What is Disney to you?

[slave2moonlight]

As a word, "Disney" implies (to me) wholesome, high-quality entertainment for all ages to enjoy together.

Disney still puts out high quality stuff, just not consistently, and they put more emphasis on whatever is bringing in the dough, which sadly is the cheesy Disney Channel stuff right now. They've had ups and downs since Walt's death though, and to me this period is not unlike the '70's. Except, the cheesy output of the '70's (though I rather liked a lot of it) almost killed the studio, and this time they're riding pretty high on it, so it's a bit difficult to anticipate what the future will hold, but I'm sure Disney will always be around and having its periods of greatness inbetween periods of mostly weak stuff.

[PeterPanfan]

I agree with slave2Moonlight. Nowadays, Disney does have their moments, and they put out some great stuff. Some examples are The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Enchanted, and various other movies/shows.

They have also had some misses: Hannah Montana*, High School Musical*, Camp Rock*, Chicken Little*, and some other movies/shows.

I guess Disney is just aiming for what the public wants, although it seems that Disney is going by the stereotypical public, because a LOT of people disagree with the stuff they've been putting out lately.

* All of these are debatable.

[Flanger-Hanger]

I was just thinking about a store that used to be in the Liberty Square section of the magic Kingdom called "Old World Antiques".

It was an antique store of course, but in a theme park, and one that cost $1 million to maintain, stock and run. It only made $100,000 a year, which means for every year it was open (23 in total, 1971-1994) the store lost Disney $900,000 a year! All for the sake of keeping up an image of quality, theming and high standards which Disney felt guests expected from the company.

This one little store, I thought is a great metaphor for how Disney has changed since the year 1994 (in which other high-end stores across WDW closed as well as 20K due to management that had to comply with Eisner's wish to increase profits by 20% per year).

[Ariel'sprince]

Well,High School Musical is good,Hannah Montana is nice,it's definitely not Sleeping Beauty or Pirates Of The Carribean but it's nice (I only have seen 2 episodes).

[slave2moonlight]

I was just thinking about a store that used to be in the Liberty Square section of the magic Kingdom called "Old World Antiques".

It was an antique store of course, but in a theme park, and one that cost $1 million to maintain, stock and run. It only made $100,000 a year, which means for every year it was open (23 in total, 1971-1994) the store lost Disney $900,000 a year! All for the sake of keeping up an image of quality, theming and high standards which Disney felt guests expected from the company.

This one little store, I thought is a great metaphor for how Disney has changed since the year 1994 (in which other high-end stores across WDW closed as well as 20K due to management that had to comply with Eisner's wish to increase profits by 20% per year).

I am rarely one of those Disney fanatics who is currently cynical and bitter about the company, but it does come out of me sometimes lately, especially when talking about the parks. Naturally, I cherish and love them due to my handful of visits throughout the years growing up, and it troubles me how many negative changes they have made since they were in their peak, in my opinion, in the late '80's and early '90's. Of course, that was generally the post-Walt peak in all areas of the company. The loss of incredible attractions to replacements that I find less than interesting are part of the problem, but those little touches like the shop you mentioned are equally significant. I remember lots of little shops like that which really made the place seem all the more special, and so many were changed to regular souvenir shops on my last visits. Really tragic.

[slave2moonlight]

Well,High School Musical is good,Hannah Montana is nice,it's definitely not Sleeping Beauty or Pirates Of The Carribean but it's nice (I only have seen 2 episodes).

Sometimes when I hear/read folks saying how Disney is making nothing but garbage/failures now, I do roll my eyes a little. High School Musical and Hannah Montana, and so on..., are big hits, so the word "failure" doesn't really apply, and garbarge is a matter of opinion. However, the big problem here is that it targets one specific audience rather than truly being for the whole family. Not that Disney shouldn't be able to do that now and again, but they have been focusing most of their efforts on that target market lately it seems, which may be good business but loses sight of the meaning of "Disney" to me, plus it adds to the mistaken stereotype that anything under the name "Disney" is just for kids.

