Best Disney Links for November 2019
The Walt Disney Company generates headlines every month, and MickeyBlog covers many of them. However, over the past few weeks, one topic and its ripple effects have dominated the media news cycles. So, they’ll get a bit more love in this month’s list of the best Disney links.
It’s All about Disney+
I could legitimately bury you in Disney+ links, many of which I’ve read multiple times. Before we get to anything else, let’s talk about the subscription totals. I’m not joking when I say that I did a double-take at the reported day one subscription numbers. I wasn’t the only one.
Bernie McTernan from Rosenblatt Securities tripled his subscription estimates based on Disney’s early triumph. To be fair, he had to do it. He’d skeptically projected a user base of 10 million…by the end of 2020. He’s since boosted that estimate to a more reasonable 35 million.
Not coincidentally, Disney stock hit another record high the other day. It had never reached $145 until November, yet it’s since approached $155. You should be starting to understand why CEO Robert Iger banked his legacy on Disney+.
PS: This article may cause you to wince. It shows how much money you’d have if you’d purchased Disney stock ten years ago.
The Fake Hack of Disney+
One of the most predictable stories about a new streaming service happened within days of the product’s launch. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Dark Web knows about unsecure accounts. They get reported as hacked accounts, when it’s really just a matter of password protection.
Internet users choose the same password for all of their sites. Often, these passwords are short and easy to guess. Once a hacker gains this information, the nefarious individual can access any other account with the same email address. It’s just common sense.
ZDNet knew this, but the company still posted an alarmist article. It indicated that Disney+ accounts were already up for sale on the Dark Web. The media ran with this headline, assuming a major hack of Disney+. That’s not what happened. This isn’t like Yahoo! or Equifax.
Instead, some already-hacked customers used the same information to sign up for Disney+. The odd wording of the headlines caused confusion, forcing Disney to deny that a hack occurred. They’re absolutely correct, but the story has taken on a life of its own. If you’re uncomfortable with the status of your account, follow these steps suggested by CNN.
To a larger point, you may want to use a password manager across all of your websites and accounts.
More Disney+!
Disney hasn’t built a Netflix clone. The company has utilized its BAMTech technology to create something new. That’s admirable. Unfortunately, many of us have subscribed to Netflix for so long that we’re indoctrinated to its user interface.
Since Disney+ doesn’t have all of Netflix’s features, some critics have complained about their absence. Disney has confirmed that its streaming service will introduce these requested features, the ones that they’d intentionally left out to avoid excessive similarities to Netflix.
On a different note, this article makes several fascinating points about the relationship between Disney and Amazon. The companies desperately need each other. The arrival of Disney+ places them in direct competition, though.
The situation with Netflix is much different. Despite the fact that some relationship still exists between the two companies, Netflix and Disney are in a battle for eyeballs. The shocking success of Disney+ has naturally caused people to wonder about whether Netflix felt any impact.
The prevailing belief is no. However, the more interesting opinion is that Netflix traffic was already down. So, Disney couldn’t impact it significantly anyway.
Disney+ vs. the Movie Theater
The side story here is how all of this impacts the movie industry. The harsh reality about theatrical releases today is that Disney dominates the industry. The company currently claims five out of the top six domestic releases for 2019. And the other one is a Spider-Man movie released by Sony. Yes, it’s Disney and then everybody else.
The non-Disney companies are doing so poorly that they’ve evaluated ways to survive cataclysmic change in the industry. Meanwhile, Disney has sworn that it will remain committed to the theatrical window. In other words, Disney movies will debut in theaters many months before they’re available on home video and Disney+.
Still, the situation grew a bit more intriguing this past week. The Department of Justice suddenly flipped positions on laws in place since the late 1940s. This ruling impacts movie theaters, long protected by the federal government. Now, a company like, say, Disney could BUY a movie theater chain like Regal or Cinemark.
This form of vertical integration may potentially stop the bleeding in movie theaters, which have seen a steep decline in ticket sales. However, oligopolies and monopolies are super-bad. Also, if Disney bought a theater chain, would they even let the other ones exhibit their films?
Non-Disney+ Links!
Okay, let’s move on to some stuff that doesn’t involve Disney movies and streaming services. Instead, let’s prove once and for all that “it’s not weird” for adult women to love Disney. Anyone who says that deserves to get smacked with a pair of Mouse Ears.
In fact, I think that everyone reading this should head to Disneyland or Walt Disney World right now! Both parks are hosting an exhibition of rare Disney memorabilia. On December 7th and 8th, some of these goods will be auctioned to the highest bidder! You can even bid online!
Miscellany
Here are a few articles that could provide you with some entertainment. Forbes provides a look at Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel. Disney has already provided a ton of new release dates for its upcoming movies.
NBC News has written a love letter to one of my favorites, The Little Mermaid. Screen Rant has suggested 10 other Disney rides that should become movies. And Polygon wants to fill your Disney+ watchlist with the best Disney Channel original movies.
Also, park fans should know about this one. Some of the crafted decorations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom have a special story behind them. And it’s wonderful. Somehow, it’s not the best story of the month, though.
One More Beautiful Story
Perhaps the best part of Disney is its admirable dedication to the Make-A-Wish program. And a byproduct of this passionate support for sick children is this heartwarming story about a gift from grieving parents to a stranger. I’ve saved it for last because – if you haven’t seen it already – you’re gonna be an emotional wreck after reading it.