great. But I do like seeing movies with people who look like me in it for once. When I was growing up, no one in the movies looked like me.

[@Stephnbeans]

@@ddespair I see. I’m sure what youtube is recommending me is sort of an echo chamber of “disney bad,” so i’m seeing askew information on how their franchise and parks are doing. my commenting in the nothing new part was more focusing on their habits of doing remakes for so long. Encanto was sort of a fresh gem that came out of disney but for the most part I’m seeing a lot of recycled material or double dipping in an established franchise. And I think a reason encanto and Moana did so well is that they really had a story to tell with an audience in mind, like Miyazaki making a movie for his son, and it showed beautifully. I haven’t seen Wish or Rava so I can’t speak on them And I can also see that disney is ridiculously big and Studio Ghibli is pretty small in comparison, so the quality and quantity of material is different. I was sort of poking fun at disney because I am biased towards miyazaki. And I am glad to see more women and minorities in roles. I really just want to see people being people in all shapes and forms and that be the norm (A reason I really liked Atlantis- every character had a motivation and felt real). But sometimes I see a movie or show and it’s as if they forced a script on a character/setting and it breaks the flow. I hope that makes sense.

[@liquidsweg4858]

​@@ddespairthat's literally nothing new It's been the norm for the past few years and has been doing more damage than good coz imagine that, casting someone just coz of what's between their legs and the colour of their skin and nothing beyond that would yield terrible results

[@rm06c]

@@ddespair I don't want to see movies with people that look like you. I want to see actually good movies with competent writing and acting. On your other points. Subscriber counts for Disney+ hide a couple of key problems. First, some 30+% of streaming on Disney+ is on just one show, Bluey. If, or when, Bluey leaves the Disney+ plantation, it's very likely that a large number of subscribers go as well. That's very shaky ground. Second, despite a growing subscriber count, they are falling behind free streaming services such as Tubi and Disney+ has not turned a profit. Really, the only sector that has turned a profit are their Parks. About 30% of their PROFITS (not revenues) comes from Disney World Orlando, and they've just shut down one of their most popular rides, Splash Mountain, solely based on the fake controversy of Song of the South (how's that for diversity by getting rid of a ride based around the movie with the first Oscar winning black performer?). They have no response to Epic Universe and have even been so arrogant as to say that no response is even needed to Epic Universe. All this leaves Disney very vulnerable. There is a great business article on the Trust Thermocline that explains well the risks that Disney is facing. I recommend reading it.

[@chasehedges6775]

This is what Modern Disney deserves

[@wickdaline8668]

Modern Disney has made SW and the MCU the Transformers Bayverse of the 2020s figuratively speaking. Got nothing else to say besides that.

[@yveltalpoderoso1303]

@@wickdaline8668Transformers is paramount

[@ZayTh3God]

@@wickdaline8668what modern Disney is ruining*

[@roadlifeproductions4905]

You get what you fuckin deserve.

[@brandonscott5544]

UNFORTUNATELY WOKE HOLLYWOOD DISNEY'S,

[@Stealth86651]

Disney is living proof that you *really* don't need to be intelligent to be a major company's CEO. If those positions actually were important, Disney would be filing for bankruptcy by now, in reality CEO's are pretty interchangable and don't really matter that much. The best use for them is disposing of them when the company makes a dumb decision, just blame it on them and shed them to pretend you've fixed the problem.

[@wastelandlegocheem]

It will likely still fall apart bevause they're disconnected from reality

[@uria3679]

Once everyone sees Ukraine defeat Russia, Disney will be next

[@auroraforsora2433]

​@@uria3679makes no sense

[@hiflyer000]

I actually personally know the CEO from a company I used to work for and he told me CEO's that aren't company founders are literally figureheads that don't do any actual work besides being the public face of the company. Everything people think a CEO does, like decide the direction of the company, or manage all the different business units, is actually handled by other people. He said when he was CEO of my company he tried to take the company in a certain direction and was ignored and told to follow marching orders from the shareholders and executives.

[@toadman5184]

Most CEOs are either figureheads or money men. If they're not a founder, they're just another well paid employee who can always find another job.

[@myworms]

The problem is that they’re not giving us what we want, they’re just giving us what they think we should want.

[@edgraphycs]

they are simply changing the course of original stories, reflecting what they think people should accept as normal.

[@D1570R73D]

No, they're giving people what they want. Millenials and younger are a bunch of idiot feminist extremists that think inclusivity is more important than the story itself. People are getting what they asked for, they're just too stupid to realize it was going to be a pile of shit.

[@direstr7768]

Well yeah but not really, they want to educated the most braindead middle ground person, they are pandering to lowest common denomitor and they just don't respect their audience.

[@MrMarinus18]

The problem is why would they give us what we want? They dominate the entire market and have no legitimate competition. So they don't concern themselves with what their audiance wants to see. The things they are concerned about is what will get them on the news and what things are the easiest to make merchandise of.

[@D1570R73D]

@@MrMarinus18 No, they've given people what they want, it's just that that doesn't happen to be what longtime fans of the series wanted. Blizzard did the same thing with their games, they became too simple and filled with grinding, cosmetics have become more important than the gameplay because that's what people care about these days.

[@Transcendence88]

100 years of moviemaking isn’t bad at all but damn what a 100th anniversary to have

[@benrobson3442]

both Disney and Warner Bros turned 100

[@Nickpetronio]

Yeah it’s very very sad. Worst 100th anniversary ever

[@coletussing9534]

Disney monopolized and bought every single IP first, and thought about telling good stories second.

[@LukeLovesRose]

Third.

[@SamuraiJim09]

Not at all.

[@freesexyew]

If you own your competition. You have no competition. ~ Bob Iger "Probably"

[@sheshotjfk8375]

Actually, they had lost the ability to tell good stories which is why they bought all the IP's thinking that would solve their problem.

[@sdwone]

Ah... Nothing Lasts Forever! Not sure what else to say on that front! Just ask the Romans maybe!? 🤷‍♂️

[@lyregal5]

When I used to work at Disney 20 years ago, the big thing for them was “synergy”. Basically “how much can we beat this dead horse until we can’t get anything further from it”. No surprise to see them ramp it up as they bought more IPs. They forgot how much better they did when they just gave out small servings sparingly and let the lack of content build up anticipation and excitement for when something was finally available. I’m sure financially they figured more of this content would equal more money. But someone clearly missed the lesson on supply vs demand.

[@Jay-bl8ne]

The worst part is that’s not even what synergy even means.

[@Yokoto12343]

​@@Jay-bl8neThats execs slinging buzzwords to investors for ya

[@hadikhan5197]

What kinda work did you do there ?

[@lyregal5]

@@hadikhan5197 Worked in international TV.

[@tchlin]

That's not what synergy means.

[@onaraisedbeach]

The thing to remember is current Disney is not the same studio that made the classics and renaissane films we all love. The people, ethos, and business model is an entirely changed beast, one fixated on monopoly, exploitation, and trawling the absolute bottom of the 'inauthentic easy culture war points' barrel. As a grown-ass man who still tears up when I hear any of of a dozen or so classic songs, I applaud the dismantling of this monster. It's not the cuddly friend we once loved, and hasn't been for a long time.

[@kamukameh]

I think the idea back in, whatever, 2017 was: "We are too big to fail, now we start to 'educate' grown people to our liking". Their old IPs also had morals, but the universal ones, not the ones that are in fashion at current times. They are like a supervillain in their Marvel movies, if there's no one of that kind already I would call him (or more fitting: her ;-)) "Brainwash" or so. Don't get me wrong, I call myself feminist and anti-racist. Disney-films are neither...

[@ShesquatchPiney]

I think yes and no, speaking as a recovering Disney adult. The Renaissance was truly special, but the company has had these craven tendencies simmering for a century. Walt was a ruthless businessman who was furious that his animators dared strike and was forever hardened. Even before that, copyright exploits with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit led him to be extremely anal about intellectual property. Knowing that, we can see how the same company tried to trademark an entire culture's holiday, The Day of The Dead, for Coco. Walt was absolutely a visionary, and much of the risks he took were downright insane, but the seeds of the company's slimy practices were with him. I think it actually speaks a lot to the magic of the artists behind the Disney Renaissance that they made such incredible work. Risky, costly work I can't see them ever even remotely touching again for the sake of pleasing execs. After I watched "The Sweatbox" about the production circus that was Kingdom of the Sun turned Emperor's New Groove, I think that was the beginning of the end for Renaissance era collaborative storytelling. They lost so much money and time, I think execs started to change how these productions were made. They wanted maximum efficiency pandering to executive whims instead of the arduous, costly creative process it actually takes to make something like The Lion King or Aladdin.

