Disney Awakens?

 

Eight days ago I wrote a post about The Walt Disney Company hitting the rocks of the reality of their chosen politics. Sunday night, that reality came to head as the company’s Board of Directors met and ousted CEO Bob Chapek and replaced him with his predecessor, Bob Iger.

I’m not a big fan of Iger, but this is a plus for Disney shareholders. If you own any shares of the House of Mouse, this should please you. If I were him, I’d be on the phone with the Governor of Florida sooner than later.

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  1. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    Gary McVey (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    I suppose there’s some miniscule chance that Iger will realize his previous decisions were disastrous and actually reverse course while blaming it all on his “predecessor.”

    He doesnt have to blame anyone. Times change, Disney should make entertainment reflective of the times.

    I wonder if they’ll ever release “Songs of the South” from the vault?

    Probably. They re-released it into theaters as late as the Eighties. They sold thousands of copies of it on VHS and laserdisc. We aren’t talking Triumph of the Will here. It’ll eventually get the streaming equivalent of an art house, film museum, and film history treatment, probably with a half-hour extra short documentary that features clips of black historians contrasting the stereotypes of the era with the artistry of the animation and the mixed reactions of black audiences over the years. That wouldn’t be unreasonable.

    But I don’t think it’ll ever again be treated as mainstream, wholesome, children’s entertainment.

    I think I’ve seen it on the “Wonderful World of Disney” which would run at 6PM on Sunday nights on CBC. Maybe in the early 70s. I think scenes from the movie were incorporated into background roll for the opening credits… I dont recall much of the plot of the movie – some of the soundtrack…

    Its weird how I can recall things I’ve seen on TV when I was a young child – but remember almost nothing of my real life from the same time period.

    TV is more real than real life.  All hail the cathode ray.

    • #61
  2. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    Gary McVey (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    I suppose there’s some miniscule chance that Iger will realize his previous decisions were disastrous and actually reverse course while blaming it all on his “predecessor.”

    He doesnt have to blame anyone. Times change, Disney should make entertainment reflective of the times.

    I wonder if they’ll ever release “Songs of the South” from the vault?

    Probably. They re-released it into theaters as late as the Eighties. They sold thousands of copies of it on VHS and laserdisc. We aren’t talking Triumph of the Will here. It’ll eventually get the streaming equivalent of an art house, film museum, and film history treatment, probably with a half-hour extra short documentary that features clips of black historians contrasting the stereotypes of the era with the artistry of the animation and the mixed reactions of black audiences over the years. That wouldn’t be unreasonable.

    But I don’t think it’ll ever again be treated as mainstream, wholesome, children’s entertainment.

    I think I’ve seen it on the “Wonderful World of Disney” which would run at 6PM on Sunday nights on CBC. Maybe in the early 70s. I think scenes from the movie were incorporated into background roll for the opening credits… I dont recall much of the plot of the movie – some of the soundtrack…

    Its weird how I can recall things I’ve seen on TV when I was a young child – but remember almost nothing of my real life from the same time period.

    TV is more real than real life. All hail the cathode ray.

    Videodrome!

    • #62
  3. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    Gary McVey (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    I suppose there’s some miniscule chance that Iger will realize his previous decisions were disastrous and actually reverse course while blaming it all on his “predecessor.”

    He doesnt have to blame anyone. Times change, Disney should make entertainment reflective of the times.

    I wonder if they’ll ever release “Songs of the South” from the vault?

    Probably. They re-released it into theaters as late as the Eighties. They sold thousands of copies of it on VHS and laserdisc. We aren’t talking Triumph of the Will here. It’ll eventually get the streaming equivalent of an art house, film museum, and film history treatment, probably with a half-hour extra short documentary that features clips of black historians contrasting the stereotypes of the era with the artistry of the animation and the mixed reactions of black audiences over the years. That wouldn’t be unreasonable.

    But I don’t think it’ll ever again be treated as mainstream, wholesome, children’s entertainment.

    I think I’ve seen it on the “Wonderful World of Disney” which would run at 6PM on Sunday nights on CBC. Maybe in the early 70s. I think scenes from the movie were incorporated into background roll for the opening credits… I dont recall much of the plot of the movie – some of the soundtrack…

    Its weird how I can recall things I’ve seen on TV when I was a young child – but remember almost nothing of my real life from the same time period.

    James Baskett as Uncle Remus was definitely in the opening credits of WWoD.

