#Disney Publishing Worldwide

[disneytva]

AbramsComicArts And Disney Publishing Worldwide Team Up For FUTURAMA Art-Book For October, 2024.

Welcome to the Art-Book of Tomorrow!

Shut Up and take our money as AbramsComicArts and Disney Publishing Worldwide team up with The Art of Futurama. The artbook will contain production artwork and never before seen material from the cult classic sci-fi comedy adult animated series.

The artbook will feature behind the scenes material of the 150 episodes of the series. The book will be written by Matt Groening with a introduction by David X. Cohen and a foreword by Claudia Katz.

📚The Art Of Futurama - October 8, 2024

AbramsComicsArts

Disney Publishing Worldwide

Disney Press

Disney Books

Disney Hyperion 

From Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Disenchantment, the first art book that delves into the development and history of his beloved TV series, Futurama—timed for the show’s 25th anniversary The world of Futurama comes to life in this deluxe art book, with commentary from the show’s creator, Matt Groening, showrunner David X. Cohen, and producer Claudia Katz. Just in time for the show’s 25th anniversary and the new season on Hulu & Disney+ , this first and only Futurama art book examines the first seven seasons of the series, which first aired on Fox in 1999. Readers can dive into the development and visual history of all 150 episodes, including brand-new content, never-before-seen concept art, sketches, developmental work, and a complete episode guide. TV Guide named Futurama one of the Greatest TV Cartoons of All Time. This comprehensive visual history is a must-have for any animation, television, or sci-fi aficionado.

[richdadpoor]

Spiderwick Chronicles Show Axed by Disney in Cost-Cutting Plans

Image: Nickelodeon Movies Years ago, Disney secured the rights to adapt various kids book series for television, such as Percy Jackson and Eragon. Also included in that mix was The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of mid-2000s kids books created by Holly Black (who would later go on to create the Curse Workers books) and Tony DiTerlizzi (The Spider and the Fly). That series was announced back in…

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @scottlava

Scott Campbell has illustrated numerous children’s books, including SKULLS!, Sleepy the Goodnight Buddy, and Zombie In Love. He was author/illustrator of the much-loved HUG MACHINE. He enjoyed a long career in video games, where he art directed the critically acclaimed game Psychonauts and Brutal Legend for Double Fine Productions. Great Showdowns is his ongoing online series. Scott’s work has appeared in galleries and publications around the world. You can see more of his work at ScottC.com.

Check out our interview with Scott below!

How did you get your start in art, and more specifically, with Great Showdowns?

I went to art school in San Francisco and have been painting, making comics, and designing video games ever since with Double Fine Productions. The Great Showdowns began at the first Crazy 4 Cult exhibition at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles back in 2007, an exhibition of artwork inspired by the cult classics of cinema. The first 10 little paintings were intended to be snack-sized pieces for people to easily collect. They began with perhaps the most iconic of wild west showdowns from A Fistful of Dollars with Clint Eastwood. I pulled some of my favorite moments from films like Ghostbusters, Predator, Exorcist, and Planet of the Apes and placed them all in simple little dust-colored squares as if they were in the dirt streets of a wild west town. They began as good versus evil but grew to all kinds of showdowns between people and objects and often moments of great love between people. I started a tumblr for them a few years later, and I have been posting them ever since. We have published three Great Showdown books and have had 3 solo exhibitions along with worldwide scavenger hunts. There are over a thousand of them up on the site by now, and i do not plan on stopping any time soon.

Which 3 famous artists (dead or alive) would you invite to your dinner party?

I would like to gather Jim Henson, Walt Disney, and Richard Scarry together for dinner and chats. They have all created my favorite and most joyful worlds. I think we would have some of the most delightful chats.

What is a medium that you have always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

I love collage, but every time I try it, I get frustrated and just quit. Someday I will get into it when my kids are old enough to really mess around with various mediums. I plan to have boxes of textiles and magazines for them to just annihilate.

What does your work set up look like?

Oh, it’s just a table with an old mug for water and an old plate for my watercolors and not much else. I share a studio with a bunch of very inspiring people who make wonderful things, from fabricated creatures to VR experiences and films. I have probably the simplest little area in the space. I do have an old oak flat file that I love to look at.