[@No_Named_Nobody]

⁠@@ShesquatchPineyThey tried to what?! What made them think they could Trademark Day of the Dead?!

[@mstrider80]

Disney is and always was rotten to the core. Hiring a mafia enforcer to negotiate artists pay during the 1950s and betraying others to McCarthyism blacklists shows everything we need to know about Walt Disney's ugly blackened heart.

[@davidmays8974]

It's all for money, it's just a cash grab.

[@TheCoyoteOutlaw]

I noticed that Disney does exceptionally well when they're reaching the end. Before the Disney Renaissance, they almost closed until the Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and the Lion King brought them back. Disney himself almost went bankrupt with Snow White. Disney had become soulless. They've killed the creativity and made it into a factory. I miss the passion; I miss hearing the process and the love they put into the backgrounds, tbe tiny details, the innovation...they're a parody of what they once were.

[@karolinakuc4783]

But today we too hear rummours how Apple TV should buy Disney becausetheydon'tdo well.

[@Simbala-bq5vy]

Disney went 4 times bankruptcy and they were all saved by a princess

[@RocketHarry865]

At this point Disney is beyond saving and needs to die.

[@matthewdunphy8524]

The difference here is that those previous deaths were due to poor business management which was saved by the creative soul of the company. This time the creative soul is dead and isn't there to save the business.

[@TheCoyoteOutlaw]

@@matthewdunphy8524 The creative soul is there, the problem is corporate can't keep its hands out of it.

[@gokuu9496]

I think the problem with current IPs is that every company recycels the same idea/concept and they make the main selling point nostalgia instead of creating original new concepts

[@nateblanche2551]

Yep, pretty much. They use "nostalgia" effect by initially taking an IP everyone knows but then disney change it into something completely unrecognisable and not even slightly entertaining. Let them continue... they do have trillions but they can only lose so much til they realise its not viable.

[@Redspark77]

they recycle the IP and diversify it and making it worse in the process

[@shermandibowantradeall2047]

You're on point

[@MaverickSteffen]

To me, the animated film, Moana, had the ideal female leader. She was forced to be a leader in order to save her people when her father was no longer able. She was humble, and was eager to learn everything she needed (from a man no less). She didn’t have supernatural abilities, and had just as much insecurity and fear as any other human being. She saved her people, not by being a “boss b#tch”, but by being naturally PASSIONATE about the water which made her a strong woman when she needed to be.

[@a2d]

And she wasn't a Mary Sue. Like sure, she was capable but she was also flawed. She was impatient, stubborn, and impulsive. She needed a mentor to hone her instincts. At the end of the movie it was her feminine empathy and insight that saved the day. She was afraid but courageously rose to the occasion. That is how to write a strong female character. Today's Disney thinks a strong female has to be physically superior. They would have had her punch Te'Kas lights out or something.

[@taki7546]

Moana is probably one of my favorite movies Disney ever created. I watched it countless times when I was younger and I‘m so scared about what they planned for the live action of it… Like… Chances are high that they turn Maui into some useless prick, while Moana is already the perfect Sailor. Oh and let’s not forget that she will face the villain completely alone, because women don’t need no help from men.

[@Natta44]

Totally agree. Moans holds up so well.

[@viscountrainbows2857]

Princess And The Frog's lead also; she was a hard worker and was literally saving every penny she earned. And yet somehow talking heads in the mainstream insist we have no strong female protagonists, particularly of color... BOI TIANA IS BLACK YA DINK. Sad that was Disney's swansong for 2D animation, but at least it was a beautiful one.

[@JuanRamirez-zk9lt]

Finally, the problem exposed, y'all. Everytime dictating how a women should empower herself, if at all

[@thisisfyne]

Saying that Toy Story is from Disney is incredibly insulting, especially considering how they unceremoniously sacked John Lasseter a few years before Pixar's rise to fame. If anything, Pixar was anti-Disney in its approach, so it's kinda disgusting to see images of masterpieces like Toy Story and Monsters Inc. mashed with actual Disney IPs...

[@kamukameh]

As with Indiana Jones, as with Star Wars, as with Marvel, as with all the other studios and IPs they bought. ;-)

[@ShesquatchPiney]

Mayyybeeeee Lasseter shouldn't have been such a GD creep that he needs horny handlers for his latest gig at Apple TV making the movie Luck nobody saw.

[@tricivenola8164]

Lasseter was a #MeToo casualty. Apparently he hugged people. Apparently this was more important than the spectacularly good films he shepherded into being. As when they caved in to ONE dwarf actor in order to put seven out of work, Disney is just stupid. It's not even Snow White and the Seven Magical Creatures, it's Cocoa Brown and... they're so racist and condescending in their efforts to appear Woke, it's sickening.

[@RaZhanBreonna]

I definitely loved Pixar Films better than Disney films. I wish they never mashed together 🤦🏽‍♀️😭

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

It wasn’t that he hugged people. It was that women were encouraged to not be in the same room with him because he “couldn’t control himself.”

[@johndipietro145]

It honestly blew my mind that the Kenobi show messed up Reva so bad considering Fallen Order exists. They had the blueprint with Trilla, they managed to ride that line where she was relatable and as a player you felt bad for her but she was also menacing and genuinely felt like a threat. The show would’ve been so much better if they could’ve done that with Reva

[@RoarOfWolverine]

The biggest problem isn’t women leads, it’s the fact that every lead female has to be a Mary Sue. There is no interest for the audiences for any character that begins perfect from the start of the movie. Being a condescending character that never fails at anything is not a good character and it’s impossible to write a good story around such a character that can capture an audience attention.

[@anon2427]

Modern writers write strong women as men. They are strong in the same way men are, using physicality and violence to achieve their goals. This completely ignores the type of strength inherent to women, that of nurture and care. It’s shameful to ignore this really

[@nanalove3819]

​@@anon2427i would say the problem is more that they throw toxic masculinity on women. The thing is that praising violence is not good, not in men and not in women, but people noticing it more on women cause they are not used to I guess. There is also nothing wrong to have female leads with "male" qualities. The problem is that we only have that (just like back in the days, the woman seen in a positive light was always the Snow White type, which is why it was criticized). I think people fail to see that the problem is not "this is how you paint women and we don't like it" but "this is the only way you paint women and we don't like it". We need more diversity in ours female characters.. Big companies should stop trying to write role models for women and just write characters. And ironically, that's how we'll finally have role models.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

Totally agree. There's a whole laundry list of characters I can think of off the top of my head that fits what you're talking about - a few even in the Star Wars universe itself. Unfortunately Star Trek has been suffering from the same issues was Discovery and a few other shows. Thankfully in that case Strange New Worlds has changed paths.

[@gamecokben]

​@@anon2427fucking caveman. You can probably barely lift the donuts you eat all day in your mom's basement.

[@RT-qd8yl]

They're making people who we hate dealing with IRL.

[@maninanikittycat4238]

I sometimes feel like Disney is embarrassed to be known as the animation studio hence why they bought up so many IPs

[@markanthony1004]

Y’all remember the movie Coraline and how simple but interesting it was? A movie kids and adults could enjoy with the old school stop motion. A great story with great voice acting, sets, and cinematography. One of my favorite movies and same for my kids

[@Remembrace]

I remember

[@SteveBarritt]

Loved it!

[@GloomGaiGar]

Coraline

[@markanthony1004]

@@GloomGaiGar Yup I can't spell to save my life and I've seen the movie well over 20 times since 2010 lol no excuse

[@samuelbahij4878]

On the topic of politics in today's films, there's an aspect of the problem that I think is bipartisan. Which is whether or not the film should have current political elements at all. One of the reasons why films are fun to watch is the escapism. You get to forget about all the real-life problems that you're concerned with during the day for 2 hours and get lost in a work of fiction--it's refreshing, it's cathartic, and it relieves stress. But none of this works if the film you're watching is actively reminding you of all those real-world problems you were worried about before you started watching. Of course that's not to say that no films should be political, I'm just saying not all of them should be. Variety is the spice of life. I loved The Wolf of Wall Street, I loved Sorry to Bother You, etc. but I'm probably not looking for political/social commentary when I press play on a superhero film or an animated film about talking animals.

