You know, it is said, sometimes we forget what made us successful at the first place and then we keep wondering what is wrong!!

You know, it is said, sometimes we forget what made us successful at the first place and then we keep wondering what is wrong!!

👉 We as individuals diverge, sometimes we collectively as part of organizations fail to see what founder's soul envisioned - maybe under investor pressure, or maybe at times to just swing with the wind!!

👉 Those who know me, know The Walt Disney Company remains close to my heart and would like to reiterate what Sir Walt Disney envisioned it as - "a company where his stories could grow, coming to life in different forms and in every aspect of people’s lives."

👉 To do that it needs to move beyond "fixating with delivering the right message" & "play it safe approach" which it has been following for quite sometime!!

👉 John Musker, Ex-Walt Disney Animation Studios directing legend notes with Cartoon Brew that the firm has lost focus on creating "engaging characters" and has been solely focusing on "right messaging". As he rightly notes, the power of animation lies with engaging characters as viewers can sympathize with that! He mentions and I quote -

" The classic Disney films didn’t start out trying to have a message. They wanted viewers to get involved in the characters and the story and the world, and I think that’s still the heart of it. "

👉 This view was vetoed by Iger itself in late 2023 but little seems to be moving in that direction. In fact, play it safe approach via creation of live-action remakes suggest otherwise and the commentary seems whitewash!!

👉 Adding to that the recent layoffs of 175 creative owners at Pixar suggests further de-prioritization of creation of "engaging characters" pursuit

To once again engage with the "heart-set" and be part of people's lives, Disney need to be once again authentic, creative and affordable. Period.

Reuters report; views are personal