Advice you would give to an aspiring creator?

The biggest thing I would push upon everyone would be to not fret about one’s visual style. The style will grow and present itself as you experiment with mediums and expose yourself to various cultural delights. Just have fun and try all kinds of things.

What is one interaction you had from a fan of yours that has stuck with you over the years?

I gave a game design presentation many years back on a game I had art directed at the time called Brutal Legend at a game conference in Leeds. The game followed a roadie to the age of metal in the land of metal, with demons and chrome volcanoes and hot rods growing from the ground, and rivers of happy and cheering fans. After the talk, I spoke with someone whose work I had seen in earlier portfolio reviews at the conference. She was very shy but incredibly talented. She came up to me after the talk feeling pretty emotional and inspired to the point of tears and sobbing. It was probably the most extreme reaction I have ever gotten from someone, and it touched me deep down in my guts. That’s why we make things! To bring on the tears!

From video games, to illustrations, and children's books, you've worked on many projects. What was the most challenging, yet rewarding one?

Video games take an enormous amount of work over a long period of time and rely on the skills and talent of many like-minded people. It is sometimes difficult to corral such an effort, but it is incredibly rewarding to see it all come together to create such epic worlds. That said, though, children’s books are very enjoyable in a cozy way. It’s just me right there working on a world and all the pressure is on me. I cannot rely on all the talented people around me to make it look great.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

I love perusing old fashion and film blogs and artists like Bob Jinx and Neil Sanders and collections like Its Colossal.

Thanks for stopping by, Scott! Be sure to check out the Great Showdowns over at @scottlava!

[bestworstcase]

ALSO. IRRELEVANT SIDEBAR. i seem to be the only person in the fandom who a) took it as a given that ‘the girl who fell through the world’ was at least a century old and thus predated the great war by at least two or three decades, and b) didn’t think the author’s identity being unknown was odd enough to require an explanation.

and i’m wondering now if the xkcd average familiarity curse Got Me bfgrbxcjk

alice’s adventures in wonderland! that book is One Hundred Fifty-Eight Years Old. it was published in november 1865. through the looking glass was published six years later in december 1871. CAN YOU NAME THE AUTHOR?

if you answered “lewis carroll,” bzzt! incorrect!

(well, correct in that the books were indeed written under that pseudonym BUT I MEAN HIS REAL NAME.)

alice’s adventures in wonderland is a hundred and fifty-eight years old. it has never been out of print. it’s been translated into a hundred seventy-four languages and it’s one of the best known works of nineteenth century english literature in the world. it’s been adapted many, many times for stage and radio and film and video games. “retelling the true story of alice in wonderland” is like an entire niche fantasy YA subgenre; i could name seven different examples off the top of my head. it’s as close to UBIQUITOUS as it’s possible for a story to be in a world with seven billion people living in it.

and… in a world where the non-pseudonymous identity of the author is thoroughly documented and easily accessible via the internet, the average person who Fondly Remembers watching the disney animated film or having the book read to them as a kid doesn’t know that ‘lewis carroll’ was a pen name.

his real name was charles dodgson.

and the reason the average person doesn’t know that isn’t any kind of individual failing or whatever, it’s just that the book was published almost a hundred and sixty years ago under a pen name. the pen name is what’s on the cover. most people don’t go Looking for biographical information about the authors of books their parents read to them as kids unless they have a particular reason to be interested. such as high octane nerdery.

(i own the 150th anniversary edition of the annotated alice and have read it cover to cover multiple times. and i’ll do it again. i am an Owns Books About The Math In Wonderland kind of nerdy about alice.)