[@solutanbrun]

I get what you’re saying. I really think that the escapism element is a crucial part of media consumption. I just wish… you know… I grew up reading comics and just about every fantasy book I could get my hands on and I’ve always loved the escapism of those stories. But as I’ve grown older I’ve realized that the ones that really has stuck with me were the ones where I could see myself as the protagonist of the story. Let me give you an example: I love the Riftwar Universe. I started reading the Riftwar Saga and continued reading the Serpentwar Saga. And then I found the Empire Trilogy. I was already well invested in the universe itself, I loved it, I wanted to stay there, I’ve read all my books several times. But now, thinking back on it I almost only remember details from the Empire Trilogy. That storyline spoke more to me than the other sagas did, even though I am European and more “culturally aligned” with the rest of the sagas of the Riftwar Universe, and I believe that one of the reasons why is because the protagonist was a girl/woman with additional problems that arose from her position as one. When I read her storyline I was her, I wasn’t just reading about her, I wasn’t just a spectator to a story. I liked the MCU Captain Marvel movie. It’s not a great movie in any way, but I think we can all agree that not all MCU movies are “10/10 best movie ever” - they all vary in quality and sometimes they don’t make any impression at all (looking at you, Thor the Dark World). But I liked it anyways, because I had finally a main-character superhero of my own in the MCU, someone I could relate to. Someone I could dress up as without genderbending or choosing a side-character. I just want my own main-character, and I don’t care if her movie happens to be mid, and I don’t care if the actor is cringe in interviews. I really REALLY don’t care. Because I don’t need exceptional, I just want to be able to relax and watch a movie where I can engulf myself in the dream of “this could be me” for an hour or two and just escape the fucking reality for once. I also want to escape, and I want to not always only be a spectator. Look, I get that it can feel as if politics are taking over, and that there’s too much representation and that it ruins the experience. But I want that experience too. Sure, if I could choose I would want the best, coolest female protagonists possible, all the time, but that’s not realistic. I can live with mediocre. And here’s my main point of this very long rant: I think it’s dumb as hell that big studios get to play the “politics card” all the time and pretend like they “do what they can to cater to everyone” because all they care about is profit. They don’t care about “representation” if it doesn’t end up in profits at the end of the day. What they do, however, is profiting from engagement. If they release a mediocre movie that creates engagement they make more money than if there was less engagement. And it doesn’t matter if the engagement is “good” or “bad”, it doesn’t matter if people are angry or happy. They don’t care about the politics - they only care about the engagement. So please, for the love of god, let me have my mediocre main-character. If you don’t like it - don’t engage. Don’t provide the big studios with their profit and you have a better chance of stopping the next mediocre cringe PC superhero or whatever.

[@samuelbahij4878]

@@solutanbrun To be clear I don't consider representation in and of itself to be a part of the problem I was talking about, in fact you gave a reason why it can be a good thing. My issue is with other things, for a more specific example something that's gotten more common these days is they'll have a (usually young) character suddenly go on a very brief tangent about some current political issue, play it off as a throwaway comedic moment, and move on without saying anything more on it. It often feels out of place in films that aren't really political overall. Basically if you want to make a movie about a political issue, you should do that. But if you're making a movie that's about something else, it probably doesn't need a scene where some character pays 5-10 seconds of lipservice to some current real-world political issue out of nowhere. That sort of thing just reminds the viewer that they're watching a movie, which means it takes them out of the experience. That aside though, if I may add one more thing it's that I think we should ask for more than mediocre in terms of the quality of the representation. It's not wrong to celebrate smaller victories of course, but if we settle for mediocrity things aren't likely to improve anytime soon. If we're not participating in the creation/production of the films our ability to influence these things is more limited, but it's not nothing.

[@Yeetusdeletus897]

But do we even know what counts as political to each side. A gay character in a movie doesn’t count as political to the left but it’s the end of the world to the right. Half the films considered political nowadays are pretty centrists but people act like a black women playing Ariel is liberal propaganda. I just can’t get behind the “we hate wokeness and politics in media” thing because being “woke” and “political” is as easy as not having a cast filled with straight white men

[@samuelbahij4878]

@@Yeetusdeletus897 It's impossible to please everyone so there's no sense in trying. But my point isn't that filmmakers should go out of their way to avoid politics, it's that there's a difference between for example a film that's explicitly about current women's issues and a film that contains female characters but isn't trying to say anything on that matter because its story is about something else entirely, something fictional. Both have their place, and the latter is generally more suited to scratching that escapism itch since it's not trying to remind the audience of current real-world issues.

[@solutanbrun]

You say that there is no point in trying to please everyone, but somehow you also say that what you consider to be neutral ground is what should count as neutral ground. That sounds to me like you want to be pleased before anyone else is pleased. Maybe, just maybe, you should sit down and give an honest thought to how people who are not like you would define neutral, non-political ground. You don’t have to accept it as neutral, and you don’t have to go there, but maybe you could see that what you consider non-political is not non-political to someone else. From my point of view there is no “current political situation” that differs that much from 100+ years ago, and I don’t believe we will have vastly different discussions 100+ years from now. Furthermore, I cannot see a clear cut between something depicting current events, and pure fiction taking place in a galaxy far far away. But then again, I also am unaware of these misplaced tangents that you say are so out of line that they bring you out of the immersion. And they seem to happen often as well. Here’s some food for thought: Maybe it’s you who are the political one. Maybe you read politics into something that is as bland and simple as big studio facade/token representation. Maybe you should chill out a bit with putting politics into everything and just enjoy the ride. I don’t think it’s healthy to be upset with things that you cannot control

[@val834]

How does Disney’s CEO still have a job is literally beyond me.

[@mxfg1535]

I thought he got fired in the middle of the night and replaced with the old one

[@mxfg1535]

Bob iger got fired right?

[@mxfg1535]

Nvm he left then came back

[@BoHorn]

Its hilarious you say that and dont even know who it is.

[@val834]

@@BoHorn knowing the (I'm assuming) white man name will change my current opinion of him? Cause if so, I'm happy to google it and get a little of my romantic hope for the Disney I love back

[@fpsoftdev]

If Disney went back to hand drawn animation with a focus on telling good stories they could make a comeback. I sold all of my Disney stock about 6-7 years ago because they aren’t creating new original IP that will stay with kids and have them bringing their kids to Disney parks in the future. Their entire brand has been about creating those childhood memories that turn people into lifelong Disney fans but they simply haven’t done that since the 1990s and eventually that will die off.

[@dogg-paws]

That's just wishful thinking at this point. Hand drawn animation isn't gonna fix bad storytelling either.

[@Pupeyes]

As a person old enough to have seen The Lion King in theaters, as a kid, I remember growing up looking forward to movies as there was so much cool technology and computer advancements in film, regularly. Movies felt impressive. Jurassic Park in theaters elicited applause. People were in Awe. We were all always looking forward to what was next. I don’t know how to put it but movies made a huge impact back then and there wasn’t social media to boost it. Just regular TV and later cable. Now, tech got so expensive that studios have downgraded quality while still costing more? The magic is most definitely gone.

[@pauljakeman]

Couldn’t agree more

[@inazuma3gou]

Poe: "Somehow, Palpatine returned" Overload: "Somehow, Indiana Jones lost money"

[@viscountrainbows2857]

I'm just like "How the fuck does Poe know about Palpatine? Also how the fuck does Rey know about Han Solo? Why does everything suddenly smell like copper?"

[@karolinakuc4783]

​​@@viscountrainbows2857MatPat invented a theor in accordance with which Rey is Palpatine's reincarnation

[@inactiveeagle04]

@@karolinakuc4783matpats theory about Rey being the reincarnation of palpatine was proven to be incorrect because Rey’s father is actually a clone of palpatine but instead is a good guy.

[@MichaelClark-bd2sw]

There comes a point where you want the end to be the end. It brings closure. When you reopen plot points, or void the struggles of past characters (star wars 7-9) then you just feel blah about it.

[@Hotep982]

Saddest part about the Snowhite thing is Peter Dinkelage got on Twitter complaining and they killed the role shortly after that. Nevermind the fact that this would have gave exposure to a lot of actors suffering from dwarfism Peter Dinkelage just didn't want the competition so he pretended like dwarves were against this idea. WeeMan who also suffers from dwarfism called him out on that and he said the exact same thing im saying this was due to jealousy not because the dwarf community was offended.

[@KellyRende-yo3ql]

Rumor has it that Dinklage lobbied for a role as one of the dwarves and Disney turned him down BEFORE he came out publicly against the use of dwarf actors in the Snow White movie. Hmm...

[@Hotep982]

@@KellyRende-yo3ql I believe it because Disney wanted to give other people suffering from dwarfism an opportunity he just wants to be the token.

