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Credit: Inside the MagicIn the simplest of terms, Disney has not been performing well at the theaters, especially regarding their animated features. One misstep is forgivable, two are a rarity, but the house that Walt built is outright floundering at the box office as multiple movies fail to dazzle fans. However, there might be a common denominator.
@sayheyjames made a post on TikTok regarding the inaction of Bob Iger during his return to Disney. Along with pointing out the rising costs and falling stock at the company, he also pointed out that the need for new and captivating content is what is costing Disney its audience. However, Disney has an ally to aid their efforts.
Disney Needs to Look to Bluey
@sayheyjames Bob Iger is failing Disney and there are some quick steps to fix this. #disneytiktok #disney #disneytok #disneyland #disneyworld
In his analysis, @sayheyjames states directly to the CEO:
“The most critical point, Mr. Iger, is about the content itself. It’s okay to have a good, old-fashioned, tale without shoving a message in audiences’ faces every single scene. Let the audience discover the message and lead with good storytelling and original characters first.”
Ironically, Disney has been streaming content that does precisely what the creator is asking for. The problem, they didn’t have a thing to do with it.
Related: Disney Censors F-Word on ‘Bluey’
Bluey is an animated series from Ludo Studios and the BBC that has taken the world by storm. With 154 episodes, a very vocal fanbase, an upcoming fourth season, and an announced video game tie-in, the Heelers have become pop-culture icons since they first hit Disney+. So what does a family of animated dogs have to do with Disney’s success or failure?
While Disney may or may not be indoctrinating its audience, the studio has fallen into a sort of preachy habit with its most recent animated films. Although Bluey does utilize some morals in its episodes, their presence isn’t repetitive and the stories happen organically, something Disney hasn’t really seen since before Frozen.
Related: Nearly 50 Movies Axed From Disney Streaming Service
The show relies on its characters and their interactions to get the narratives across. Some episodes teach life-lessons, but most consist of animated dogs just living their lives. That being said, the key ingredient on both fronts is balance.
A perfect example of this is the episode, “The Decider.” The Heelers and their neighbors get together to watch a big rugby match on TV. However, the neighbors are a house divided as both mom and dad root for different teams, causing internal conflict for their youngest on who to root for.
At face value, this is just a family watching a game on TV, but with the language used and the fact that Janelle (the neighbor mom) watches the game at the house next door to root for her team instead of with her husband on the opposing side, an allegory for divorce or parental conflict is implied but not forced.
That’s exactly the type of storytelling Disney needs to adopt. There’s a lesson, but it’s neither forced nor directly implied or implicated. This way, the audience is content to just watch the characters they love have charming interactions that drive the story. If Disney applied this to one of their classic fairytale narratives, there’s no telling what they could accomplish.
Should Disney take lessons from Ludo and Bluey? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!