—the point. being. the real world has a lot of things going for it in terms of historical preservation that remnant does not, chiefly the absence of a Fuck Ton of monsters trying to eat everybody all the time and making international travel and communication horrifyingly dangerous on a good day. the CCTS has only existed for a few decades; before that, sharing information between kingdoms was matter of “send an armed convoy and hope they don’t get killed and eaten by The Horrors en route.”

so the scholars of remnant are at, to put it mildly, a serious disadvantage in terms of information being retained over time.

anyway. ‘the girl who fell through the world’ is established very clearly to be remnant’s equivalent of our alice’s adventures in wonderland, in that it is a quite old children’s story that became MASSIVELY POPULAR worldwide, to the point that nearly everyone alive has at least some familiarity with the plot, many remember it as a cherished childhood bedtime story, and the more bookish characters can quote favorite passages from memory.

which is to say, it isn’t just The Story is an allusion to the wonderland story. the book’s ubiquity is also modeled after alice’s ubiquity, and the lack of popular knowledge about the author’s real identity likewise takes its cue from the fact that in real life most people Don’t Know who charles dodgson is.

so!!!

it’s not at all unreasonable to think that ‘the girl who fell through the world’ is probably meant to be about as old as alice’s adventures in wonderland—about a hundred fifty years, which would mean lewis published it around sixty years before the great war even started. (he also presumably didn’t publish it as a child; if he was about the age dodgson was when alice went to print, this would have been around twenty years after the fact.)

and it’s also not unreasonable to think that lewis, like charles dodgson, published his book under a pseudonym. or anonymously, but given how certain jaune is that alyx wrote the book, even though it was lewis taking notes and lewis saying he would write the story for jaune to find his way home…

i’d put my bet on lewis having written his book as “A.L. [Surname].” A for alyx, L for lewis, a symbolic way for her to come home with him. but the girls upon discovering the ever after is real and alyx was real would of course think “oh, ‘AL’ as in short for alyx” and the use of initials is also ambiguous enough for jaune to worry his way to the conclusion that he did, after alyx poisoned him.

fast forward a century and a half or so in a setting with no internet for most of that and hordes of man-eating Nightmare Beasts inhibiting international communication and… yeah of course the Real Name of beloved children’s classic author A.L. Whoever isn’t common knowledge outside of academic and hobbyist carrollian-equivalent circles.

[ericmicael]

Frozen Podscat

Season one, "Forces of Nature," brings listeners to the Enchanted Forest, where Anna and Elsa find copper machines that are disrupting peace in the kingdom and "the natural order of things."

The sisters must join forces in order to bring order back to the kingdom and restore the Spirits of Nature.

Along with new characters, including Queen Disa, Lord Wolfgang and magpies Astrid and Magnus.

Copper machines… I believe that my theory about the Industrial Revolution seems less and less random.

EDIT:

Queen Disa's realm is Sankerhus and Lord Wolfgang is the Duke of Weselton's nephew.

[spade-riddles]

$75 million paid by Disney and they made sure to publish the deal before the final game.

https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/taylor-swift-disney-deal-eras-tour-concert-film-1235905787/amp/

[disneyboot]

[geekcavepodcast]

Jessica Jones Kicks Off New Series of Adult Crime Novels from Hyperion Avenue and Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics has announced a new Marvel Crime fiction series for adults from Hyperion Avenue, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide. The first novel in the series is Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel from Lisa Jewell. Later novels in the Marvel Crime series will include characters Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby, and Daredevil, written by Alex Segura.

Having one been a spandex-wearing crimefighter, Jessica Jones now works as a private investigator in Hell's Kitchen, New York, with an off-again, on-again relationship with Luke Cage. One day, distraught mother Amber Randall's barges into Jessica's office with an unusual story.

"Amber is adamant that something happened to her teenage twins while they were visiting their father in the UK. The twins don’t act like themselves, and they now have flawless skin, have lost their distinctive tics and habits, and keep talking about a girl named Belle. Amber insists her children have been replaced by something horrible, something 'perfect.'

Traveling to a small village in the British countryside, Jessica meets the mysterious Belle, who lives a curiously isolated life in an old farmhouse with a strange woman who claims to be her guardian. Can this unworldly teenager really be responsible for the Randall twins’ new personas? Why does the strange little village of Barton Wallop seem to harbor dark energies and mysteries in its tight-knit community?" (Marvel Comics)

Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel goes on sale on July 2, 2024.