[@bioloc846]

He’s an angry elf

[@sheik4988]

This comment shows how ignorant you are about the “dwarf” community

[@trabuco9]

​@@bioloc846No, he's just a greedy prick who is directly harming business for people with the same condition as him.

[@user-if3cj4hl6g]

Personally, Marvel died with Stan Lee. It's no coincidence that the moment he passed, Disney and Feige milked the franchise for all its worth. The TV shows, the cheaper, under qualified writers, back to back releases with unrealistic deadlines. He was clearly the last one holding it all together, but after that, they all just cashed in. Again, just my opinion.

[@RhapsodyInBlaah]

Stan lee had zero creative input in any MCU project.

[@thoomolong]

​@RhapsodyInBlaah This is the level of understanding the average commenter and youtube critic has of the business. Which is why these videos and internet discourse is worthless.

[@nanalove3819]

I don't think so. It falls apart cause : - they had a big plan until the end of Thanos arc, but what they wanted to do after was not as clear. So the connection between the different movies and shows is not consistent. -they want to do too many movies and shows so it is impossible to catch up, which means that not all of them will be successful and so they'll lose money. -they want to do too many movies and shows and too fast, so the quality decreases. They don't have time to think and write the story properly. -movies and shows nowaday seem to just be there to present the new generation of Avengers, with more or less success, and sometimes it gives movies where the new characters struggle to find their place as they are also (and rightfully) give the spotlight to the characters that give the name to the movies and shows at the same time. With all respect I have for Stan Lee, I think the decisive ruining factor is not him.

[@tmac731]

That’s facts. Marvel would never killed Tchalla the way they did if Stan Lee was alive

[@inactiveeagle04]

@@tmac731t challa died cuz Chadwick Boseman died

[@jordanb7789]

It is amazing how they made life long Star Wars Fans absolutely check out of the franchise

[@Leeeeegion]

Yeah, they completely ruined it. They deleted the established and good storyline and replaced it with nonsensical mediocrity. Then they gave us the middle finger when we asked why.

[@DocsDaughter]

The live-action remakes did NOT start with BATB. They started with Cinderella, which was amazing, because - surprise - it had a simple but good story, didn’t change key elements, had great characterisation and a director experienced in dramatic but happy/positive films. It was outstanding. Every adaptation since was just garbage.

[@Nickpetronio]

Totally agreed. I’m glad someone brought up the live action Cinderella because I thought they did a great job and developed the characters a lot more than the original animated feature. Yeah they skipped over the cute funny talking animals, but having a better prince and understanding of Cinderella and her step mother and sisters was so much better lol. And it kept Cinderella with her core character and attributes: love, kindness, and courage.

[@Nickpetronio]

Come to think of it, I feel like the live action remake of Cinderella usually gets overlooked and underrated.. I wonder why?

[@greyblueme9711]

Actually, they started with Alice in wonderland (2010), cinderella came out in 2015

[@LeMecQuiestCool]

Truth is, we don’t need remakes. The originals were good movies, still widely available to watch in the highest quality. Stop falling for that shite.

[@Monti1999]

@@greyblueme9711what about 101 dalmatians and Jungle Book?

[@gamermoviedude5533]

The saddest part to me is that I don’t think any of us wanted Disney to fail. Sure, maybe they own too many IP’s, but if the content was great or good, we would be eating it up like crazy. I can’t believing I’m seeing the days when Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar are no longing interesting to me or audiences. Oh, and also, use actors and pay your teams.

[@jesseoliver3673]

It genuinely makes me mad when we get spoon fed so much garbage from Disney, that the legitimately good stuff that comes out is buried below the crap. I believe Soul is an amazing movie, and it’s actually in my top 5 favorite movies period, but it didn’t get near the attention and admiration it deserves because it was buried under failure after failure

[@matthewquach2705]

It's also because it was released during the pandemic which to be fair, gained it some traction but not enough once the pandemic was over.

[@monkaeyes]

As a kid Disney truely felt magical. They really did well to capture a childs imagination. And honestly from what ive heard from adults at the time, they felt the same. But now with all their political content in their products, it just feels too close to reality. Like yes i know these problems exist in the real world, but im watching this now to escape the real world. You cant capture my imagination when you keep bringing reality into the content.

[@juanitajones6900]

Disney is incapable of utilizing political content with any real, decent writing - both in the past and now.

[@jibberish00]

The best way to mediate escapism and real-world relevance within storytelling is a concept called "escape and recovery". The story provides an opportunity for escape, but within that escape the narrative elements point beyond themselves to real life, allowing the audience-through the imagination-to "recover" something true and meaningful that they may have forgotten. I guarantee you that the best stories you've encountered all had some measure of this interplay.

[@IvanYurdec]

Disney Plus MCU cutting back on thinly veiled parody cameos (Doomcock in She Hulk) to "quite the noise"

[@noais0ffline417]

@@jibberish00you spitting some facts there 🗿

[@jibberish00]

@@noais0ffline417 I believe the basic concept is from Tolkien’s famous essay, “On Fairy Stories”.

[@Reveur_Lucide]

That bit about how Disney is basically calling the 7 dwarves the 7 people was so on point. "We can't discriminate or imply that these people are different because calling people different is bad and mean! But we need to force as many different people into our movies as possible because being different is good and awesome!" Like, how can you promote "being" different if you can't call it "different?"

[@TheDarkLasombra]

If they were truly progressive, the dwarves would have been actual dwarves/little people that were abandoned in the forest as babies and raised as a dwarven community that's thriving regardless of being abandoned by the rest of the kingdom. But that's not as easy to virtue signal behind.

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

Well put.

[@simonchristopher8324]

Have you asked any little people how they feel about this? I reckon they'd probably have quite a different perspective to you on how it feels to be referred to as a dwarf.

[@Reveur_Lucide]

@simonchristopher8324 ok, but a dwarf isn't just a short person. A dwarf is also a race of fantasy creatures. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves had a few different kinds of magic and fantastic elements that indicate it is a high fantasy story, therefore, it is very likely that the dwarves of Snow White aren't just "short people" but are actual fantasy dwarves. If you're going to have dwarves in a live action film, you either spend 30% of your budget on CGI or hire short people. And while I'm sure there are plenty of real life short people who would not like to be called "dwarves," I'm almost certain that not all of them would be offended, so even if I did ask one, or multiple, there isn't a guarantee I'd get any negative responses at all.

[@Nekse]

Why not snow white and 7 cyborgs as AI is trending quite a lot.. switching living to robots "can't" offend anyone?

[@jacobwilkins3532]

Golden rule of business: the customer is always right. Disney have forgotten this rule.

[@migueldegreef6565]

Disney is so arrogant that instead of letting the consumers decide what they want to watch Disney tells them what they should watch, while being very greedy. This is most despicable.

[@arthas640]

It wouldn't be nearly as bad if they didn't openly mock and insult people for not liking movies and shows they make and try to make it out to be about racism, sexism, etc rather than about the shitty quality. She Hulk was kind of crap but Disney called their fans sexist and they did the same with some of the crap live action remakes.

[@juanitajones6900]

What are you talking about? Hollywood studios don't go around asking moviegoers and TV viewers what they want to see? I've never heard of such a thing. And I get the feeling that if the moviegoers and TV viewers get exactly what they want, Hollywood would fall even further into decline.

[@angelolagussa1312]

@@arthas640But you manchilden are bigots 😂

[@arthas640]

@@angelolagussa1312 how am i a bigot or a manchild?

[@Jonah_Samuel]

⁠@@juanitajones6900 I agree. And regarding “telling us what to watch”, and “obsession in being pc”, how is that different from any streaming service? Also: Soul is an incredible movie, from both a technical and storytelling point of view. And this is coming from someone who works with both daily. Granted, the narrator was talking about it not being a box office hit, but still…reel it back a bit, please.

[@twopiecehoxton]

Honestly the fact that they would even try to blame their audience is completely asinine. "Oh you don't like the product we're putting out? That's your fault, you should, just deal with it". That's like literally any other company making a bad product that doesn't work and then blaming your consumers for your downfall because they don't want to buy it. Your audience are your money makers, you need to please THEM, not the other way around. This entitlement needs to stop. Shit is ridiculous.

[@astrovarius543]

For that reason I hope the company fails utterly.

