Disney Headlines for June 16th, 2026
Toy Story has earned a lot more money than you may have thought.
We’ll discuss that and Disney’s recent alligator crackdown in this week’s Disney Headlines.
Toys in Turmoil
On this Friday, June 19th, Toy Story 5 will debut in theaters.
This one’s a bit different from Toy Story 4 in that Disney has a new idea for the film. The company made Toy Story 4 because it wanted to sell more Toy Story merch.
I happened to like the movie more than Toy Story 3 – you heard me – but it was a cash grab.
Photo: Pixar
We can be honest about that, as Disney sometimes needs to do these things to pay the bills.
We got Bunny, Ducky, and Duke Caboom out of it. I’ll call that a win.
Disney
Toy Story 5 is tracking to destroy the box office because it feels different.
Pixar executives have experienced a kind of existential crisis about these characters.
Photo: Pixar
As strange as the idea may sound to people over 40, Toy Story has achieved something weird.
Most 21st century kids know Bo Peep, Mr. Potato Head, and Slinkies because of the films. They have little contact with the actual toys that once provided comfort to kids.
To them, Woody and Buzz Lightyear are every bit as historically significant as Bo Peep.
Photo: Pixar
When the original Toy Story debuted 30 years ago, nobody would have believed that.
However, the brand became seminal to multiple generations of movie-goers. Now, Pixar will say the quiet part loud, evaluating the validity of these characters today.
Can Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and Gen Beta relate to characters based on toys they’ve never held?
Photo: Disney Store
This is the tablet generation, which explains why a tablet makes for the perfect villain.
I give Pixar all the credit in the world for coming with this premise. It’s a winner. Before Disney cashes in on the concept, it did a bit of looking back, though.
Woody and Buzz for the Win
Photo: LADBible
Recently, Disney commissioned a study to learn how successful Toy Story has been.
You may think that the company is well aware of this fact, which is true.
Photo: Pixar
However, corporations sometimes hire third parties to perform independent reviews.That’s what happened here, with Stewart Redqueen evaluating the historical data.
Just to be clear, Stewart Redqueen is an advisory firm, not a person.
What the organization discovered is that Toy Story has been incredibly lucrative for Disney.
Steward Redqueen
You may recall that the company acquired Pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006.
Stewart Redqueen just confirmed that Toy Story alone made this deal profitable.
Steward Redqueen
According to the research published by Axios, Toy Story “has driven $16 billion in total revenue.”
This estimate covers the entire 30-year history of Toy Story, not just Disney’s ownership tenure.
Photo: vecteezy.com
So, Disney only gets credit for about two-thirds of the total…but there’s more.
The study goes on to say that Toy Story has had a financial impact of $50 billion. Basically, they tracked $16 billion in actual receipts for this brand.
Then, they kept digging and determined that goodwill from the brand tripled the take.
Photo:Disneycoupon.jpg
Half of that total, $25 billion in impact, occurred in the United States.
The rest happened internationally, which speaks to the brand’s global appeal. Importantly, “economic impact was measured across a range of variables, including sales margins for downstream suppliers like manufacturers, retailers, and other distributors.”
Those ancillary factors show how much society benefits from Woody and Buzz.
For a 30-year-old brand, Toy Story has demonstrated staggering brand power.
The Tech of Smugglers Run
I’ve written extensively about Millennial Falcon: Smugglers Run lately. Disney did something unusual here by admitting a past mistake and fixing it.
Photo: Disney
Kotaku recently detailed the slip-up, as well as Disney’s correctional methodology.
The gist is that when the ride debuted, Imagineers promised a better experience.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
They promised that Disney could modify the ride as needed to improve it.
Then, Disney proceeded to do that absolutely never…until now. The company left well enough alone on the ride because that strategy was cheaper.
Nobody misses Bob Chapek for a reason. He never met a penny he couldn’t pinch.
Photo: Disney
With Josh D’Amaro in charge, Imagineers are hearing “yes” as an answer a lot more often.
So, they got to reboot the previous idea with The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda.
Photo: Disney
We have a new Smugglers Run mission now, and that’s not even the best part.
The ride offers three different variants, which Kotaku describes as mini-bosses.
(Credit: Walt Disney Imagineering; Artist Concept Only)
Basically, you can ride Smugglers Run three straight times. It’ll be different for each one.
That’d be the case anyway due to the six crew members acting differently each time.
Photo: Disney
However, the new Smugglers Run features a trio of new settings for the final scenes.
You can travel to Bespin, Coruscant, or Endor. I know nothing about any of them, but one has a Death Star. What more could you possibly want from a Star Wars ride on the Millennium Falcon?
Amusingly, Kotaku does point out that maybe Disney should have waited a bit.
Photo: Disney
Epic Games announced Unreal Engine 6 right as Disney started hyping Smugglers Run. Why does that matter? Disney’s new state-of-the-art attraction uses Unreal Engine 5.
Variety
Disney missed it by that much. They weren’t going to wait with the movie coming out last month, though.
A Good Change a Decade Too Late
Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
We’re right around the tenth anniversary of the saddest Disney story I ever had to cover.
In 2016, a family traveled to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. While there, they sat by the water and admired the view. I wish the story ended there.
A two-year-old boy was building sandcastles by the water when tragedy struck.
Photo: Christy Weinberg
As the boy dipped his bucket in the water, an alligator attacked and pulled him under.
At the time, it was an open secret that the waters held many alligators.
Since that tragic day, Disney officials committed to relocating the creatures.
Disney has dutifully done so to protect future guests, even if it was too late for that family.
Click Orlando just performed an investigation to determine Disney’s success.
The reporters at WKMG discovered that Disney has trapped and relocated 414 alligators. I recently wrote an article on the topic of Disney’s mapping software and the dangers of alligators.
Disney has worked diligently to make the situation better for all involved.
The dock at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa closed on September 9.
The reality is that Walt Disney World was built on swampland, though.
So, it’s imperative for Disney to be on the lookout for alligators as much as possible.
We should never forget what happened that day and continuously take steps to prevent a repeat.
I commend Disney for committing to this task. Also, on a happier note, the couple is still together and even has a new child.
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Feature photo: Disney