(Image via Marvel Comics - Cover of Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel)

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Jurassic Park (1993, Steven Spielberg)

11/03/2024

Jurassic Park is a 1993 film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel of the same name written by Michael Crichton.

Spielberg purchased the rights to the book before it was published in 1990, and Crichton was hired to create a film adaptation. David Koepp wrote the final screenplay, in which many of the violent features of the book and much of the narrative part were lost, also making numerous changes to the characters. Spielberg hired Stan Winston Studios to create the animatronic subjects that would bring the dinosaurs to the screen to interact with Industrial Light & Magic's nascent computer-generated imagery technique. If Tron was the first Disney film to use the then newborn computer graphics, Jurassic Park is considered the first big budget film to make use of CGI.

Paleontologist Jack Horner helped the authors and the team responsible for the special effects to make what they were working with as truthful as possible (although the whole appearance of the dinosaurs turns out to be partly wrong due to subsequent changes in evolutionary theories, in particular way in Velociraptor and Dilophosaurus). Filming lasted from August 24 to November 30, 1992 on the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Oahu, California, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Jurassic Park premiered on June 9, 1993 in Washington, and was released on June 11 in the United States. The film was a huge success with audiences: against a budget of $63 million, it grossed over $914 million worldwide in its first theatrical release, surpassing E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial and becoming the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of Titanic in 1997.

[true--north]

«Disney Publishing Worldwide is launching a new Disney "Frozen" podcast in collaboration with ABC Audio and Walt Disney Animation Studios that builds on the storytelling of the classic film»

So, canon.

«Season 1 of The Disney Frozen Podcast: Forces of Nature presented by Macy's will be available wherever you listen to podcasts»

[disneytva]

Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney Press & Disney Hyperion Sets Amphibia Art-Book

An Art of Amphibia Book is on development at Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney Press, Disney Hyperion and a TBA publisher likely Dark Horse Comics.

This was recently revealed at Matt Braly's Livestream at Streamly, "The Art Of Amphibia" book becomes the third Disney Television Animation art-book on history after "The Art of DuckTales" (2022) and "The Disney Afternoon: The Making Of A Television Renaissance" (2024).

[demifiendrsa]

The Walt Disney Company will acquire a $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic Games, and the two will collaborate on an all-new Disney games and entertainment universe connected to Fortnite that aims to expand the reach of Disney stories and experiences.

Press release

The Walt Disney Company and Epic Games will collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe that will further expand the reach of beloved Disney stories and experiences. Disney will also invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside the multiyear project. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

In addition to being a world-class games experience and interoperating with Fortnite, the new persistent universe will offer a multitude of opportunities for consumers to play, watch, shop and engage with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more. Players, gamers and fans will be able to create their own stories and experiences, express their fandom in a distinctly Disney way, and share content with each other in ways that they love. This will all be powered by Unreal Engine.

“Our exciting new relationship with Epic Games will bring together Disney’s beloved brands and franchises with the hugely popular Fortnite in a transformational new games and entertainment universe,” said Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion. We can’t wait for fans to experience the Disney stories and worlds they love in groundbreaking new ways.”

“Disney was one of the first companies to believe in the potential of bringing their worlds together with ours in Fortnite, and they use Unreal Engine across their portfolio,” said Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder, Epic Games. “Now we’re collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities.”

“This will enable us to bring together our incredible collection of stories and experiences from across the company for a broad audience in ways we have only dreamed of before,” said Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Experiences. “Epic Games’ industry-leading technology and Fortnite’s open ecosystem will help us reach consumers where they are so they can engage with Disney in the ways that are most relevant to them.”

Deepening the Epic Games & Disney Relationship

Disney and Epic Games have engaged hundreds of millions of players through Fortnite content integrations, season collaborations, in-game activations, and live events, including the Marvel Nexus War with Galactus, which drew more than 15.3 million concurrent players.

Unreal Engine is used to produce assets and content across the Disney portfolio including in the development of video games like Kingdom Hearts 3 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor; in cinematic editing and animation for film and streaming; and in the creation of more than 15 Disney Parks attractions like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

This all builds on Epic Games’ participation in the 2017 Disney Accelerator program, which seeks to impact the future of technology and entertainment.

