Disney Headlines for February 23rd, 2023
The BBC worries that Disney has lost its magic, the Los Angeles Times wonders about the $71 billion Fox purchase, and the New York Post insincerely voices worker concerns.
The Walt Disney Company plays a lot of defense in the latest batch of Disney Headlines.
Has Disney Lost Its Magic?


Photo: Pexel.com
I’ll go ahead and answer this question at the top. No. Disney hasn’t lost its magic.
However, that’s the narrative being pushed in some circles. The latest mainstream publication to take the bait is the BBC.


Source: Lucasfilm
This article starts like so many Disney critiques do: anecdotally. A reporter asks Disney fans some leading questions and then uses the ones that fit the argument.
In this case, an accountant didn’t like Moon Knight, a mother doesn’t always keep her Disney+ subscription, and a fan debates the need for Toy Story 5.


Photo:Rappler
Variants of this story roll around the internet like tumbleweeds, as interviewers guide fans to admit that they prefer new content.
Yes, some of the lost Disney magic here comes from the idea that the company is making lots of Star Wars and Marvel movies.


Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Also, CEO Bob Iger recently announced upcoming sequels to Toy Story, Frozen, and Zootopia.
Some fans wonder why Disney has chosen this route rather than fresh, new stories. And Disney executives read the interviews, pull out their hair, and scream, “STRANGE WORLD!!!”


Photo: DIsney+
As a reminder, Disney recently tried an entirely new intellectual property in November. Strange World quickly lost the company $150 million.
People don’t remember this because it happened three months ago and didn’t earn much discussion.


Photo: Disney/Pixar
Similarly, few recall the Lightyear reboot from last summer, an attempt to reinvigorate Buzz Lightyear with a new origin story.
In short, Disney is going back to what works because it tried the other thing. Fans showed no interest in the new stories. So, Toy Story 5, it is!
Articles like this are oddly timeless in that they happen regularly and always present the same one-sided argument.
The reality is that people like the familiar. And Encanto proves Disney is telling amazing new stories, anyway.
What Strange Timing for This Headline


Photo: restorethemagic.com
Disney CEO Bob Iger just forced billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz to abandon his push for a spot on the Board of Directors.
Before that happened, Peltz and his buddy, Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter engaged in negotiations with former CEO Bob Chapek. They pegged him for a sucker.


Former Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Peltz and Perlmutter figured they could manipulate Chapek and then gradually take control of Disney from inside the boardroom.
The Board of Directors caught wind of the plan, which partially explains Iger’s return.


(Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
Once Peltz and Perlmutter recognized the threat, it was already too late. So, these 80-year-old men took a page out of the 1980s playbook.
The geezers tried to burn down Disney by attacking its decisions under Bob Iger. That’s the same Bob Iger widely recognized as the greatest media CEO ever.


(Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Vox Media)
In short, this play should have been a non-starter. For that matter, it was, as Peltz backed down after Iger decimated him during Disney’s earnings call.
Between those events, Peltz and Perlmutter ginned up some headlines about the Fox acquisition.


Photo: The Simpsons
Now, the Los Angeles Times has taken up the misguided quest with this headline: “Disney got ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Avatar.’ But some now see the Fox deal as a mistake.”
Whenever I read such headlines, my first question is, “Who is ‘some’?” In this case, the answer is Nelson Peltz, who already conceded the point.


Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Still, this debate has cropped up some in recent weeks, and the timing absolutely baffles me.
Just the other day, Avatar: The Way of Water passed Titanic to become one of the three biggest blockbusters ever.


Photo: Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Who owns Avatar? It used to be Fox, but now it’s Disney. This is the WORST possible time to criticize the purchase.
At this point, Iger looks like a genius for buying Fox.
The Return to Office Pushback and Union Negotiations


Photo:impulsecreative.com
Part of this week’s headlines are clearly muckraking. The usual suspects like the New York Post have targeted Disney oh so many times in recent years.
This time, articles have assailed Bob Iger’s RTO – Return to Office – policy.


Photo: Washington Post illustration; Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP; iStock
You may recall that the CEO recently announced that some Disney workers can no longer work from home full-time.
Iger expects them to work at the office four days a week. Nobody mentions that it’s not a significant change.


Photo: AFP
Many of the impacted employees already had to go to the office three days a week. Still, the labor force has evolved during the pandemic.
Countless workers, especially younger ones, question the need for office visits. They believe that they can get as much if not more done by working at home.


Photo:seoclerk.com
Speaking as someone who has worked from home most of this century, I agree with the logic.
Still, the headline attempts to paint Iger in a negative light for something many CEOs are doing.


Photo: https://medium.com/coding-den
Executives in their 60s and 70s represent a bygone era of office employment. They struggle to adapt to a more modern view of employment.
Iger’s undeniably guilty of that, but he’s the only one earning New York Post headlines for the action, which is telling.


Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
However, the other labor headline of the week comes with more serious repercussions.
Disney continues a labor dispute with many of its Walt Disney World cast members.
What’s Happening with Negotiations?


Photo: Playbuzz.com
Technically, the existing labor agreement has expired, but both sides agreed to a temporary extension.
Recently, Disney made an offer it claimed was the last, best deal. The unions overwhelmingly rejected it.


Union. Logo
Since then, Disney has returned to the negotiating table. Alas, union members consider its latest offer worse than the previous one.
So, Disney is at least posturing that it meant that it wouldn’t do any better.


Photo: Orlando Weekly
Meanwhile, unionized cast members remain hopeful for an immediate hourly wage increase and better terms.
The workers need the pay increase to account for the staggering hyper inflation in Central Florida’s housing market. The cost of insurance is soaring as well.


Photo: Wikimedia
In short, Disney just announced 7,000 layoffs and $5.5 billion in budget cuts. It’s trying to cut costs wherever possible.
Labor always represents one of the most significant expenses in any business.


Photo: Washington Post
Both parties possess strong reasons to hold firm to their side of the negotiations. We may be at an impasse here that lasts for a while.
Hopefully, Bob Iger recognizes this is a bad look and finds a way to pay cast members more money. I think we’re all pro-PayCastMembersAlltheMoney.
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