    • #63
  4. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Misthiocracy has never (View Comment):
    Even Pixar hasn’t been pulling its own weight lately:

    It’s as if they’ve lost the spark. Character design seems same-y, the scenarios are obtuse, the trailers just seem to say “hey it’s Pixar okay? It’s Pixar.” Elemental looks like a conceptual mess (What about Zootopia . . . except with elements?) and good luck with world-building on that. Coco seems to be the last masterpiece, and yes, Toy Story 4 was worth it. Unnecessary, maybe, but who turns down the opportunity to check in with Buzz and Woody again? 

    • #64
  5. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    Chris Gore on the live action remakes of Disney classic films:

     

    • #65
  6. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    I have a good friend who is an executive at Disney. She hates Chapek. She used to work under him. Not only is he a whack job Leftturd, he’s the kinda guy when walking down the hall won’t even look at subordinates he knows in the eye. He keeps his head down so he doesn’t have  to acknowledge the people he knows, Hr is an unbelievable anti-social retard, and this is the guy the Disney Board choose to run  Disney? 

    One of the problems the entertainment industry has including Disney is that it has come to be run by Know it all lawyers and accountants with no creative background  who apply really lame and often stupid woke B School concepts to film making. Walt was a visionary  and his vision built Disney; these clowns wouldn’t know s creative vision if it smacked them in the head with s two by four.Both Iger and Chapek were legendary for unrealistic and demanding goal setting with no reasonable strategy to make them happen.

    The latest brilliant idea to come out of those two is to move the entire management and creative  staff to Orlando from LA.  Say what you will about LA but LA is a creative place, Orlando just ain’t and never will be so many most if the staff is refusing to go and is quitting. Goodbye Disney.

    Both Iger and Chapek are whack job Lefturds, but the people I really blame for Disney’s fall are the Disney family. Walt was a conservative as was his brother Roy, as was Roy’s son Roy II,  but Roy II ‘s son, Roy III is a whack job Leftturd with a very influential trans daughter plus many of the other family members are whack jobs as well so it’s no wonder Walt is probably rolling over in his grave at the direction Disney had taken.

    • #66
  7. C. U. Douglas Coolidge
    C. U. Douglas
    @CUDouglas

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Misthiocracy has never (View Comment):
    Even Pixar hasn’t been pulling its own weight lately:

    It’s as if they’ve lost the spark. Character design seems same-y, the scenarios are obtuse, the trailers just seem to say “hey it’s Pixar okay? It’s Pixar.” Elemental looks like a conceptual mess (What about Zootopia . . . except with elements?) and good luck with world-building on that. Coco seems to be the last masterpiece, and yes, Toy Story 4 was worth it. Unnecessary, maybe, but who turns down the opportunity to check in with Buzz and Woody again?

    With Pixar, a large portion of the creative team starting with Lassiter on down, are gone. It’s for all practical purposes a different studio altogether while Lassiter is off making things under his own studio label. Now I’ll grant it’s going on almost 30 years since Toy Story was originally released, so of course a studio will change hands and staff. But it feels as if those sitting in Pixar’s studios now fail to ask what made it such a success for so long, and how to build on that.

    • #67
  8. BDB Inactive
    BDB
    @BDB

    Drinker said Chapek was axed on the verge of axing the woke agitators.  So I see Iger’s return as a rescue of the woke agenda.  

    • #68
  9. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    BDB (View Comment):

    Drinker said Chapek was axed on the verge of axing the woke agitators. So I see Iger’s return as a rescue of the woke agenda.

    • #69
  10. EJHill+ Podcaster
    EJHill+
    @EJHill

    BDBDrinker said Chapek was axed on the verge of axing the woke agitators. So I see Iger’s return as a rescue of the woke agenda.

    I dislike Iger. Always have. He elevated John Skipper to President of ESPN, a position that he had neither the talent or expertise to do. And as my previous post noted I lived through the layoffs that hurt a lot of friends.

    But watching Chapek squirm during the tift with DeSantis is, in my mind, evidence that he was incapable of firing the woke. He doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude for a battle like that. Iger, on the other hand, is the most unsentimental executive I know.

    In June of 2021 Iger sold approximately half of Disney stock and took in close to $90M. The 40% hit his remaining stock has taken is probably in the neighborhood of $36M. So, he still has some 60 million reasons to do whatever is necessary to right that ship. 