Games Industry Growth & Disney Games Success

The digital world is growing and evolving with more than 3 billion video game players worldwide who want to move safely and seamlessly between the worlds they love, unleash their own creativity, and experience great gameplay.

Disney’s games business continues to deliver strong results since it shifted to a licensing business model in 2016. Disney is a leading games licensor working with best-in-class developers and publishers, including on the best-selling superhero game of all-time, Marvel’s Spider-Man. Licensed games from Disney garnered more than 150 award nominations, wins and other accolades in 2023, including multiple Game of the Year nominations for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Disney mobile games have 1.5 billion global installs, and to date, nine Disney games franchises have each grossed more than $1 billion in sales. In the U.S., the world’s largest games market, licensed titles from Disney regularly hit the annual top-10 best-sellers list.

Announcement video

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 1/5

Book Blurb: Fans of Chloe Gong and Judy I. Lin will devour this Korean-inspired Alice in Wonderland retelling about two very wicked girls, forever bonded by blood and betrayal . . .

In a world where Saints are monsters and Wonderland is the dark forest where they lurk, it’s been five years since young witches and lovers Caro Rabbit and Iccadora Alice Sickle were both sentenced to that forest for a crime they didn’t commit—and four years since they shattered one another’s hearts, each willing to sacrifice the other for a chance at freedom.

Now, Caro is a successful royal Saint-harvester, living the high life in the glittering capital and pretending not to know of the twisted monster experiments that her beloved Red Queen hides deep in the bowels of the palace. But for Icca, the memory of Caro’s betrayal has hardened her from timid girl to ruthless hunter. A hunter who will stop at nothing to exact her vengeance: On Caro. On the queen. On the throne itself.

But there’s a secret about the Saints the Queen’s been guarding, and a volatile magic at play even more dangerous to Icca and Caro than they are to each other…

Lush, terrifying, and uncanny, Zoe Hana Mikuta—author of Gearbreakers and Godslayers—takes a delicate knife straight through the heart of this beloved surrealist fairytale.

Review: A very unique take on the story of Alice in Wonderland... except make it a Korean-inspired one with some wicked sapphic morally grey girls and lots of betrayal and blood. Wonderland is a dark forest where monsters known as Saints lurk. Witches, Carousel "Caro" Rabbit and Iccadora "Icca" Alice Sickle are forced into the forest for a crime they didn't commit and now four years since then, they've broken each other's heart and are both willing to sacrifice each other for a chance at freedom. Now on opposing sides, the love and hate between them is constantly changing. Caro is the Saint-harvestor for the new Red Queen that she loves while Icca is steeped in hatred after Caro's betrayal and is determined to kill both Caro and the Red Queen. Yet the Red Queen hersef has her own secrets involving the Saints and what her plans for Icca and Caro are.... magic is unleashed, betrayal is awaiting, and old feelings might emerge. Reading this book felt as confusing as Alice felt when she first landed in Wonderland. The story was all over the place, I did not care for Icca and Caro's relationship at all, and honestly the writing style was not it. I forced myself to read this to the end and I can honestly tell you, I really got nothing from this book. It had all the elements to be a book I would love but it missed the mark at every single point. I felt so disappointed and honestly, I would describe this book as a way way way unique retelling of Alice in Wonderland and would be good for anyone who enjoys surrealist and strange stories. While it didn't work for me, I feel like some fans of the Alice in Wonderland strangeness aspect of the story might have a better time with it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide | Disney Hyperion for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Gina Florio

Published: Dec 20, 2023

The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, and many more told the kind of magical stories that stayed in our hearts, along with catchy music that could get stuck in our heads for days. This period is often referred to as the “Renaissance Era,” and many suspect that these movies are loved by women everywhere because Disney successfully captured the brilliance and timelessness of femininity. Jasmine was seductive and required her man to work for her, Ariel taught us about sacrifice and trust, and Mulan was both brave and family-oriented. All of the princesses had their own personalities and opinions, but they each made room for a prince to come in and sweep them off their feet. None was too proud to reject a man. 

