Disney and change

Oh, the cries of panic from the Disney fan faithful…

Yes, changes are afoot at the Disney company.

So, what else is new? Really.

Okay, I can give some credit to the changes related to the departure of John Lasseter later this year. It is a newsworthy item as John has been at the helm of Pixar, Disney animation and even theme parks at Imagineering.

Yet, Disney as a company has been about change long before Walt Disney passed away in 1966. Anyone recall this quote from Walt?

“I just want to leave you with this thought, that it’s just been sort of a dress rehearsal, and we’re just getting started. So if any of you start resting on your laurels, I mean just forget it, because…we are just getting started.”

If you really go all the way back to the start of the company, it was all about change. The whole art form of animation was changing as it went along. First came short subjects. Then feature length films. Then television. Then theme parks. And on and on…

And yes, some of the changes along the way included more than a few stumbles and failures. But if you don’t take those steps, you never find out what works, and perhaps more importantly, what the audience likes. And what keeps them coming back for more.

Take for example the recent “fiasco” of the Han Solo film. It’s easy to sit back at home and call out what you perceive as flaws in the final product. Yet at the studio, decisions were made which impacted that final product. And added to the cost of that final product. Maybe it did not meet the expectations of some folks in many respects. Yes, it was indeed an expensive lesson. But one that was inevitable as the studio branches out from the Star Wars franchise. A quick remembrance? Not every Marvel film has rocked the box office  either. Lessons are always being learned.

Bottom line? Disney stockholders continue to like what they see. The Theme Parks division continues to be robust and profitable. People are still making pilgrimages to the wilds of Orange County – east and west. The international parks are also doing well.

Are changes coming? Yes. They have to. When Disneyland opened in 1955, it may have had the marketplace all to it’s self. But that did not last long. And it doesn’t take much of a look to see how changes came along soon.

So, the sky isn’t falling. Despite what some of the faithful may cry, it is a good time at the moment at the Walt Disney Company.

Enjoy it!