    • #70
  11. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    Gary McVey (View Comment):
    Probably. They re-released it into theaters as late as the Eighties. They sold thousands of copies of it on VHS and laserdisc. We aren’t talking Triumph of the Will here. It’ll eventually get the streaming equivalent of an art house, film museum, and film history treatment, probably with a half-hour extra short documentary that features clips of black historians contrasting the stereotypes of the era with the artistry of the animation and the mixed reactions of black audiences over the years. That wouldn’t be unreasonable.

    Yabbut, unlike Song of The South, Triumph Of The Will is available on Amazon.  So is Birth Of A Nation.

    They’re available because they’re in the public domain. Song Of The South won’t be in the public domain until 2041. That’s the difference.

    • #71
  12. Misthiocracy has never Member
    Misthiocracy has never
    @Misthiocracy

    EJHill+ (View Comment):
    In June of 2021 Iger sold approximately half of Disney stock and took in close to $90M.

    He could take all that money and personally finance a whopping 1/4 of the budget of a modern Disney movie.

    ;-)

    • #72
  13. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Misthiocracy has never (View Comment):

    EJHill+ (View Comment):
    In June of 2021 Iger sold approximately half of Disney stock and took in close to $90M.

    He could take all that money and personally finance a whopping 1/4 of the budget of a modern Disney movie.

    ;-)

    If he did, do you think he would make another woke piece of crap, or would he try to make something that would please the people most likely to go to that type of movie?

    • #73
  14. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    EJHill+ (View Comment):

    BDB: Drinker said Chapek was axed on the verge of axing the woke agitators. So I see Iger’s return as a rescue of the woke agenda.

    I dislike Iger. Always have. He elevated John Skipper to President of ESPN, a position that he had neither the talent or expertise to do. And as my previous post noted I lived through the layoffs that hurt a lot of friends.

    But watching Chapek squirm during the tift with DeSantis is, in my mind, evidence that he was incapable of firing the woke. He doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude for a battle like that. Iger, on the other hand, is the most unsentimental executive I know.

    In June of 2021 Iger sold approximately half of Disney stock and took in close to $90M. The 40% hit his remaining stock has taken is probably in the neighborhood of $36M. So, he still has some 60 million reasons to do whatever is necessary to right that ship.

    Is there any evidence that keeping the woke agitators is the way to accomplish that?

    Is it likely that Iger is now going to boot them out, after years of bringing them in?

    • #74
  15. Gary McVey Contributor
    Gary McVey
    @GaryMcVey

    I’m glad we’re all in agreement that the wokiness must stop, but the thread has lost track of why Chapek was fired. It was lousy financial results, not fear that Disney’s image was being spoiled (spoiler alert: it is).  Chapek took office the month before Trump declared lockdown, and even the one park that was open–Florida!–was way down in revenue because people didn’t feel like putting their families on planes. Theatrical revenue disappeared for more than a year. That would have been true no matter who was running the company, but Chapek made the $ numbers worse by wildly overspending on Disney+. That’s a money decision, not a woke decision. 

    He wasn’t alone in that; all of the big streamers are now in trouble, to varying degrees. The most deep-pocketed ones like Amazon could afford to be more patient. 

    Finally Chapek was too clumsy to deal with DeSantis. Not too woke, not too unwoke; too clueless and inept. Would Iger have faced the same problems? Sure. My guess is Iger would have issued a statement, boss-to-employees, that the company stands for non-discrimination, valued its gay employees every bit as much as the straight ones, and then explained that they couldn’t tell the state what to do. He wouldn’t have made a Musk-like declaration. Then he would have quietly sidetracked obnoxious projects that he would have greenlit five years ago, not because he’s been red-pilled, but because he wants to keep the job. 

    • #75
  16. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Gary McVey (View Comment):

    I’m glad we’re all in agreement that the wokiness must stop, but the thread has lost track of why Chapek was fired. It was lousy financial results, not fear that Disney’s image was being spoiled (spoiler alert: it is). Chapek took office the month before Trump declared lockdown, and even the one park that was open–Florida!–was way down in revenue because people didn’t feel like putting their families on planes. Theatrical revenue disappeared for more than a year. That would have been true no matter who was running the company, but Chapek made the $ numbers worse by wildly overspending on Disney+. That’s a money decision, not a woke decision.

    A streaming service seems like a good move for revenue if theaters are shut down.  But it’s still possible that he overspent, and/or maybe waited too long before starting it.

