The Walt Disney Company has been synonymous with animation for almost 100 years. Walt Disney himself took many financial risks to create animations and often was an innovation leader when it came to art form, even reminding people that he hoped “that we never lose sight of one thing—that it was all started by a mouse” However the new CEO seems to feel that animation is secondary and Disney’s adult audience wants other kinds of entertainment.
During his now infamous live stream with the Wall Street Journal he expressed his opinion that adults don’t want to watch Disney animated films or projects:
“I always say that one, our fans and our audiences put their kids to bed after watching Pinocchio or Dumbo or Little Mermaid, they’re probably not going to tune into another animated movie. They want something for them.”
What! Most Disney fans grew up on Disney animated films and shows like the ones aired on The Disney Afternoon. Anime is something Disney is trying to leverage into and it’s mostly an older teen-adult audience.
This explains so much about the bone head choices Disney keeps making and where their priorities are. While people are begging Disney for original animation and not another lazy, cheap, crappy, live-action reboot, the CEO just got on a live stream and said that animation isn’t what their audience wants.
I can tell you what they don’t want more live-action remakes. They apparently are growing tired of more Marvel and Star Wars as well. The numbers for the films and movies keep declining as more and more is put out. Frankly, only about 1/3 -1/2 is even worth the time spent watching it.
The entire company was founded on animation and Walt Disney Animation was the gold standard. Chapek and company want to shoehorn in animation IP to the theme parks with new ‘Coco,’ ‘Moana,’ and ‘Encanto’ themed areas, but animation is only for kids right?
The internet has thoughts!
Maybe I’m weird, but I got #DisneyPlus so that I could watch the incredible library of films of Walt Disney Animation Studios. 🤷🏻♂️ @DisneyAnimation
— CafeFantasia 💫 (@CafeFantasia) October 26, 2022
“You’re dead if you aim only for kids, Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.”
-Walt Disney— Shy (@Shyguybuddy11) October 26, 2022
This is truly an insult to Walt’s legacy, and to all of Disney’s best animators. You think Walt’s Nine Old Men spent years perfecting their craft for toddlers? Fantasia was to prove that animation is an art form. This guy underestimates how much love goes into every single frame.
— Adventure_Rabbit (@MeBeTheRabbit) October 26, 2022
This is truly an insult to Walt’s legacy, and to all of Disney’s best animators. You think Walt’s Nine Old Men spent years perfecting their craft for toddlers? Fantasia was to prove that animation is an art form. This guy underestimates how much love goes into every single frame.
— Adventure_Rabbit (@MeBeTheRabbit) October 26, 2022
If he’s not passionate about Disney’s animated films, maybe he should quit his job and let an adult who gets it take over.
— M Berntson 🇸🇪🏳️⚧️ (@JediMB) October 26, 2022
— rug-dirge 🧟♂️ (@Rugdog) October 27, 2022
Tell me you still don’t understand the company you’re in charge of, without telling me… I have said it many times. He cannot CEO.
— ian. (@CTFreakshow) October 27, 2022
It is possible he wasn’t meaning it the way it sounded, but given the actions out of Disney as of late, it seems quite possible that he is meant what he said.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.