[@dawsynlarson696]

I’m convinced Disney ONLY bought all these IP’s so they could put them in their shitty amusement parks. And only realized afterwards they need to dish out content to keep the IP’s popular

[@MrS-pe6sd]

It’s pretty ironic that Disney was the one that said “the past needs to die, kill it if you have to“. I don’t think they meant themselves when they said that. Perhaps they should not have been so cavalier with the tradition that propped them up.

[@danielmonks604]

Disney didn’t say that, Rian Johnson said that. Given how The Rise of Skywalker turned out, it’s pretty clear that Disney didn’t agree with him.

[@Light-at-Dawn]

I actually thought about it today how that quote - which is supposed to show how misguided Kylo Ren's view is - has become the Disney motto for over half of their products

[@astrovarius543]

That motto is perfectly woke and expresses wokeness flawlessly. Progress at any cost, after all.

[@zechs102]

@@astrovarius543 Wasn't the whole issue with the sequel trilogy that the studio balked at "fan" backlash to the last jedi and gave us all the same tired garbage we've had from before? I mean it's kind of the opposite of progress for Disney to have gone back to palpatine. It's a great case study into why you shouldn't listen to "fans". Say what you will about The Last Jedi, at least it was trying to be something different from the garbage that was the prequels. but "pink hair lady bad".

[@astrovarius543]

@@zechs102 What are you rambling about? Are you straw manning me right now?

[@allensmith7110]

Really good indepth analysis. Not just trashing Disney.

[@auroraforsora2433]

It is kind of negative

[@angelpayano6813]

​@@auroraforsora2433not negative, just pure facts.

[@F1FanCanuck]

Disney’s problem is they are averse to taking anything remotely approaching a risk. The characters are safe, the stories are safe, the themes are safe. It’s all so incessantly boring. And Ahsoka is no different. Andor is the one thing in the Star Wars universe that worked, and that was because they brought in Gilroy to write and direct it. Someone with almost no previous ties to the franchise (apart from Rogue One), to create a story that did not rely on legacy characters to prop it up. In other words, they took a risk. It’s that kind of fresh perspective Disney so desperately needs across the board.

[@Crimson28]

Spider-Man No Way Home, Top Gun Maverick, Super Mario Bros. Movie, Barbie all made a billion dollars each because they gave the fans what they wanted. They were entertaining popcorn flicks that didn’t push any agendas. Whether they’re good or bad or had plot holes is irrelevant. They all were successes because they gave the audiences what they wanted which was pure escapism.

[@joshcagle2395]

Did you see Barbie?

[@maryapple7108]

Sure Barbie was just a cheesy popcorn flick. It definitely wasn't a boring, unfunny, fake feminist, man hating preachy mess at all. Noooo definitely not.

[@aksharshah9380]

Funny how to tried to sneak Barbie in there while also saying they didn’t push any agenda. Or may be you haven’t watched Barbie at all.

[@LukeLovesRose]

Avatar: The Way of Water...? It's more of a James Cameron product than a Disney product

[@christopherdowning9382]

Pretty sure Barbie is pushing an agenda...

[@bulletproof844]

Crazy idea: maybe the writers for the games should take over the tv shows and movies. I know this is not going to happen, but it would be a good thing I believe.

[@keithpace9870]

I am sure the team who worked on the Cal Kestis Star wars games can write better star wars movies and and shows than the garbage they have been passing off.

[@dashmeetsingh9679]

Its the studio interference that kills the movie and shows. Thats the main reason they hire nobody’s as showrunners and writers. Its so easy to bully them. With established directors and writers its not possible.

[@sheshotjfk8375]

The games have good writing because the mouse house isn't interested in them and hence don't get in the writers way. The writers are left alone to tell good stories because the execs and CEO aren't even aware they exist. The moment they realize the games exist, they will interfere and ruin them.

[@nwrob1]

One the most brilliant things Ive seen in recent years is Arcane. Every frame is a work of art, and the storytelling is just marvelous. Written by a video game company.

[@89qwyg9yqa34t]

Honestly I really liked the remake of Aladdin minus the bottomless pit of sanctimony that Jasmine had become, but it took the Aladdin we all remembered, keeping homage to Robin Williams, but re-dressing Genie into a character that wasn't at all surprised at how human nature works. He was a great all-around person who did have thoughts and dreams for the outside world. He was a caring person first and a genie second.

[@billusher2265]

Basically, they kicked out the original talent who created the brands and thought just having the brand by itself was enough to sustain them while they inserted their own ideology into it.

[@simonchristopher8324]

To be fair, the original talent died 50+ years ago.

[@pedrolevipereiracarvalho5832]

I wish A24 had the power that Disney has. This would be an era of creative and distinctive works, with talented filmmakers who truly love cinema. It's a shame that when Disney goes bankrupt another megacorporation will take over these projects. #DunePartTwo #ForMuadDib #LongLiveTheFighters

[@marcusblackwell2372]

I thought Dune was a Warner Bros movie

[@auroraforsora2433]

​@@marcusblackwell2372it is

[@auroraforsora2433]

Disney is not going bankrupt

[@friskjidjidoglu7415]

16:11 One issue is this is that “swap” is relative, since The Little Mermaid is actually a Danish story.

[@Blue-om9xn]

The seven drawves thing wouldn’t be a problem if they actually hired people with drawfism for non dwarf roles

[@deltarider5863]

What is really sad is that if they took half of their straight to dvd releases from 2007-2016 and released them into a theater rendition it would do better than recent things.

[@7Write4This9Heart7]

SO true! Do you know how much I would pay to see Bambi 2 (which is 2006, but still), one of my FAVE MOVIES OF ALL TIME, in theaters?? When I've seen it a million times in my house, to the point where I can quote basically the whole thing? SO MUCH MONEY! lol. But I haven't paid for a movie of theirs in YEARS 'cause they're just making trash after trash! X'D

[@exsyaoktavian7428]

the thing is, when you 'create' a product, you want a product that seems appealing to your marketing targets, not the other way around. when your product got critics it doesn't mean that the marketing targets were wrong, it means your product are wrong. you could say that we're not the target audience that they're trying to reach, but in the end, you make a product that were majority filled with us. and if the reason was to be appealing to these newer audience then don't alienated your old ones. that's the thing disney can't really think about. gains a little while losing a lot in their progress

[@Minetic]

My issue with Star Wars is that they aren't really expanding the universe. It's either focusing on prequel material and some side story follow up but still revolves around parts of the Empire or Rebels. And while the Expanded Universe had its problems, at least with the Expanded Universe we got to see other villains that had no ties to the Empire who were a considerable threat. Lack of creativity and a fear of coming out of their comfort zone ever since Episode 8 ( which still sucked but I commend them for at least trying something different).

[@maartenvz]

Still hoping for the darth bane Trilogy or Darth plaegous story. I have to give Disney credit for Andor and the bear, fantastic series!

[@Narko_Marko]

There has been no new ideas in these disney + shows it looks like to me. I saw a clip from ahsoka, a flash back where the clone army is fighting mandalorians in a huge dust cloud, you can't see anything except some clones and mandalorians and its taking place on mandalor i think, which we have seen in the clone wars, it would have been so cool to see it in live action but that would take too much brain power to make.

[@RogueSith501]

​@@maartenvzwhy on God's green Earth are you hoping for them to do so when they have at every turn butchered all the EU and OT characters theyve adapted?

[@arthas640]

I find it depressing since they torched 99% of the universe when they bought star wars. By Aldo mainly focusing on the movies and prequel BS they're not eveh really adding to the star wars universe and just rehashing the same story. Even the Mandalorian barely even touches on the millenia of mandolorian lore from the old expanded universe

[@doug2424]

I don't know why star warts is popular. Or star trek. I like hard science fiction something grounded in reality. Come on people, hope there's a hard science fiction movie in the works

[@TheWaynos73]

You know what really crazy is? George Miller made Mad Max Fury Road and was literally a blueprint Disney could follow for a movie to do it right. Strong female character - side characters of various ethnicity - male characters that were equally strong, and a message about the world that made sense - men and women treated equally that can save a ruined world.

[@ashleycappelle2288]

When it comes to the remakes I think they had something going for Cruella and Maleficent. It’s something new and focused on backstories of already loved characters. The villains have a solid fan base and merch line. They could have done something truly new, but keeping to their live action/remake habits. The success of the descendants franchise proved that.

[@ErichStaufferVlog]

The turning point was when Luke threw away the light saber at the beginning of the movie. That was it. The hubris has caught up with them.

[@Pooh0Bear8]

I miss the 2000's Pixar 😢

[@AodhanBeag]

I miss the old Yeezy 😢

[@viviangarcia5696]

Too bad disney is a lot more picky and controlling in what they can do for projects. Wished they can get out of these restrictions and do things out of the family friendly mold disney wants them to keep.