     

    • #76
  17. Gary McVey Contributor
    Gary McVey
    @GaryMcVey

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Gary McVey (View Comment):

    I’m glad we’re all in agreement that the wokiness must stop, but the thread has lost track of why Chapek was fired. It was lousy financial results, not fear that Disney’s image was being spoiled (spoiler alert: it is). Chapek took office the month before Trump declared lockdown, and even the one park that was open–Florida!–was way down in revenue because people didn’t feel like putting their families on planes. Theatrical revenue disappeared for more than a year. That would have been true no matter who was running the company, but Chapek made the $ numbers worse by wildly overspending on Disney+. That’s a money decision, not a woke decision.

    A streaming service seems like a good move for revenue if theaters are shut down. But it’s still possible that he overspent, and/or maybe waited too long before starting it.

     

    Yep on all counts. Streaming was a lifeline during the first year or so of the “pandemic era”, and it was in the works before 2020. But they spent too much, way too much. The main reason they bought 20th Century Fox was to fatten their streaming library. 

    • #77
  18. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    Gary McVey (View Comment):

    I’m glad we’re all in agreement that the wokiness must stop, but the thread has lost track of why Chapek was fired. It was lousy financial results, not fear that Disney’s image was being spoiled (spoiler alert: it is). Chapek took office the month before Trump declared lockdown, and even the one park that was open–Florida!–was way down in revenue because people didn’t feel like putting their families on planes. Theatrical revenue disappeared for more than a year. That would have been true no matter who was running the company, but Chapek made the $ numbers worse by wildly overspending on Disney+. That’s a money decision, not a woke decision.

    He wasn’t alone in that; all of the big streamers are now in trouble, to varying degrees. The most deep-pocketed ones like Amazon could afford to be more patient.

    Finally Chapek was too clumsy to deal with DeSantis. Not too woke, not too unwoke; too clueless and inept. Would Iger have faced the same problems? Sure. My guess is Iger would have issued a statement, boss-to-employees, that the company stands for non-discrimination, valued its gay employees every bit as much as the straight ones, and then explained that they couldn’t tell the state what to do. He wouldn’t have made a Musk-like declaration. Then he would have quietly sidetracked obnoxious projects that he would have greenlit five years ago, not because he’s been red-pilled, but because he wants to keep the job.

    I think that’s right. Chapek got fired for financial reasons. I wonder to Disney’s leadership, is the brand being tarnished? I’ve heard that bad news or critical contrarian views are strongly discouraged by management. Do they think they’re damaging the Disney brand?

    I huge chunk of Chapek’s overspend on Disney+ could be laid at the feet of one project. Black Widow. Which went straight to streaming, and as a result got pulled from AMC theaters (AMC refuses to show movies that available through in other formats) So by streaming the film he damaged its box office and then got sued by Scarlet Johansson, further damaging Disney’s reputation on the talent relationship front. I think its safe to say that Scarlet will never appear in another Disney film.

    On the politics front Chapek wavered, he wasnt the steadfast ally that leftists demand. Iger may have steered Disney through that storm with less damage than Chapek, But it still would have been a mess.

    • #78
  19. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Today’s rumor is that Bob Iger will sell Disney to Apple.  Of course, one of yesterday’s rumors was that Chapek’s people who are still in Disney are going to leak things to damage Iger. 

    So, you pays your money and you takes your chance.

    • #79
  20. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Today’s rumor is that Bob Iger will sell Disney to Apple. Of course, one of yesterday’s rumors was that Chapek’s people who are still in Disney are going to leak things to damage Iger.

    So, you pays your money and you takes your chance.

    As long as there’s popcorn!

    • #80
  21. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Today’s rumor is that Bob Iger will sell Disney to Apple. Of course, one of yesterday’s rumors was that Chapek’s people who are still in Disney are going to leak things to damage Iger.

    So, you pays your money and you takes your chance.

    Someone else takes the heat for dispensing with the – ahem – “creative talent,” and Iger gets to keep his woke cred. Apple gets a slew of content to run on Apple TV.

    Maybe.

    • #81
  22. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Percival (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Today’s rumor is that Bob Iger will sell Disney to Apple. Of course, one of yesterday’s rumors was that Chapek’s people who are still in Disney are going to leak things to damage Iger.

    So, you pays your money and you takes your chance.

    Someone else takes the heat for dispensing with the – ahem – “creative talent,” and Iger gets to keep his woke cred. Apple gets a slew of content to run on Apple TV.

    Maybe.

    So now Apple is bigger than Disney?  That’s just wrong.

