Re: Classic Disney shows at Midnight starting Wednesday!
Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:13 pm
It makes me feel old to know that someone thinks this these Disney Channel shows are "classic Disney." It's sad really.
Great point that it would be hard to bring it back at the level it was at right away. But I don't think it would be a problem to try to reintroduce Vault Disney content gradually, in small steps.The_Iceflash wrote:
While it would be nice to introduce this material to a younger generation, that is a very risky move by them. It would especially risky now that they established the channel for a completely different demographic. Choosing the shows that they did makes sense for them as it is less risky. I don't really know how they can re-introduce the much older material at this point unfortunately. How could we get material such as the Mickey Mouse Club serials and "Walt Disney Presents" specials to appeal to the viewers of Shake it Up, Good Luck Charlie, A.N.T Farm, etc.? If the older material were always in the line up as it was up to when the Vault Disney block ended, there wouldn't be an issue. We are going on 11 years this year that Vault Disney ended. Guess how old the largest demographic of Disney Channel viewers are? They had no exposure whatsoever to Vault Disney. It would be hard to bring it back as it was then onto the current Disney Channel.
What do they have to lose at 2 and 3 in the morning! The tweens would still have the shows they are used to now during more convenient hours.
As for the issue of today's youth being unfamiliar with Classic Disney content, here's my take.
I am one of the older posters here, and yet I was never alive at the same time Walt was. So even for me, the Walt content was before my time. But yet, I couldn't get enough of it when I was a kid, a teen, and now as an adult. And that's because much/most of the material is, IMO, timeless.
I know that there are youth out there right now who would love and enjoy things like the Disney anthology series, the classic live action films, (Thomasina, Swiss Family Robinson, Pollyanna, 20,000 Leagues, etc), and the classic animated shorts UNCUT, if they were only aware that they existed.
But if the company takes the attitude that they can't finally reintroduce this material on their channels both to existing fans and new generations because it's been off the air for so long, then that rationale will serve as an endless loop/catch 22 that will ensure it NEVER sees the light of day again.
Ultimately, Disney has more cable channels than ever before that could show this type of material (3 branded "Disney", as well as ABC Family), and yet, Walt's Disney has never been at a lower profile on television since before Disney entered the TV market in the 1950's.
I don't think asking for a few bones thrown to us each week on just one of these channels is asking too much!
PS. Iceflash, this was not meant as an arguement with you, since I know you were expressing things as Disney might see it, and I agree that what you said could be an obstacle towards getting classic Walt Disney content from the 20's through 60's (and the early post-Walt 70's and 80's) back on the air. And you are one of my favorite posters here!
PPS. It's sad that networks like Hallmark Channel and Turner Classic Movies show more classic Disney live action films than Disney's own channels!
Sadly, many cable networks seem to have lost much of their roots. There is almost no actual music on MTV; A&E (Arts and Entertainment) does not have much of either; Honey Boo Boo is on "The Learning Channel"; Animal Planet is a shell of it's former self...
Turner Classic Movies is a notable exception, and they are still showing their films uninterupted, uncut, and in the proper aspect ratio!