These traditional Disney films were never political, and the themes were always centered on universal, relatable stories that brought people together rather than driving them apart. However, Disney has certainly lost its way over the last couple of decades. They’ve lost their touch at producing hit movies that resonate with both young children and adults. 

Disney Movies Have Taken a Turn for the Worse

Turning Red, the Disney Pixar film of 2022 that was acclaimed for its heartwarming narrative and representation, did not achieve high commercial success compared to other Pixar films. With a global box office gross of only $20 million against a production budget of $175 million, it ranks among the biggest box office bombs of 2022. The supposed reason for its underperformance is attributed to its simultaneous release on Disney+. This strategy allowed audiences to view the film at home, significantly affecting its worldwide box office earnings. However, it left people wondering if it just wasn’t good enough to draw in audiences; there were many parents who expressed their disappointment with the type of inappropriate content that was being delivered to teenagers for the sake of sending a particular message to the world. 

The Disney animated movie Strange World also faced a significant box office shortfall, with an estimated loss of $147 million in 2022. A notably woke aspect of the film is the introduction of Disney's first openly LGBTQ+ teenage character, who discusses his same-sex crush. The film's underperformance is attributed to various factors, including its inclusion of sexuality discussions, which deterred many parents from allowing their children to watch it. Some critics suggest that modern parents, more informed through social media, may choose to avoid content with inappropriate sexual themes for their children.

Similar issues in the past were observed with Pixar's Lightyear, which included a gay kiss and initially underperformed at the box office. Chris Evans, a voice actor in Lightyear, criticized those opposed to the movie's “inclusive” content. However, what he considered inclusive was just seen as annoyingly woke to the general public. Parents have generally never been on board with showing their children progressive content, regardless of the political message companies like Disney are desperately trying to send. 

Elemental, a Pixar movie, actually defied initial poor box office performance to become a significant hit. Released in June, it had the worst opening in Pixar's history with $29.6 million in domestic ticket sales. However, the film, which cost $200 million to produce, gradually gained momentum, earning nearly $500 million globally. It currently ranks as the ninth top-grossing film of the year, surpassing Marvel's latest Ant-Man sequel. But this was an anomaly compared to the rest of the Disney flops in the last two years. 

Now, Disney is again experiencing a box office bomb with its Thanksgiving release, Wish, the newest princess film that seeks to copy Encanto’s success. But, due to its poor storytelling, boring songs, and progressive message, it has also flopped. 

Disney Says It “Lost Some Focus”

Disney has disclosed that it invested a staggering $965 million in four high-profile projects in 2023, which unfortunately turned out to be significant flops: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Little Mermaid, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Secret Invasion. This revelation comes amid a cost-cutting initiative led by CEO Bob Iger, who returned to lead the company in November 2022. Iger emphasized the need to reduce production costs, acknowledging the exorbitant expenses involved in creating content.

In early November, Bob Iger said, “At the time the pandemic hit, we were leaning into a huge increase in how much we were making and I’ve always felt that quantity can be actually a negative when it comes to quality. And I think that’s exactly what happened. We lost some focus.”

Typically, the budgets of movies and streaming shows are kept confidential, as studios usually lump these costs into their overall expenses without detailing individual project expenditures. However, Disney's production activities in the UK provide a clearer picture of their spending, due to the unique financial reporting requirements in that country. Studios operating in the UK must set up separate companies for each production to avail a tax rebate of up to 25% on their expenditures. These companies are required to file financial statements, which reveal detailed spending data.

Disney has been leveraging the UK's incentive scheme by filming more content there. This strategy, however, has led to significant investments in some of its most expensive and least successful productions of the year. A notable example is the Marvel Studios superhero film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Despite spending a hefty $193.2 million on pre-production and filming, the movie opened to mediocre reviews. This situation illustrated the challenges Disney faces in managing production costs while striving to create compelling content that resonates with audiences and succeeds financially.