[Ariel'sprince]

Well,High School Musical is good,Hannah Montana is nice,it's definitely not Sleeping Beauty or Pirates Of The Carribean but it's nice (I only have seen 2 episodes).

Sometimes when I hear/read folks saying how Disney is making nothing but garbage/failures now, I do roll my eyes a little. High School Musical and Hannah Montana, and so on..., are big hits, so the word "failure" doesn't really apply, and garbarge is a matter of opinion. However, the big problem here is that it targets one specific audience rather than truly being for the whole family. Not that Disney shouldn't be able to do that now and again, but they have been focusing most of their efforts on that target market lately it seems, which may be good business but loses sight of the meaning of "Disney" to me, plus it adds to the mistaken stereotype that anything under the name "Disney" is just for kids.

Yeah,Hannah Montana and High School Musical seems just for the small ones unlike other Disney films and that's the problem with it so I agree with you.
And it's very sad to me to see really dumb things like Ariel's beauty salon,Giselle's make up set,Cinderella's talking hairbrush or Aurora's beauty kit.

[BelleGirl]

At present Disney is to me: A company that used to be famous for just being Disney but this is now overshadowed by the popularity and critical reception of Disney-Pixar movies.

[kbehm29]

Nowadays they're just a machine cranking out two-bit popstars and three-bit cartoons. I want the old pre-1995 Disney back.

The Princess and the Frog is going to bring it back!! Everything I've ever heard, read, and seen about it has been completely amazing and outstanding. I haven't been so excited about a Disney movie in years.

[drfsupercenter]

As a word, "Disney" implies (to me) wholesome, high-quality entertainment for all ages to enjoy together.

Well this is where I have to bring up a point.

Take the one Disney movie that most people in this thread agree is a new Disney movie that's actually good: Pirates of the Caribbean. However, that's rated PG-13 so I'd say it's not ideal for all ages, mainly the older audience.

I don't think anything Disney makes anymore (except for maybe Narnia, and even then that was mainly Walden) is "good for all ages"... stuff like High School Musical is only good for younger audiences while movies like Pirates are only good for older audiences. The Pixar movies are still good but that's because Pixar makes them, not Disney themselves.

[slave2moonlight]

As a word, "Disney" implies (to me) wholesome, high-quality entertainment for all ages to enjoy together.

Well this is where I have to bring up a point.

Take the one Disney movie that most people in this thread agree is a new Disney movie that's actually good: Pirates of the Caribbean. However, that's rated PG-13 so I'd say it's not ideal for all ages, mainly the older audience.

I don't think anything Disney makes anymore (except for maybe Narnia, and even then that was mainly Walden) is "good for all ages"... stuff like High School Musical is only good for younger audiences while movies like Pirates are only good for older audiences. The Pixar movies are still good but that's because Pixar makes them, not Disney themselves.

PIXAR basically IS Disney now.

Anyways, I have to disagree about Pirates. I feel it works for all ages. In fact, my 5 year old niece LOVES the movies. Of course, I know people who won't let their grade-schoolers watch Spider-Man, so...

But as for my statement, it wasn't about what the company is doing, but what the word/name "means" to me. It seems people chose to use this thread as a chance to point out the things Disney is currently doing wrong. I chose to use it to remember why I love Disney. However, if you'll read my later posts, there was one where I was basically addressing the issue that Disney is focusing more on kids now, which anyone should be able to see and is totally contrary to what Walt was trying to do from the get go.

Of course, this is the problem with entertainment in general now. It is all trying to target different age groups, creating age gaps that don't even really have to exist between people and separating family members more and more rather than pulling them together the way Walt wanted to. Just look at your TV channels and how they are trying more and more to divide us by age, sex, race, etc..., just to make it easier to sell stuff.

[BelleGirl]

I've seen the Disney animation studio site and when I watch the upcoming movie projects I have a feeling the inspiration is back again! I wonder when we will be able to see the shorts Glaco's guest and The Ballad of Nessie?

[scareykatt]

Describe what Disney is to you in one sentence...

To me, Disney is the very essence of an artistic and creative craft that evokes a message of love and home and dedictation that we all have experienced in treasured memories that live on in our minds and hearts.

great childhood memories.