Best Disney Links for January 2020
We’ve officially entered the 2020s, and The Walt Disney Company has already received a lot of headlines. You couldn’t possibly have read them all, but that’s okay! MickeyBlog has you covered. Here are the best Disney links for January 2020.
The Business of Disney+
When Disney completed its acquisition of Fox assets, the company’s market cap increased by almost $100 billion. Remarkably, that’s not the highest it’s expected to go.
Some investors believe that Disney+ is worth $100 billion already! This speculation has led some people to wonder how much the Direct-to-Consumer division can grow based on future Disney+ profits.
In fact, Yahoo! Finance has listed DIS as one of the hottest stocks for 2020. This link includes highlights of why the stock should soar this year.
However, the most interesting take comes from The Hollywood Reporter. The publication performed a survey of Disney+ subscribers to learn what people are watching on the service.
You won’t be surprised to learn that Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars head the list. What might catch you off-guard is the fact that classic Disney animated movies actually top the survey. Roughly 22 percent of subscribers say that they’re addicted to the oldies.
The consumption of content changes based on demographics. Millennials prefer the classics, but Generation Z, the 18-22 demo, is all about 21st century Disney Channel shows and Pixar titles.
Meanwhile, Generation X and the Boomers favor Star Wars over everything else, which leads to some questions about whether Disney has effectively marketed the franchise to the under-30 crew.
Moms, CEOs, Paris, and Celebration
A bunch of other miscellaneous “business of Disney” stories are worth your time this month. For starters, CEO Robert Iger has garnered a lot of headlines recently. He published his memoirs, which revealed a few tantalizing tidbits about the inner workings of Disney.
Iger also published his Ten Leadership Lessons, which I found so profound that I’ve read them many times already. Of course, his recent high profile has always brought Disney under scrutiny for the company’s upcoming difficult decision. Someone must replace Iger, and CNN has speculated about potential candidates.
The other fascinating reveal that just came out involves the Disney Parks Moms Panel. Disney recently accepted applications for the 2020 panel. They received 10,000 submissions for this gig…which doesn’t pay anything! Only 14 people earned a spot on the board, meaning that you had less than 1/10th of a percent chance to get picked this year. Those…are not great odds.
Some land-based discussions are also worth a read. A local television station has written an article that explains the concept of Celebration, Florida.
You may recall that I posted a link last month about the struggles of some Celebration citizens in recent years. This ClickOrlando article explains why so many people rushed to purchase a home in Celebration. To wit, officials had to hold a lottery just to decide which applicants could live there. And the data at the end suggests that many residents should feel thrilled about their purchase.
Forbes would rather discuss a different Disney property. The site has published a detailed examination of Disneyland Paris, an extraordinarily eco-friendly campus.
Finally, the New York Times wants to talk about runDisney fashion. Because, why not?
Star Wars and Wars between Stars
In recent weeks, Disney has faced many questions about the state of Star Wars. One respected site, The Motley Fool, went so far as to post a clickbait discussion about whether the purchase was a mistake. I won’t link it because the misleading headline leads to the obvious conclusion that Disney buying Star Wars was a masterstroke.
However, my old friends over at IndieWire have posted an honest, level-headed discussion of the current state of Star Wars. They correctly deduce that Disney should prioritize Star Wars television programs for a time. Well, they should do that at least until Kevin Feige is ready to move forward his Star Wars project.
Entertainment Weekly wants to talk about a different kind of Star Wars finances. The site published an interview with actor Adam Pally, who recently slugged Baby Yoda in an episode of The Mandalorian.
During the discussion, Pally reveals how much Baby Yoda cost to develop and operate. That baby ain’t cheap, and I’m not just saying that because I watched The Mandalorian build a new set of armor from that one package retrieval gig.
Now, let’s transition from Star Wars to stars at war. Nicki Swift has published a list of stars from Disney Channel programs that warred with one another throughout filming. The High School Musical feud really surprised me.
Disney What Ifs, a Great New Show, and a Disney+ Concern
Have you ever wondered what Game of Thrones characters would look like if they were drawn in the style of Disney animation? Okay, you probably hadn’t, but you should totally look at this. It’s awesome.
Along those lines, The Hour has posted a fascinating list of Disney voice actors who almost played entirely different roles. I’m not talking about taking another gig in the same movie, either. I mean stuff like the voices of Anna and Elsa both auditioning for Tangled. Here, read this right now.
Speaking of Motley Fool, the site did post one not clickbait-y article this month worthy of your attention. Did you know that Disney+ has already lost a few titles? The complex nature of pre-existing licensing agreements has forced the company to drop a handful of programs.
The last item this month is also a request. I want my thing to become your thing. Here’s an LA Times interview with the creator of The Owl House, the best new Disney Channel series since Gravity Falls. Not coincidentally, it’s created by a Gravity Falls alum. PLEASE watch this show.