[@sithlord1051]

Remember those memes that say, "At some point in your childhood you and your friends went outside to play together for the last time and nobody knew it"? That's how Marvel fans feel post-Endgame. We look back at how much fun we had together, the good things Marvel gave us, the hype, the enjoyment. Today... it's night and day between then, and now.

[@SIlverbullet108]

Disney managed to do something I wouldn't have thought possible 10 years ago : they made their brand toxic. And since they are barely acknowledging the problem right now and are stuck in their delusions, they won't turn the corner for years. Not sure they'll survive this long at this rate.

[@jasonwagner4266]

Lmao. You know they made 28 billion dollars profit last year. 3% growth over previous year. That’s PROFIT. They aren’t going anywhere. You’re all idiots. But keep watching these KZbin’s videos inside your little echo chamber.

[@LavaIshawtLink]

Disney owes us all an apology. Even though I’m someone who has never escaped the grasp/hold of the company name and the magic of old Disney others have. A statement needs to be issued to focus on what once mattered, music, story telling, passion projects, MAGIC. They’ve met a lot of us down and it could be so simple and cheap to win us back. Personally I would love to see a hand drawn movie in 2023. Princess and the frog was beautiful and with it becoming s lost art form I would probably cry at the return.

[@CoreDump451]

Yeah, princess and the frog was sooo good. It's insane how bad things got after it in less than a decade They can't blame any friends from the other side for their failure, though; they did it to themselves

[@eamk887]

You're taking this a bit too seriously mate... Movie studios do not owe anyone an apology for making bad media.

[@jay32849]

Disney may have done a lot of wrong with Star Wars. But rogue one was definitely top-tier and you can even say it was the best star wars movie ever .

[@motozealot5176]

Disney gets what it deserves. Forgot it wasnt investors that made it money, but the consumer

[@pinkthanks4urdogtagz860]

Amen, you said it. They not only KILLED Star Wars and genuinely made me not care about it anymore. That type of incompetence deserves attention and respect. I’m not exaggerating when it should be studied as the concrete example of what NOT to do.

[@teastrainer3604]

They'e not selling what people want. They're selling what they think people should want. This is the fundamental blunder that all business schools teach you not to make.

[@owonapikins]

14:32 THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! It seems like no one understands this on either side and you're the first person on KZbin I've seen who actually makes a good point on it

[@coops9597]

The right hate Disney for forcing wokeness on them and the left hate Disney for how disgustingly obvious the pandering is.. they're so sanctimonious.. now nobody on either side is happy AND the movies suck regardless of politics

[@StefunnyStrange]

I think people need to be real with themselves and finally admit that it was Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson’s PERFORMANCES that you liked, not the actual plot. They are both very likeable actors to watch. The idea for this story was lazy creative. You go in thinking you’re gonna learn a lot about the TVA, and that they will dig into this universe a bit and that is will be an action packed adventure but then you watch and realize that you probably could’ve come up with this story on your own. You realize how small the TVA feels and that not much of it has been explored at all. It’s just crazy event after crazy event happening. I never felt like Loki had to use his wit to survive. I think the reason they don’t want to explore the TVA is because the surface level stuff you see is as deep as they got with creating this story. They wanted Loki back so they invented a story. Simple as that. It’s not a story that they were holding on to that needed to be told.

[@the-berries-and-cream-dude]

I’m so scared for the Percy Jackson series. I really don’t want to see it fail for a second time because the books are so amazing. But Disney being behind it makes me so nervous for the series 😭

[@luna4164]

Yeah it will fail but it has nothing to do with the Percy. It’s Disney itself

[@made-on-impulse2211]

Honestly, our percy-boy is a blondie in the preview, my expectations are very low

[@K1181-r4o]

They can't even get actors that look anything like the characters. Pass.

[@MissPerriwinkle]

hope they dont sacrifice talent for wokeness.......as usual.

[@wheelzwheelzington]

@@MissPerriwinkleThey’re going to. Riordan was all over twitter blasting people who criticized Annabeth being black

[@somethingrio]

It's funny to me that the majority of people that I know who have Disney plus, don't watch anything but bluey, a cartoon that Disney doesn't even own the merchandise rights to and only licenses it from the BBC and ludo studios

[@denilsonthomas]

A solo Rey movie after most fans despising her character for almost a decade is insane. It truly shows just how out of touch disney really is and its now costing them literal billions

[@flarestriker2005]

I would've liked to see an solo Kylo movie or a solo Lando movie ngl.

[@rochelleyoung1403]

Wait, there’s a Rey movie?

[@kw4595]

Glad you mentioned Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor. I love those games; they're by far the best Star Wars projects to come out in this era.

[@movieoverload]

I've met several of the people who made those games and I can assure you that they absolutely get what fans want in this franchise.

[@thegamingprozone1941]

I just Platinumed Survivor yesterday so fucking good.

[@adamprice3466]

SW: The Old Republic is pretty good still and its been going over 10 years.

[@maninanikittycat4238]

those games are GOATED. Cal Kestis and BD-1 are among my favorite characters in star wars

[@thegamingprozone1941]

@@maninanikittycat4238 Cal is so likeable

[@PokeJoeGoGo]

This is the best time in my life to be a Star wars, marvel or Disney fan. The fact that some of the movies do not cater to my every fan desires is not a sign that Disney is falling. I honestly don't understand where you're coming from. Lack of variety is not actually a good thing and you don't have to like everything that they put out. What other movie studio do you hold to that standard? If you're a marvel fan and I mean a fan of the comic books you would know that there wasn't a single formula for every comic. When I grew up there was three Star wars movies and that's it. Now there's more Star wars than I could ever have imagined and I'm loving it.

[@daimhaus]

Strange and fascinating how so much off the entertainment industry is struggling and going downhill these days...

[@gman7497]

The aftermath of Covid, wars and the threat of more wars, economic strain, and the constant battle over morals, politics and culture. People are not in a good headspace to just enjoy media like before.

[@tominator028]

You’re right. It’s not just movies, video games have been the same way the better part of the last 5 years. Outside of a handful of games really since Red Dead Redemption 2, the gaming industry has been completely dead. The same games that were successful 5 years ago are largely still the same games now. There hasn’t been much innovation at all.

[@GeoPol01]

6:10 really got me thinking about how wise Lego was to not get swallowed up by Disney when StarWars was popping off initially

[@jamiebloomer9926]

Splash mountain is a great example of their distance from the fans. It was continuously the highest wait time in the park yet they are changing it, but not changing something like monsters inc which is always 5 mins. The Japan park isn’t changing splash mountain because japans Disney isn’t owned by Disney and they aren’t dumb enough to see it popular with their audience.

[@flamangorango8993]

I feel this one has some sense to it though, as the ride was based off a movie that framed slavery in a positive light. I’m not a fan of the forceful inclusivity and diversity, but changing a ride because of the true racism behind it seems fair.

[@leroysanchino]

@@flamangorango8993bro it’s a ride who cares, no one’s thinking about racism when they have fun riding down splash mountain with their family lmao

[@SammEater]

​@@flamangorango8993It wasnt puttting slavery on a positive light, the main character was a good story teller and a great friend and that is it, he just happened to be a slave.

[@rmaxtpmx]

The people who yell about Briar Rabbit being pro-slavery are fat more discontinued from human history than Disney could ever be from its fans. Disney is trying to appease the woke idiots who don't actually understand the things they're complaining about.

[@outlawscar3328]

As long as the ride retheme isn't lazy, I'm fine with it. I'll miss Zipadee-Doo-Da and Brer Fox and Brer Bear, but that's it. No one my age and younger has seen Song of the South without having to pirate it. And even aside from controversy, outside of nice animation in the parts that are, it's not very good. And I know the ride is popular, but think about it this way, retheming it gives them essentially another new E-ticket level experience which will draw curious customers and generate press and social media attention. Now if only they could lower ticket prices and stop under-staffing to capitalize on it. I'm not holding my breath there.

[@mammothchimp1774]

It was bound to happen. All empires eventually fall. Especially when you own every IP

[@mynameisnotthathardtospell8199]

I absolutely HATE the live action remakes, purely because theyre making off of something theyve already made, just in a different medium. I view it like remaking a 2D animated movie in 3D animation. They dont deserve the money, its the same story with a few tweaks, sometimes worsening the story

[@littlebitsalterego5811]

its crazy how i remember being younger and loving star wars and marvel. (i still do love their older stuff) and now i dont even think about it unless im watching videos critiquing their downfalls.

