Let's face it. Since Michael Eisner took the helm at Disney, the "Walt" has literally been taken out of the Walt Disney Company. In the past decade or so, Disney's motion picture studio has continually promoted and released dozens of films that are anything but family-friendly. The theme parks have celebrated alternative lifestyles by promoting "gay days". Money has become the absolute bottom line and many supporters have protested this direction.
Well, things are shaking up at Disney. Roy Disney, nephew of Walt and major shareholder, has resigned from his position as Vice-Chairman of the Board. He is calling for Michael Eisner to step down from his leadership position. Disney's reasons are somewhat different from those stated above, but are detailed in this article.
I, for one, believe that Walt would be turning over in his grave were he to see what has become of his beloved company. It is my understanding that Pixar (the people responsible for Disney's most succesful animated features this past decade) has a contract for just one more film with Disney. What will happen if Pixar goes their own way afterwards, as I hope they do?
Clearly, these are no Mickey Mouse developments...
It's Del.icio.us!
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December 2, 2003 12:51 AM
I don't agree that Walt would inherently be against the co-opted, but not sponsored "gay days" and similar, after all, gay people have children too (and gay kids have parents). Remember, the primary motivation for Walt to create Disneyland in the first place was to have a place where families would have fun in a clean, safe environment, something that was sorely lacking in the "carnival" atmosphere of 50s America.
But, yes, I agree that with his zeal for the bottom line, Eisner has made Disney a powerhouse corporation, but at the cost of losing the "spirit" of the company. The animated films are no longer engaging or inspiring (ever noticed how precious few of them have a Mom and Dad?), and while I am the first to say how much I love Walt Disneyworld, I also am saddened as it moves further from 'family' entertainment and more into the rollercoaster and thrill ride, a development that I'm sure Walt would have been loath to support.
It'll be interesting to see if Michael Eisner, someone notable for his lack of listening to input from other people on his team (ask Jeff Katzenberg about that), will react in any way to Roy and Stanley P. Gold resigning from the Disney board of directors.
I hope so. I'd love to see Disney Corporation return to its mixture of pro-family media offerings and entertainment facilities.
January 10, 2008 05:58 PM
Disney has never really been big on Moms and Dads.
Donald, Mickey, Goofy and Daisy have nephews and nieces, not sons. Donald himself is nephew to Scrooge and cousin to Feathery, and it's hard to get information on the exact family lines of most Disney characters.
IIRC, the big, classic Disney cartoons tend to avoid the whole issue of parenting. I don't think it's because Disney is anti-family, I think it's simply because adventure, for a lot of kids, usually starts when they are away from their parents. Hanging out with aunts and uncles is a nice compromise.