Disney Acknowledges That Going Woke Hasn’t Worked Out So Well for Them

Disney is finally acknowledging the significant impact of wokeness and culture wars on its operations. This admission was made in its annual financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the fiscal year ending September 30. The report highlights various aspects of Disney's performance and future risks. Disney employs about 225,000 workers worldwide and emphasizes its commitment to creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace. This commitment aligns with its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) objectives, which focus on reflecting the life experiences of its audience and supporting diverse voices in creative and production teams.

Financially, Disney reported revenues of $88.9 billion for fiscal 2023, marking a 7% increase from 2022. Despite this growth, the company has reduced spending on film and TV content, cutting it from $29.8 billion to $27.2 billion. Iger plans to further reduce content spending to $25 billion next year. Alongside these cuts, Disney has also implemented staff reductions and other expense cuts, achieving about $7.5 billion in cost savings.

Disney's involvement in culture wars and public debates has had widespread effects. The company acknowledges risks related to “misalignments” with public and consumer preferences, which affect demand and profitability across various segments, including broadcast, cable, theaters, internet, mobile technology, theme parks, hotels, resorts, and consumer products. This misalignment has led to challenges in adapting to market changes and economic or social climates.

"Further, consumers’ perceptions of our position on matters of public interest, including our efforts to achieve certain of our environmental and social goals, often differ widely and present risks to our reputation and brands," Disney admitted, acknowledging that consumer preferences impact revenue.

Disney's leisure business is influenced by multiple factors, including health concerns and the political environment. The company's intervention in the debate over Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill in March had significant repercussions. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded by revoking Disney’s special district status in the state, highlighting the cost of Disney's political engagement.

Closing Thoughts

Whether Disney is going to correct its course is yet to be seen. Even with its flops, the brand remains the most recognizable name in the entertainment industry, and it has committed itself so deeply to the woke liberal cause that it’s difficult to imagine they would ever come back from that. In the meantime, their movies will continue to flop if they don’t find a way to return to the Renaissance Era (or something remotely close to that) and offer audiences heartwarming, relatable stories rather than subtle (and not-so-subtle) tales of progressive politics. 

==

I've seen statistics suggesting that Disney has lost a good $1b at the box office in 2023, not counting the major losses in streaming, both in terms of the cost vs return of the content (the excrable She-Hulk was reportedly $25m per episode, almost double the $15m budget of Godzilla Minus One, for a 9-episode dumpster fire), and the inability of the platform as a whole to turn a profit.

[supermoongirl9]

The last times Saturn was transiting Pisces :

- between 1935-37 (before ww2, tensions arising)

- between 1964-67 (hippie movement, trying to reject war)

- between 1994-96 (globalization and internet starting)

between 1935-37 :

- Amelia Earhart solo fly across the Pacific

- Hoover Dam completed

- Roosevelt signs the Us Social Security Act (unemployment compensation + pensions for the elderly)

- the China Clipper makes the first Pacific airmail delivery

- first Mickey Mouse in technicolor

We can see that there's truly something around the topic of trying to control water and at the same time trying to push the limits of how oceans are restraining us (it's still something that is relevant today).

Other events at that time :

- Jesse Owens wins 4 gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Berlin

- electricity brought to the more remote parts of the usa (law passed)

- many dictatorships are established worldwide (results of economical issues w the Great Depression)

- blues and jazz music were very popular

- Disney premieres "Snow White and the seven dwarves"

- J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel “the Hobbit” was published

- Penguin produce the first paperback books

- the book Gone with the Wind is published

between 1964-67 :

- the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is signed into law (usa)

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr receives the Nobel Peace Prize

- abolition of the death penalty in uk

- the PLO, palestinian liberation organization, is established

- Mandela sentenced to life in prison

- many race riots in the usa

- the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote becomes law

- Gemini Space Program continues, lay the groundwork for an eventual manned mission to the moon

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads civil rights march in Alabama

- attempted coup by communists in Indonesia lead to the murder of half million people + a transition to the 'New Order'

- Malcolm X shot in NYC

- University of California Berkeley hosts the largest anti-vietnam teach-in

- cigarette advertising banned on television in britain

[disneyboot]