Disney Permanently Bans More Content

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

The Walt Disney Company has become no stranger to censorship and banning.

Disney made the decision to permanently close Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort because the story was based on the controversial film Song of the South (1946). Instead, Disney will be replacing the ride with a new log flume attraction based on Princess and the Frog (2009), titled Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

But, the company is currently in the midst of reviewing its library and it seems that more content will be joing Song of the South as “permanently banned” from ever being reposted or shared by Disney again.

This time, it’s in the form of books.

Author Don Rosa recently shared that two of his Scrooge McDuck stories have now been permanently banned by Disney. The message from the company to Rosa read:

“As part of its ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, The Walt Disney Company is in the process of reviewing their library of stories. As a result, some stories that do not align with their values will no longer be published. This applies to two of your classic stories, ‘The Richest Duck in the World’ and ‘The Dream of a Lifetime’. These stories will not be part of any reprints or new collections.”

The two stories include “The Richest Duck in the World” and “The Dream of a Lifetime.”

Rosa responded on social media to the announcement, sharing that the stories were banned because “they can’t be published without the final chapter.”

“I wonder what other Duck stories are now banned? Maybe only mine? Maybe not? But obviously all 12 chapters of my [Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck] are now banned because they can’t be published without the final chapter. I won’t even comment on what this will mean to the collector market.”

Scrooge McDuck Diving into his money bin.

The controversial chapter features an incident first shared Carl Barks story “Voodoo Hoodoo” when Scrooge drove an African tribe off their land when he became a villain. This led to encounters with the character Bombie the Zombie, who was dispatched by the witch doctor named Foola Zoola. The character would reappear in “The Dream of a Lifetime.”

In addition to bans some older cartoons, Disney has been no stranger to having to alter its content in China. The Chinese Government has censored quite a bit of content on Disney+, most notably several episodes of The Simpsons and Winnie the Pooh, where the company chose to adhere to the censorship.

Billionaire Investor Predicts Disney’s Impending Doom

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

A Billionaire investor has a message for Disney shareholders, and it’s not a good one. In a recent meeting with the Daily Journal, investor Charlie Munger shared that he doesn’t see Disney being able to continue competing the way it used to. Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger was also on the call and, in a way, agreed with Munger.

Charlie Munger is an American businessman and investor who has been a dominate force in the world of business for many years. He is well known for being the long time partner and “right-hand man” to Warren Buffet. At 99 years of age, Munger is worth an impressive $2.3 billion. He currently works as the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.

During this years Daily Journal annual meeting, Munger was interviewed and was asked all kinds of questions about different businesses. When the discussion of Disney came up, Munger didn’t shy away from sharing his thoughts on the company. He has a clear message for shareholders; Disney is no long the dominant force that it once was. Munger believes that the industries the Walt Disney Company exists in today are much tougher than they were years ago. The pandemic changed a lot for the company, and Munger isn’t sure that CEO Bob Iger will be able to fully recover Disney.

Munger said, “Practically every business that Disney has, has gotten tougher than it used to be. Again, welcome to human life. Think about Disney — once owned the world. Lion King was running a long run in the Theater District of New York. They went from triumph to triumph, marching, marching, marching. All of a sudden, practically every front, it’s more difficult. … How would you like running the sports, ESPN, now at Disney compared to its heyday? It’s going to be way harder for them.”

In the recent quarterly earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger agreed to many of the points made by Munger. He agnoledged that Disney has much more competition now than before, but unlike Munger, Iger seems confident that he can pull through for the company once again.

Iger’s strategy will focus on saving money and making sure they “reassess all markets.” Iger has pushed the company to new heights in the past, and now more than ever Disney will need Igers magic to help them suceed once again.

First Look at Lifelike Walt Disney Hologram at Disney100: The Exhibition

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Via WDWNT.com

Good Morning America visited Disney100: The Exhibition at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia a few days ahead of its opening and shared a first look at the lifelike Walt Disney hologram that will greet guests.

Watch the video in our tweet embedded below or by clicking here.

According to the New York Times, “The Walt Disney Company used archival video and artificial intelligence tools to create a lifelike hologram of its founder — a full-size digital avatar that speaks in Walt’s voice and appears as part of interactive exhibitions of Disney artwork, props and costumes that will tour the globe until at least 2028.” The hologram will be located at the exhibit’s entrance.

Disney100: The Exhibition is set to tour museums around the world, with two exhibitions at any given time. The initial locations are set to be at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia from February 18 through August 27, and in Munich from April 18. One exhibition will tour North America, with cities such as Chicago and Kansas City announced for future locations. The other installation will move to London after Munich, and then tour Europe and Asia thereafter through 2028.

The Franklin Institute with banners for Disney100: The Exhibition

Created for the 100-year celebration of The Walt Disney Company, the exhibition invites guests to step into their favorite stories using innovative and immersive technology throughout ten galleries in the 15,000-square-foot exhibit.

Disney fans who have attended any of the D23 Expos in Anaheim, California, or Destination D events at Walt Disney World are no strangers to the various exhibits from the Walt Disney Archives. However, for the Company’s 100th anniversary they are opening its vault of treasures. The ten galleries will showcase more than 250 of its “Crown Jewels,” rarely seen original artworks and artifacts, costumes and props, and other memorabilia.

