Disney Headlines for October 29th, 2022
Tim Burton has celebrated his final nightmare with Disney, while Dove Cameron nixes an appearance in Descendants 4.
We’ll talk about a changing of the guard at Disney in the latest group of Disney Headlines.
The Nightmare Before Halloween
I know many of you are spending the month watching Hocus Pocus and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas on an endless loop.
Sadly, Tim Burton took an odd stance this week. For no apparent reason, the eccentric director took this opportunity to emphasize he’s done with Disney.
Photo: FilmMagic
Apparently, the production of Dumbo proved the last straw for Burton, who worked his first professional gigs with the company.
Did you know Burton worked as a storyboard artist on The Fox and the Hound and Tron? That’s entirely true!
Photo: festival-lumiere.org
However, you best know him for producing The Nightmare Before Christmas, a Disney classic that has since inspired the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay at Disneyland.
Alas, 2019’s Dumbo suffered countless behind-the-scenes struggles, leaving a bad taste in Burton’s mouth.
Photo: Disney
According to Burton, he had an epiphany during the shoot. Burton said: “(I) realized that I was Dumbo, that I was working in this horrible big circus, and I needed to escape.”
That sounds claustrophobic and likely explains why the Dumbo live-action film struggled to find an audience.
Photo: Disney Enterprises
Burton added some other interesting comments about his Disney career. He stated, “I was hired and fired like several times throughout my career there.”
Later, he added this tidbit about Dumbo: “That movie is quite autobiographical at a certain level.”
Photo: Brittanica
Oookay. Apparently, Tim Burton’s spirit animal is an elephant with giant ears.
Anyway, Burton also killed any hope of his joining the MCU. His comment suggested that he could “only deal with one universe” and couldn’t “deal with a multi-universe.”
So, that rules out Tim Burton as a Marvel director, at least until after The Avengers: The Kang Dynasty…but probably forever.
Ah, well, at least we still have Oogie Boogie!
Photo: D23
Dove Isn’t Happy
Like Tim Burton, Dove Cameron has had enough of Disney, at least for a while. However, since the actress is only 26, I doubt this belief lasts forever.
Still, the Liv and Maddie actress has expressed her frustrations over the development of Descendants 4.
Disney announced this project on September 11th. However, the press release emphasized the new characters of Red and Ulyana.
Thus far, the most noteworthy returning character is Uma, who didn’t appear in the first film. And that’s part of Dove’s point of contention here.
Photo: Disney/ Descendants
The actress developed a close relationship with the late Cameron Boyce, who starred in all three Descendants movies to date.
Tragically, Boyce died only a month before Descendants 3 debuted on Disney Channel.
Photo: (Disney Channel/Ed Herrera)
The cast of teen actors had bonded during the filming of those three titles. As a result, they treated the third movie as a celebration of Boyce’s life and career.
Cameron played Mal, the daughter of Maleficent and Hades. Meanwhile, Boyce portrayed Carlos, the son of Cruella de Vil.
Photo: (Disney Channel/Ed Herrera)
While Descendants features an ensemble cast, I think most people would consider these two, along with (arguably) Sofia Carson, as the leads.
Carson and Cameron appeared at May’s Inaugural Cam for a Cause Gala and honored their late friend.
Photo: Disney
During this event, fittingly hosted by The Cameron Boyce Foundation, Cameron stressed how much Boyce meant in helping her be more true to herself.
Here’s a quote from Cameron regarding Boyce: “I think that in that, he has inspired me to be more alive, he has inspired me to be more human, more deeply feeling.”
(Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)
About Descendants 4
Given all these facts, you can understand why Cameron has stated that she won’t participate in Descendants 4.
The actress stated the following: “I don’t think it would be the same without the whole original cast. It would just be different now and also we did it. We told a full story. We completed it.”
Photo: IMDB
From Disney’s perspective, the lack of Descendants originals comes with a hidden benefit.
This production won’t cost as much since they don’t need to negotiate with established actors.
However, the question remains about whether audiences will accept these new characters as readily as the original Descendants.
Photo:Disney
Disney Business Headlines
I’ve got two significant Headlines and one fascinating topic to discuss.
First, in a rare turn of events, Disney has lost a court battle! The high-stakes legal drama has occurred in New York, with $6.3 million on the line for Disney.
Photo: skillastics.com
An argument ensued about whether Disney was entitled to “royalty income exclusions.”
Disney’s attorneys had (incorrectly) determined that international commerce rules applied to some transactions.
Photo:ofx.ie
Several of Disney’s foreign affiliates paid the company licensing fees that attorneys believed weren’t susceptible to taxation.
New York’s second-highest court has ruled against Disney. For this reason, Disney must pay the $6.3 million, which includes millions in back tax charges and interest.
Photo: cba.cj
Disney loses in court so rarely that it’s literally a headline every time it happens.
Of course, $6.3 million is high stakes to you and me, but it’s chump change to the Mouse.
As proof, we can turn to the recent Disney negotiations with Formula 1.
Photo:cnet.com
Disney has renewed these rights for several more years. For this reason, Disney’s various linear and streaming channels will air Formula 1 races through 2025.
F1 racing has exploded in popularity in the United States, with the current year’s ratings the highest ever, even though overall TV ratings are the lowest on record.
(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
When something is up in the current market, it’s a blockbuster. Disney recognized this and secured the rights for up to $85 million annually.
The goal here is to secure future content on ESPN+ more than anything else. Despite the TV ratings success, it’s a dying medium, while ESPN+ represents the future of sports broadcasting.
Photo: ESPN+
Finally, we have this CNBC Headline about Disney allowing tattoos.
If you’re wondering why Disney suddenly reversed course on this longstanding policy, this story explains the modernization of many corporate business hiring practices.
Feature Image: Disney
