Everything You Missed About Disney This Month
The Walt Disney Company has a market cap of $167.4 billion and enough power to buy a competitor for $71.3 billion. They own a television network, several cable channels, many theme parks, and any number of other significant corporate assets. Since Disney has its fingers in so many pies, even the most diehard fan cannot possibly keep up with everything. Here are all the major stories about Disney that you missed this month.
The 50-Year Purchase
Have you ever shopped for a house or a piece of land? It feels like an impossible task at times, doesn’t it? Believe it or not, Disney park officials can relate. They had tried to purchase a parcel of land in Osceola County since back when Walt Disney was alive.
A rancher named Oren Brown owned 6,750 acres of land in the Reedy Creek area. He refused to sell to Disney, a wish that his family honored long after his death in 1993. Persistence finally paid off for the Mouse House when they bought 1,575 acres of this land. You can read the fascinating details here.
Do You Love Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars?
The Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar has claimed a permanent place as one of the most popular snacks in the history of Disney theme parks. For decades now, park guests have clamored for a home version of the product. Disney has understandably kept their ice cream bars exclusive to the parks. They work as an incentive for guests to visit and keep coming back.
As you know, Mickey Mouse turns 90 this year. As part of the celebration of his birthday, Disney has produced a six-pack of Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars for grocery stores. While the items aren’t as large as the ones that you’ll find in parks (three ounces for the home version vs. four ounces for the park’s ice cream bars), they’re still delicious Mickey Mouse-related ice cream treats! You should check your local grocery store’s frozen foods section to see if they’re carrying these ice cream bars.
Disney Does the Dishes
Admit it. You have some Disney plates and/or cups in your cabinet right now, don’t you? I know that we have enough that we could almost have an entire Disney cabinet (like our multiple Disney Christmas trees filled solely with Disney ornaments).
Disney knows that they have a lot of customers like you and me, people who want to bring the magic of the parks home. The company recently revealed the D-Lish collection, a series of kitchenware goods. The products are so good that you’ll text your significant other this link alongside a Shut Up and Take My Money gif. You can see everything from the D-Lish group at ShopDisney.
While you have your credit card out, you might as well check out the Dashing Collection, too. ShopDisney just introduced a line of merchandise featuring Disney’s leading men from animated movies. There’s even a Flynn Rider Crossbody bag.
More Poppins?
Disney’s release of Mary Poppins Returns hasn’t gone swimmingly. The film seems unlikely to reach $200 million domestically, and its global take hasn’t crossed $300 million yet. It was well-received by those who watched it, though, earning a 78 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also got an A- Cinemascore, which is solid, too.
Movie executives at Disney believe that the half-century that passed between Mary Poppins movies proved too long to overcome. Mary Poppins Returns played less like a sequel and more like a standalone film.
Since Disney has reintroduced the Mary Poppins brand to consumers, they’re now weighing their options about future movies. They’re currently leaning toward yes, and our friends at The Mary Sue have engaged in some speculation about potential sequel storylines.
PS: If you haven’t watched Mary Poppins Returns yet, don’t let the box office stress you. The film is terrific.
Wall Street Weighs In
MickeyBlog has already told you what we think the biggest Disney stories are in 2019. Wall Street has some strong opinions, too. The Motley Fool has posted the four stories that they believe will define Disney’s 2019 campaign. The list obviously has a money focus, but it’s still insightful. After all, revenue drives so many Disney decisions.
Would you prefer a more personal evaluation of Disney in 2019? A writer for Observer discusses how Disney’s acquisition of Fox will impact you. Specifically, the author describes how your consumption of Disney movies and television shows will evolve throughout the year.
The gist is that your favorite Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar movies will become a part of Disney+ moving forward, as Disney’s relationship with Netflix is effectively over. New Disney releases from now on will go to Disney’s own service.
Also, Fox Searchlight is now under the Mouse umbrella, which is vital since that studio has the magic touch at the Academy Awards. Finally, Disney gains a lot of significant television assets like The Simpsons, X-Files, Family Guy, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Do you want to feel a bit of jealousy? Deadline has an evaluation of how Disney CEO Bob Iger earned his salary this year. It’s a staggering number, one that explains why the company’s Board of Directors recently voted to change Iger’s compensation structure. His bonuses are now tied more directly to Disney’s financial performance. The change came in December due to rising awareness that Iger had earned this level of compensation under the prior structure.
Disney Helps Children
The final major story from the past month is an old one that returns for another year. The Magic of Storytelling is a program created by Disney Publishing Worldwide. The goal is to give away a million books during a set timeframe. 2019 is year number seven for The Magic of Storytelling.
The new version has an ingenious mechanism in place. Whenever you post a shelfie (a picture of you with a book) and use the hashtag, #MagicofStoryTelling, Disney will donate a book to FirstBook, a charitable organization. The goal is to reach a million books provided by March 31st. So, stop reading this article and get to posting your shelfies! It’s for the kids!