    • #82
  23. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Today’s rumor is that Bob Iger will sell Disney to Apple. Of course, one of yesterday’s rumors was that Chapek’s people who are still in Disney are going to leak things to damage Iger.

    So, you pays your money and you takes your chance.

    Someone else takes the heat for dispensing with the – ahem – “creative talent,” and Iger gets to keep his woke cred. Apple gets a slew of content to run on Apple TV.

    Maybe.

    So now Apple is bigger than Disney? That’s just wrong.

    Disney – $180 billion
    Apple – $2.4 trillion (with a tee)

    • #83
  24. OccupantCDN Coolidge
    OccupantCDN
    @OccupantCDN

    I see all kinds of videos popping up “Kathleen Kennedy is out at LucasFilm” …

    Suddenly I can love Bobby Iger.

    • #84
  25. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    I see all kinds of videos popping up “Kathleen Kennedy is out at LucasFilm” …

    Suddenly I can love Bobby Iger.

    Unless it’s just the Emperor sacking Darth Vader for other evil purposes.

    • #85
  26. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    kedavis (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    I see all kinds of videos popping up “Kathleen Kennedy is out at LucasFilm” …

    Suddenly I can love Bobby Iger.

    Unless it’s just the Emperor sacking Darth Vader for other evil purposes.

    These are rumors, rumors that have been around since at least The Last Jedi, and she’s had (I believe) two contract renewals since then.  I’ll believe it when I see them drive a stake through her heart and cut off her head.

    • #86
  27. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    I see all kinds of videos popping up “Kathleen Kennedy is out at LucasFilm” …

    Suddenly I can love Bobby Iger.

    Unless it’s just the Emperor sacking Darth Vader for other evil purposes.

    These are rumors, rumors that have been around since at least The Last Jedi, and she’s had (I believe) two contract renewals since then. I’ll believe it when I see them drive a stake through her heart and cut off her head.

    Kolchak would just fill her mouth with salt and sew it closed.

    • #87
  28. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    I see all kinds of videos popping up “Kathleen Kennedy is out at LucasFilm” …

    Suddenly I can love Bobby Iger.

    Unless it’s just the Emperor sacking Darth Vader for other evil purposes.

    These are rumors, rumors that have been around since at least The Last Jedi, and she’s had (I believe) two contract renewals since then. I’ll believe it when I see them drive a stake through her heart and cut off her head.

    For instance, and this is pure speculation, I mentioned yesterday a rumor that Chapek partisans might leak info damaging to Iger.  Suppose they leak that Kennedy is out, when she’s not, and then leave Iger to explain why he’s not firing someone who has done so much damage to the company.

    • #88
  29. Gary McVey Contributor
    Gary McVey
    @GaryMcVey

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    OccupantCDN (View Comment):

    I see all kinds of videos popping up “Kathleen Kennedy is out at LucasFilm” …

    Suddenly I can love Bobby Iger.

    Unless it’s just the Emperor sacking Darth Vader for other evil purposes.

    These are rumors, rumors that have been around since at least The Last Jedi, and she’s had (I believe) two contract renewals since then. I’ll believe it when I see them drive a stake through her heart and cut off her head.

    For instance, and this is pure speculation, I mentioned yesterday a rumor that Chapek partisans might leak info damaging to Iger. Suppose they leak that Kennedy is out, when she’s not, and then leave Iger to explain why he’s not firing someone who has done so much damage to the company.

    Not a bad idea, though I don’t know if Chapek had enough time in office to attract a group of partisans. Sure, in any job you’ll have some people who’ve known you at the company for years and like you. But “partisans”, IMHO, form when some factions of the company have been enriched or empowered by your choices. It generally takes some time, and I don’t think Chapek had enough time or opportunity to acquire diehard loyalty.

    In some ways he reminds me of Gil Amelio, whose book was called “My 500 Days at Apple”. Amelio was a good administrator. He brought Jobs back, knowing it could come back to bite him (and it did). Even though Jobs got rid of him, even he admitted that Amelio had basically done the right things to keep Apple afloat financially. But Amelio wasn’t the legendary Jobs, who was granted the power to really shake things up. Amelio wasn’t a visionary, wasn’t an iconoclast, wasn’t the leader needed. But he wasn’t a dud.

    • #89
  30. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Gary McVey (View Comment):
    Not a bad idea, though I don’t know if Chapek had enough time in office to attract a group of partisans.

    Chapek did have time to fire some people, and put in replacements.  Those people aren’t in the best spot now.  Self interest is a strong motivator.

    • #90
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