Credit: Edited by Inside the MagicBox office woes have been linked to creative discourse and loss of focus at the Walt Disney Company, but Bob Iger might be assembling his own team of magical Avengers to combat Disney’s recent struggles.
Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios have entered what fans are calling the “Flop Era,” as much of the studio’s cinematic ventures have been anything but success. This is the first time in ages that Disney has not had a billion-dollar hit at the box office, and it might be a symptom of a much bigger problem.
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Disney CEO Bob Iger recently stated that Disney’s movies have been suffering due to too many messages and not enough stories. Although it’s easy to join in on the chants of “go woke, go broke,” with that information in mind. There’s more to it than some sort of hidden agenda.
CNBC reported the following from Bob Iger,
“Creators lost sight of what their No. 1 objective needed to be,” Iger said at the DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday. “We have to entertain first. It’s not about messages.”
The Disney CEO also added,
“I like being able to entertain if you can infuse it with positive messages and have a good impact on the world. Fantastic. But that should not be the objective. When I came back, what I have really tried to do is to return to our roots.”
It’s not about messages, as Disney has been built on the foundation of great storytelling since Walt’s day. However, the “creators” he’s referring to play a much more significant role than just artists and writers.
Master Storytellers Can Save the Walt Disney Company
Realistically speaking, Iger, the Walt Disney Company, and all those involved still have much to do before the studio is even a fraction of the way back to where it used to be. However, the CEO has already turned things in the right direction by getting the right creators involved.
During the opening of the new Frozen expansion at Hong Kong Disneyland, Iger revealed on Good Morning America that Jennifer Lee (creator of the iconic franchise) was overseeing things and was “hard at work with her team at Disney Animation on not one but actually two stories.”
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Disney Animation wasn’t the only department to receive some much-needed leadership, as Disney and Star Wars darling Dave Filoni assumed the role of Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm right on the heels of his success with projects like Ahsoka and The Mandalorian.
Getting these master creators involved is a great way to get Disney back on track to making magic again, but Iger can’t stop there. In fact, he should approach a few more former friends to truly bring the studio back to the dream machine we all know and love.
Getting the Band Back Together
For the longest time, Disney has been all about telling new perspectives and allowing new voices to come to the forefront. That’s all well and good, and all production companies should strive for the same, but if the Walt Disney Company genuinely wants to get back to its storytelling roots, they’ll call in the professionals.
Disney has connections to some of the most incredible writers, artists, directors, and creative minds in the industry, but recent actions from the studio have led to many distancing themselves from Disney. Directors like J.J. Abrams and Tim Burton have reportedly stepped away from the House of Mouse after multiple collaborations, and it’s time for Disney to make amends.
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If Disney is willing to engage and encourage creators like Jennifer Lee and Dave Filoni to take more charge in the fields that make them so successful, it might be in the company’s best interest to do the same with others. It’s easier said than done, but it might be what needs to happen to bring back the type of Disney fans are asking for.
The studio has not been painted in the best light as of late, but a reunion with the artists that can remind viewers why they love Disney in the first place while trying something new and exciting to draw a crowd could be the saving grace the studio needs. The question is, where to start?
Bring Burton Back with Full Creative Control
Although he stated that he would likely never work for the studio again, Disney needs Tim Burton now more than ever. A common criticism of the Walt Disney Company (at least from this writer’s point of view) is that it has become too terrified of its audience to take risks and do something unusual.
Naturally, the best action to combat that problem is to call upon the king of the strange and unusual. Of course, that might be easier said than done, as Burton has come out verbally against the studio.
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While working on his adaptation of Dumbo (2019), the prolific director stated,
“The thing about ‘Dumbo’ is that’s why I think my days with Disney are done; I realized that I was Dumbo, that I was working in this horrible big circus, and I needed to escape…”
Great things happen when Disney and Burton play nice despite their artistic differences. After all, that’s how we wound up with films like The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and both versions of Frankenweenie. With interest growing in scrapped Disney films like the morbid Mort, perhaps an agreement can be reached.
Reach Out to Pixar’s Powerhouse
It’s been said that Disney’s movie messages should be left to Pixar, and there’s logic in that statement. Pixar is home to some of the most gifted storytellers in the animation industry, and that’s quite an accomplishment when one of your best animated features is about feelings with feelings.
Joking aside, even Pixar has taken a few blows this year, particularly with Lightyear (2023) facing severe box office backlash (dubbed a “disappointment” by The LA Times). Despite it eventually finding its audience, even Peter Sohn’s Elemental (2023) had a rocky start and is still a minor win compared to some of the work done by his predecessors.
Like so many things at Disney, it’s time to take a step back and look at what was a success in years prior. Although a Toy Story sequel is reportedly in the works, a better plan might be to have some of Pixar’s decorated directors and producers helm a film again.
Pete Docter (Soul (2020)), Brad Bird (The Incredibles (2004)), and the recently retired Lee Unkrich (Coco (2017)) are just three names on the list of Pixar’s senior creators that could give Disney a shot in the arm to boost it back to creative gold again. With any luck, Iger will still have a friend in them.
Renegotiate with John Lasseter
Perhaps the most significant thing Disney could do to get out of the creative funk it created is to get back in touch with John Lasseter. Although the former Pixar head and giant of Disney animation stepped down in 2017, he has since been making waves as head of Skydance Animation.
With aid from other Disney animators, including figures like Pixar’s own Brad Bird and Zootopia’s Rich Moore, Lasseter is practically going to war with his former animated kingdom by leading several other projects with Skydance and Netflix. Given the situation at Disney Animation, it might be time to bury the hatchet.
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While some might argue that the allegations against Lasseter in 2017 should bar him from further involvement, he was still one of the company’s biggest and most successful assets. The argument can also be made that Disney’s supposed downfall can be traced back to his departure from the studio.
From a creative standpoint, it might be better to have Lasseter as a contributor and fellow collaborator than as an enemy. If he could strike gold at the studio before, reason dictates that he might be able to do it again if an agreement can be reached.
The Future of the Walt Disney Company
To recap, Disney has displayed interest in getting creators back on track, and the studio has already made the right calls in putting people like Jennifer Lee and Dave Filoni in positions of power over the stories they tell and the worlds they build. That said, there are still other individuals Disney has yet to engage.
Fixing their movies and animated features won’t be an instant fix, especially considering how long it takes to get them out of production and into theaters. However, it’s possibly the biggest thing the Walt Disney Company can do to regain a sense of normalcy.
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While things might be healing on the entertainment front, Disney also has the parks to deal with as well. Even with the studio back in shape, the state of Disneyland, the Walt Disney World Resort, and other goings on at the rest of the Disney Parks has yet to be addressed.
Disney’s movies, both live-action and animated, are the company’s bread and butter. When Walt first brought Snow White to life in 1937, he changed how people see motion pictures. It’s that kind of innovation and imagination that will put Disney back on top again.
Can Disney assemble its crew of animation Avengers, or are we in the endgame now? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!