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Credit: Inside the Magic It’s a turbulent time for The Walt Disney Company’s Disney+ streaming service.
Upon Bob Iger’s dramatic return as the Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company last November, his aim was clear: to control the company’s spending and boost the profitability of its fledgling Disney+ streaming service. No one would have expected such drastic measures, though.
Iger, who replaced his very own successor, Bob Chapek, in a stunning move at the end of 2022, made it his mission to rein in studios like Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm and streamline the content offering on Disney+. Earlier this year, former Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy stated that content would be curated, with many titles being removed from the streamer.
Then, in May, the cuts began.
Shows like Lucasfilm’s short-lived Willow, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Big Shot were removed, as were films like Better Nate Than Never (2022) and Crater (2023). The latter was only on Disney+ for less than two months before being scrapped by the House of Mouse.
The Disney+ cuts, as well as Iger’s cull of 7,000 jobs, came as a result of Disney’s target to save $5 billion across the company.
The cancellation and removal of multiple shows sparked outrage across the fandom, and the once-celebrated CEO became the villain of the piece. Feelings towards Iger would sour more after his comments about the currently ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strikes surfaced online.
But with a stripped-down Disney+ streaming service aiming to pull in more viewers with upcoming new pricing tiers, it seems Disney is also trying to attract those fans still invested in collecting physical media. Impassioned calls to purchase physical media were made on social media platforms after Disney’s removal of shows like Willow. Now that the Lucasfilm reboot is off the platform, there is currently nowhere legally that fans can watch the show.
And while Disney would never (hopefully, never) remove its animated classics, movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Peter Pan (1953), and Frozen (2013), it seems the Mouse House does understand the value of owning physical media.
In conjunction with the company’s historic 100 Years of Wonder, Disney has announced the release of a brand-new Blu-ray box set, including 100 Disney and Disney Pixar movies.
“Celebrate the extraordinary history of a century of Disney storytelling with this stunning one-of-a-kind collection available in a limited quantity exclusively from Walmart. Featuring 100 Disney and Pixar animated films on Blu-ray™, this singular array — from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Elemental — has been specially curated by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment in partnership with Walt Disney Studio Archives, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios,” the synopsis of the product reads.
The exclusive Walmart collection also includes “18 additional discs of bonus content from Pixar, a WISH lithograph, crystal Mickey ears hat collectible, digital codes for all 100 films, and a numbered certificate of authenticity.”
Perfect for any fan of Walt Disney Animation Studios or Pixar Animation Studios, this 100-disc Blu-ray set, complete with digital download codes, will set someone back $1,499.96.
The huge price tag has already been an issue for some. When this collection went live on Walmart, it received multiple reviews complaining about the price of the item. Those reviews have since been deleted and are no longer visible on the Walmart website.
Check out the item and purchase it .
Related: Disney+ Blasted By Parents Group, “What Comes Next? Live Stripteases in Fantasyland?”
The future of streaming for Disney is uncertain. McCarthy’s comments earlier this year revealed that the content curation would generate a $1.5-1.8 billion impairment charge for the company. As for the likes of Disney’s subsidiaries, studios such as Marvel have significantly pulled back on their own output, having only released one show onto the Disney+ streaming service this year. Secret Invasion, which aired in June, will next be followed by Loki Season 2 in October.
In a world where live-action remakes are the new normal and the superhero genre is being tarnished, this callback and celebration of where it all started for Disney — in animation — may be seen as a step in the right, albeit expensive, direction.
Will you be purchasing this Blu-ray Disney box set? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!