[@craze4legos]

Yo same. When it comes to the original MCU movies were great the new ones just shove politics down our throats. I’m watching a movie to escape and relax. I don’t need dogmatic philosophy shoved down my throat. Plus when it comes to Star Wars, as a die hard fan in my youth, they butchered 7-9. I watched a bit of the Mandalorian, but the plot went no where. You’d spend 40 minutes watching an episode and nothing would happen. It was a big disappointment to say the least.

[@tristanpYGO]

This

[@DamienDarkside]

I forget the lines properly but "How does it feel to watch all your beloved franchises die?" "FUCKING GREAT MAN WHAT DO YOU THINK?"

[@mattfarr137]

One more problem they have with Disney+ is they could never commit to fully integrating their TV shows with their movies released in theaters, specifically with marvel. Doctor strange 2 completely disregarded wandavision and Wanda’s arc in that show

[@tristenrodrigue1814]

Disney had 4 of the 5 biggest box office bombs with The Marvels, Indiana Jones 5, Haunted Mansion, and Wish combining for a whopping -$628 million just with those 4 movies. Their only real box office success in 2023 was Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, literally every other Disney film didn't make a profit.

[@onemorechris]

I get the feeling these mega companies don’t fully appreciate how expensive going to the cinema is for a family. there’s simply other things that are cheaper, less whiskey in terms of disappointment, and maybe even better then seeing the next Disney film

[@grahamstrouse1165]

Friday night at the movies for a family of four can set you back 100 dollars easy these days. That’s bonkers.

[@dgillies5420]

When I was a kid in the early seventies it was $12 for a family of four to see a movie ($3/ea ticket). That was very expensive and prices are up 10x since then. So if you get your tickets today for $15/ea, it's actually much less expensive ... About $80 with a popcorn and one giant drink so the theater makes a positive profit. When I rewatched "the creator" in NYC 2w ago there were 5 people in a theater of 1000 including my son and I ....

[@KyrieFortune]

Seeing what Bob Iger has done and been doing with the company and the franchises he has bought, how he set ul Bob Chapek to take the fall, and is now overseeing the fall anyway, I have four words to say: I miss Michael Eisner.

[@ambientcoot8715]

I never thought Id say that too at the end of the Eisner era, but I miss the corny stuff from him… it is more disney then this garbage we see now

[@theneatgeek4536]

Couldn’t agree more and say this all the time. Not every one of Eisner’s ideas were good, but at least he had ideas. And I don’t mean he just let the imagineers and artists have ideas, which he did, and present management doesn’t, he had hundreds of creative ideas of his own, which he successfully implemented and are still beloved to this day

[@redpanda6497]

As greedy he was at least he still let creativity to run.

[@dgillies5420]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Good One!

[@MCernoble]

Nobody watched Andor because Boba Fett and Obi Wan were so bad that everybody gave up then, that spring. It was a complete blow to the franchise. Had andor come out instead of those two shows, it would’ve been much more popular.

[@NamesSimba]

I think there are a number of things that can attribute to this. 1. Marvel has oversaturated itself and disney has had way too many released to even follow the MCU now. But, the quality has taken a major hit because of this. As you mentioned there is a hit from time to time but alot of the MCU stuff that has been released whether TV Show or movie has been mediocre to almost bad. 2. Star Wars fan base was split because of the sequel trilogy and that is on the president of lucasfilm for letting different directors with two different visions take the realms and basically undo each others movies. They shiuld have had a concrete layout of where they wanted the sequels to go. In addition, the shows they make are starting to decline in quality. Outside of Andor, and seasons 1-2 of the Mando. Everything else has been so mediocre, sure the shows have a few episodes but they all feel like stretched out movies. Most feel like they were purposely stretched out so they can release them on disney+ to gain new subscribers. 3. Walt Disney/ Pixar animation studios recent movie releases are all so incredibly forgettable. Maybe other than encanto which was a fine movie, but nothing else theyve released stuck. And with their bad strategy of eventually releasing these new animated movies on disney+, there leaves little desire to go to the movies to see them. 4. The Live action remakes are all so mediocre besides jungle book. And clearly they are cash grabs, but are beginning to backfire. Since the Lion King, nothing has even gotten close to those totals. 5. The parks have become a headache just to go and they are pricing people out. First you need reservations just to go (guests are not guaranteed they can go the time they want to go even if they purchase tickets). Second while your at the park if you dont fork out more money for Genie+ there is a huge risk you will not even get to experience half the rides because the system is so flawed to knickel and dime you. In addition, if you pay for the service and it is packed, you will be able to use it for one "E ticket" ride maybe and then just starting reserving for everything else available. Finally, you need a reservation everywhere in the park. a new ride opens, you need a boarding group to ride otherwise you pay, if you want a nice sit down meal; sorry you need a reservation which most of the time is full, you want to watch the newest show: you need a boarding group, no standby. Going to disney parks have become such a headache and your glued to your phone 100% of the time. in addition they have brought down the experience because of all these stupid rules with reserving just to go and reserving to ride rides. 6. Walt Disney Imagineering is a shell of itself and they have let universal become the industry leader in theme parks. Avengers campus and California adventure is a prime example of imagineering retheming lands for low costs and marketing them as new for a quick buck. Pixar pier is a lazy attempt to bring in new guests by retheming existing rides with still objects and put more effort into the shops to sell merchandise. DCA's new land Avengers campus is one of the worst lands disney has ever made and completely feels like it was made just to sell toys (the spiderman ride is easily the worst ride disney has ever made). Also, disney announced an avengers E ticket attraction in 2019 and they have still yet to make any progress. instead they opened a pop up store where the ride is supposed to be (good job disney). While Universal is building its third theme park in FL and is going fast and managed to build a world class roller coaster (velocicoaster) during the global pandemic. I know this is a lot but Im a big fan of disney and grew up going to the parks and its sad how much the company has lost its way and still till this day uses slimy methods to knickel and dime guests to recoup from the global pandemic.

[@jwavada]

Jeez, that makes going to those theme parks a major pain in the ass.

[@merisav4171]

ukranian here. i can't even watch now bigger half of MCU because i do not have access to Disney streaming services (not that i would've want to waste money on it). how they are going to expect from me wanting to follow story if i haven't seen most of it? when there were only movies - it's okay, we even planned our days off around releases, I even liked some of them so much i went multiple times to cinemas to watch them. Now? I just can't, and i won't even bother with those shows. Frankly, I do not want to visit cinemas at all. Everytime there is a chance of another air strike, alarm goes off and we have to hide in shelter until it ends. then I need to exchange my ticket for another and watch whole movie from the start again until i reach point where it was interupted last time. and it still can be interupted again. i hate it

[@RichardTavilla]

I will sum it up in a single sentence. They went woke.

[@Michael-bn1oi]

Star Wars fans all hate the sequels. Some marvel/Disney fans like the sequels.

[@RIDSESSA93]

I don’t know why this is a surprise to anyone. After purchasing the Power Rangers franchise, Disney proceeded to drive that into the ground before selling it back to the original creator. Destroying IP’s is their MO now.

[@flarestriker2005]

I'm glad Hasbro now owns Power Rangers, wonder if we'll get a reboot of the 2017 film(Hopefully including a few monsters from Mighty Morphin like King Sphinx and Snizzard for example).

[@recursiveidentity]

Bring back the original Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Chip and Dale. Traditional animation, or at least lose the animation "stereotypes" of over-over-over exaggerated movement. Bring back scary villains. Kids can handle it.

[@cendrizzi]

This video makes a lot of good points. My only rub, unless I am misinterpreting what he says, is that he doesn't seem to understand that box office results aren't a 1:1 offset to the movie budget. Movies have to double their budget generally to make money (the theatre gets their cut). With marketing sometimes they have to triple their budget. All in all it just paints a worse picture.

[@aquatis1721]

Honestly, when we hit the politics section I was a little on edge (seen one too many “diversity bad” takes these days), but I think you may be onto something with Disney’s faux pc stories and inability to write a disenfranchised character like a human and not like some kind of flawless being who can do anything and everything. Character flaws and struggles are most of what writing rides on, so the avoidance of both in these characters is a disservice to everyone and fast way to tank writing quality.

[@Rascool69]

It's my opinion that they should've never gotten involved in this diversity/pc stuff to begin with. He's right, they're just pissing off both sides while trying to cater to people . They need to just create good stories with good characters (white, black or w/e) & they will win fans back.