“We have this incredible collection because we get first dibs off of every film that wraps and every attraction that is changed,” said Becky Cline, Director of the Walt Disney Archives.

“When we first conceived this exhibition we looked at the many ways of doing it,” said Cline. “Would it be a chronological approach … how are we going to tell this amazing story? We realize that everything that we do at The Walt Disney Company is based on the philosophies and dreams and practices of our founder Walt Disney. “

Cline then said that Walt always said the company was all started by a mouse and “while that was very true – in reality, it was also started by a man. A very, very special man. ” She went on to say that they decided to create an exhibit that illustrates Walt’s own ideas and his dreams and how we shared and followed in his footsteps ever since 1923, when the company was founded.

“This exhibition celebrates everything from 1923, when we first started, up to what’s coming up in the next year, stated Cline. “There are ten galleries in this exhibition and each one represents one of Walt’s philosophies.”

Disney’s Super Bowl Commercial Achieves Massive Accomplishment

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Via DisDining.com

Sunday night, the entire country tuned in to watch the biggest football game of the year. Super Bowl Sunday means excellent football, a fantastic halftime show, and incredible new commercials. While the Kansas City Chiefs overtook the Philadelphia Eagles on the field, Disney was the bigger winner in another category.

New Disney100 Comercial Wows Fans

Last night during Super Bowl LVII, Disney unveiled a new commercial in honor of the 100th anniversary celebration of Walt Disney Animation Studios. The commercial is an incredible tribute to all of the unrivaled storytelling Disney has done for the past 100 years. The Disney Super Bowl ad features stunning music, a diverse selection of movie moments, and videos of Disney fans. It honors all eras of the Walt Disney Company, and it gives a special thank you to the fans who have helped Disney succeed for so many years. Disney shared some inspiring words about the video, saying the commercial is for, “the fans and storytellers who have sparked the joy and magic that is Disney over the last 100 years.”

The Disney100 commercial was absolutely a stand-out of the night. The stakes could not have been higher, as Super Bowl commercials are incredibly important for brands. Last night’s game expected a record-setting 115 million viewers. This was due to the incredible fanbase of both teams, as well as the highly anticipated halftime performance by singer Rihanna. The mind-blowing amount of viewers makes a Super Bowl advertisment an essential time for brands to meet a massive audience. A 30-second advertisement at the Super Bowl costs a company between $6 and $7 million dollars, so the stakes are high.

Luckily for Disney, their commercial was a hit. According to System1, a program that determines how effective an advertisement is based on emotional responses, the Disney100 Super Bowl ad was the best. System1 uses a scale of 1.0-5.9, and Disney earned a 5.3. This score puts them in the top 1% of ads scored by System1. This commercial was a massive promotion for the Disney theme parks and Walt Disney Animation Studios, so this accomplishment is enormous.

The commercial’s success is much-needed after a week where Disney has been getting some negative attention in the press. Between the mess happening with the Reedy Creek Bill and the news that Disney would be laying off 7,000 employees, Disney CEO Bob Iger needed a commercial that would help refocus Disney’s brand image in a more positive light. Luckily, this commercial did just that. Celebrations will continue for Disney as they welcome Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to Disneyland Park for their Super Bowl Parade.

No Price Increases Anytime Soon And Other Updates

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Vis DisDining.com

Today the Walt Disney Company held its Q1 earnings call to discuss earnings in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023. While CEO Bob Iger didn’t address any new additions or significant updates during the call, he did hint to some pretty remarkable things that are going to make Disney fans (many who have felt left out for a long time) very happy.

Chief among those is that Iger has hinted that there won’t be price increases coming to the domestic parks anytime soon. This was not a direct quote but one could infer it from statements he made including saying that recent price increases, particularly the December increases (which were put in place before Bob Chapek was fired), “alienated a lot of guests”. He went on to say that one of their core beliefs has always been that the Parks should be accessible to most people, even if it is just a once in a lifetime trip. This is a stark departure from the “playground for the rich only” mentality of Bob Chapek. This leads us to strongly believe that we won’t see steep increases in theme park tickets or resort hotels in the near future.

Disney Enchantment

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Park Pass Reservation system isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, but we already suspected that. Iger reiterated how integral the reduced capacity in the domestic parks has been for the guest experience. Though he again left cryptic hints about what could be on the horizon saying he is “working with Josh D’Amaro to bring franchises in to increase park capacity without sacrificing guest satisfaction.” He went on to say that they won’t increase capacity without cause but specifically mentioned park additions as means to increase capacity. He cited the Pandora the World of Avatar and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge additions and related them to increased peak attendance. Those statements coupled with the blue sky ideas pitched at D23 lead us to believe a new land or addition is coming soon!

All in all this was the most positive we have felt from an earnings call in a long time. Big things seem to be on the horizon and while Bob Iger wasn’t exactly forthcoming with details, he gave enough information to leave us very excited about what is to come. We will, of course, watch these developments closely and bring you updates as they occur.