Disney Headlines for January 18th, 2023
Phineas and Ferb plan their triumphant return, while Disney battles an activist investor with poor timing.
We’ve got Hollywood and Wall Street covered in the latest batch of Disney Headlines.
Hey Ferb…
Oh, how I’ve missed those words.
In 2007, during the all-time high point of the Disney Channel, the programming department could do no wrong.
High School Musical and its sequel earned record ratings, while Wizards of Waverly Place introduced the world to Selena Gomez.
Meanwhile, the animation department was firing on all cylinders thanks to its blockbuster hit, Kim Possible.
Just as that series ended its run, Disney debuted a new program, Phineas and Ferb.
This series redefined the creative process as two stepbrothers dared to do the impossible twice per episode.
Fittingly, Phineas and Ferb spent much of their time building stuff during an eternal summer, one that seemingly never ended.
The whole time, their older sister, Candace, tried to bust them. Somehow, Phineas and Ferb’s parents never found out how talented the boys were, though.
Frankly, Phineas and Ferb represents the pinnacle of animated storytelling, and Disney fans mourned its absence for the past seven years.
Now, Disney has signaled that it’ll restart the summer once again! Yes, 104 days wasn’t enough for the boys to finish all the projects on their summer to-do list!
Co-creator Dan Povenmire will return to the series, which has received a two-season greenlight. So, we’re definitely getting 40 more episodes of Phineas and Ferb!
The only negative part of this headline to date is that Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, the other co-creator, hasn’t signed on yet. Hopefully, that happens soon.
Marsh is reportedly in negotiations, and the show just wouldn’t be the same without the voice of Major Monogram involved!
As an FYI, we probably owe this win to TikTok, which has popularized several old Phineas and Ferb songs.
PS: Hey Disney, while you’re bringing back shows, how about Kim Possible?
Late to the Party
I recently wrote about Trian Fund Management and activist investor Nelson Peltz.
Briefly, Peltz and Trian acquired more than $800 million in Disney stock toward the end of Bob Chapek’s tenure as CEO.
Peltz strategized with his team and plotted a proxy battle against Disney. In his estimation, Chapek’s leadership had severely damaged the Mouse.
Peltz planned to join Disney’s Board of Directors and topple Chapek as CEO. And that’s where the story grows strange.
The actual members of Disney’s Board of Directors caught wind of this plot. In fact, it wasn’t even the only one.
By this point, Dan Loeb of Third Point had already done something similar and thereby forced his ally’s way onto Disney’s Board.
The impending interference of Peltz partially caused Disney’s decision to replace Chapek with former and now current CEO Bob Iger.
That’s where this story takes a turn. Imagine that you’re Peltz and Trian right now.
You bought all this stock and prepared to take your battle public to pressure a publicly traded corporation.
Your strategy hinged on the CEO’s incompetence, and you felt confident that the power brokers would take your side.
Then, you heard at the same time as everyone else that a genuinely great CEO had returned to Disney.
Now, you’ve declared war at precisely the wrong time, as Disney has secured its fortress.
That’s the weird impasse that Disney and Trian have reached due to this unprecedented series of events.
Trian holds more than $1 billion in Disney stock as I type this, and it wants more. However, its ultimate ambition is a position on Disney’s Board.
Bob Iger has said no. Shareholders will vote on the matter in six weeks, but this one goes down in the Bad Timing Hall of Fame.
Another Imagineer Unretires
Bob Weis’ retirement didn’t last long.
In a case of déjà vu all over again for Disney fans, the former President of Walt Disney Imagineering, retired on New Year’s Eve, 2022.
By January 12th, Weis already held a new title at a different company. That was a shocking turn of events.
After all, the last word anyone had regarding Weis’ future was: “I’ll continue writing my book for Disney Publishing on the Marty Sklar Archives, and I am developing a screenplay for Walt Disney Studios.”
While I presume Weis is still doing both those things, he must now juggle his time. Weis just joined Gensler, the largest architectural design firm in the world.
The former Imagineer’s new title is Global Immersive Experience Design Leader.
According to Fast Company, Gensler targeted Weis “to apply his expertise in creating themed environments and immersive experiences to the types of buildings that people use on a regular basis, whether for an entertaining night out or for a day at the office.”
This description sounds uncomfortably familiar to those of us still grieving the loss of Joe Rohde.
Seemingly overnight, Rohde left the comfy confines of Disney. He became Experience Architect for Virgin Galactic.
In layperson’s terms, Rohde is designing a very real version of the fictional experience guests discover at Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
Rohde is creating (from scratch) the first outer space luxury cruise experience.
When billionaires pay to orbit the Earth, it’s Rohde designing the unprecedented vacation.
Hey Disney, could we maybe keep our Imagineers and maintain that institutional knowledge?
Miscellaneous Disney Headlines
We’ve got two other headlines of note this week. The first involves a research study regarding Disney heroes and villains.
Have you ever wondered how much tales of good versus evil have evolved over the years?
Here’s a research study from University at Buffalo that shows Disney stories and characters have remained remarkably steady for the body of eight decades!
Speaking of which, The Hollywood Reporter has posted a detailed story on how The Walt Disney Company has sustained for 100 years now.
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Feature Photo: Disney