[@Houswal]

Diversity IS bad

[@John-fk2ky]

Diversity IS bad, my friend. Not in a literal sense (what you immediately think of when you hear the word) but in what it creates because of how Hollywood goes about it. It completely defeats the meaning of the word when you call a movie with all black characters diverse. By any sane definition, it is not. Then there’s all the lazy race swaps of previously white characters. It rather quickly starts looking like bigotry against whites when being white is treated as a negative and tells those you’re trying to give representation to that they’re not worth the effort of creating new characters that aren’t derivatives of existing characters. Worse in a general sense is that there’s very little that’s exploring a more diverse source of stories. There’s a whole host of things from Africa that have never been adapted. Same for Native American stories. They’re just doing the same stuff we’ve seen a thousand times with actors of a different melanin content.

[@Garcelle1987]

@@John-fk2ky A movie simply having an all black cast is NOT ‘bigotry towards whites’ when those type of films are few and far between, especially compared to the Hollywood standard which is still disproportionately white male centered. Ok Sure, there have been incremental changes with diversity in recent years. But you conservative anti woke cultists being TRIGGERED by the mere sight of ANY black people in films doesn’t change the fact that POC representation, particularly black representation across the board is still poor compared to whites And actually a recent study noted African Americans, together with other non white groups make up half of the movie going audience in the US & so therefore it would be a huge financial interest for Hollywood to have far more black lead actors, as well as having more predominantly black/Asian/Hispanic cast movies in the future THAT would be true diversity

[@anita.b]

@@John-fk2ky Okay buddy, you tried to not come out as a freak by using human language, but you're just a rightwing freak. Just say you hate even seeing black people and move on, damn.

[@tas5686]

7:43 while I agree with your point, in the show's defense, Clone Wars (written by the same people who did Rebels) had already disregarded other writer's canon multiple times even before Disney bought Star Wars and declared the Legends universe separate. I feel like that's the pot calling the kettle black.

[@morgankw89]

It's not even bad to have forward-looking, inclusive messaging, but they're so ham-fisted about it, I even find myself rolling my eyes, and I'm pretty damn culturally liberal.

[@kamukameh]

Thing is: What they do is not inclusive, it's exclusive for men. It doesn't count if men and women are equal, women have to hit men into the balls. The message is not "we are one, let's help together" (which is a theme of one of my songs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoimnoZqrtpnqrs ), the message is "now it's women's turn to do bad stuff", it's about revenge on people who are innocent.

[@at9648]

Agreed. I’m liberal, and I find these messages offensively bad. I can only imagine how hard they are to watch for a conservative. Entertainment should be for all.

[@TVeldhorst]

Lets be honest; it is exclusive for women as well, bc the overpowered agressive Mary Sue female protagonists do nothing for the empowering of actual women and girls. It kind of sets them back to the same standards as the overpowered agressive and ethically challenged male characters that we know so well from the last decades. They are not very relatable and rather uninteresting.

[@at9648]

The Mulan remake is terrible for this. She went from a girl who worked hard to achieve her goals, to someone who is naturally better than everyone. Not a great lesson.

[@Underworlder5]

@@at9648 animated mulan moral: anyone can do what they aspire to if they put their mind to it and work hard. be creative, think outside the box, and you may be surprised at what you can do live action mulan moral: you must have incredible talent in what you do, or you might as well leave the work to someone else

[@ottot3221]

Wat you missed is that licensing for merchandising is also on a decline, it's due to "lack of interest in Star Wars, Marvel and Toy Story" Disney said in it's latest financial meeting. Disney was an entertainment company, it pushed art and story telling, now it's a paint by number company that fails to understand why they are failing as they only look at spreadsheets about what their consumers (we aren't called customers or guests anymore) seem to like. There is no recovery from that and I expect Iger to sell the company off as a whole or in individual parts and frankly I'm okay with that. Disney isn't Disney anymore, it's DINO Disney In Name Only.

[@Ranexer]

I don't understand how people find the Star Wars games with Cal Kestis any good, they're no better than anything else Disney created. Star Wars games last peaked with The Force Unleashed series

[@fredflintlocks9445]

I remember being blown away w the force unleashed, I downloaded the demo before it came out and must of replayed it 50x

[@Ranexer]

I know right. I still remember how interesting the story is and how powerful it made the character feel. Meanwhile Cal learns how to double jump a little before the end of the game... what is this shit 🤣

[@kylegraham6923]

Not to mention one of their animated shows by Disney TVA. They canceled The Owl House too early, giving it only three 22 minutes specials (which to me it’s OK) even though Dana and her crew worked so hard to give us fans and awesome series about a girl, a witch, and a little titan, and they still screwed things up.

[@JayTobas]

I firmly believe that the only reason Disney still has any foot in the television or cinema industry is because of the goodwill that they've developed from better times. Unfortunately for Disney, they've quickly burnt through all of the good will

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

Even though Disney has published a few successful/great Star Wars video games, it's also worth noting that there were far more successful video games published under Lucasarts before the Disney buyout. In 2005 alone they published 3 great borderline revolutionary games. Disney hasn't even surpassed that level of quality or quantity in the last 5 years.

[@indistinctchatter3501]

No one points out the real problem, the writers and directors who either lack knowledge, talent, and ability, or inject their own unpopular social messaging.

[@Nickpetronio]

That’s absolutely the problem. The number one problem. These people have been totally open about pushing their social political agendas, and they need to have been fired right after that got out. And then changed course. But of course they didn’t do that smh

[@dragondelsur5156]

Only a terminally online moron blames the workers for the fuck ups of big corporations.

[@chriswhite599]

Finally someone is giving Jedi Fallen Order and Survivor the credit it deserves. Kudos sir

[@JimmyG96]

Okay, you seem like a nice kid, but you need to calm down. I've been a Disney fan all my life and have been studying Disney (and animation) history since I was 12 years old, and if there's ONE thing I've learned studying this company's 100-year history in all my life, it's this: Disney (like all companies) goes through ups and downs, and what's happening now is 100% normal. Walt Disney almost went bankrupt in the 1940s when movies that are considered classics today like Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi all flopped because of WWII. In the years after Walt's death in the 1970s and 80s the company experienced flop after flop and in 1984 was almost bought by a corporate raider who just wanted to buy it so he could break up the company and sell it off for parts. In the mid-2000s Michael Eisner, who was once heralded for saving the company in the late 80s and early 90s was now driving the company into the ground, making money-grubbing decisions, and Roy E. Disney even led a campaign to oust him... and honestly, Iger's current leadership within the company is beginning to remind me of Eisner's latter years. In ALL those cases, Disney was able to get back up on their feet and produce great timeless work. Disney might be declining again for a variety of reasons, the three years of the Pandemic shutdowns, the disastrous Chapek tenor, and the over-reliance on Streaming Services which was an unsustainable revenue source being the primary ones. But anyone who honestly thinks this is the end of Disney is a fool. Disney will pick itself back up again like it always has. This has all happened before, and it'll all happen again. Tale as old as time. Honestly, Warner Bros. is the studio I'm REALLY concerned about.

[@pearlsplayground]

Thank you for another great video! It was well researched and my exact thoughts wonderfully put together. As much as Disney meant to me growing up, it can be difficult to put aside my childhood memory when the live action remakes are, in my view, trying to please for nostalgic appeal and appealing new generations at the same time, when all movies and shows should be are to tell good stories with good characters. This is why I liked Disney films from the 30s, 40s and 50s as well as the ones from the 90s and 2000s. I'm slowly becoming disinterested in Disney projects rather I'm more curious in its decline which is a shame because it's wasting the talent of artists who are giving their all to create good stories.

[@OllyNeath]

Don’t forget that Star Wars the clone wars season 7 came out under Disney and was incredible. The most that matters is a dedicated team behind it with a vision and passion for the IP

[@wommyu]

Well it was already planned and in production before Disney bought star wars. After their bought star wars they cancelled basically everything

[@tyrport]

It may be that Disney deserves this, but we don’t. Walt & Roy Disney bedrock principles; Story first. Teamwork, not auteurism. Respect your audience and their core beliefs.

[@leonardobanda8531]

Absolutely love your videos!! You should start doing video essays on all the big box office movies that come out!!

[@svg3876]

Ngl the most hyped I have ever been for a Star Wars movie or show is when the clone wars came out on Cartoon Network. Man that is such an underrated show. It showed a lot of the dark elements in the galaxy and it was made for kids but it definitely had some scenes that weren’t for the faint of heart.