The World of Disney

Disney represents a world of magic – a world of imagination. For many children, Disney is the ultimate source for entertainment and enhancing their creativity. Being introduced to this world at increasingly young ages, children seem to be swept away in thoughts of fairy tales and unlikely heroes in a world far away from the one they may know. It can create an escape of sorts from the everyday reality and provide a plateau for imaginary ideals to run free. All of this is great and really, what kinds of escape do young children need, right? Well that’s the kind of thinking that is damaging to the Disney franchise, and the kind that they will spend big money trying to fight off. As long as the idealistic concept of Disney is alive in the hearts and minds of its fan base, the company will continue to thrive – this is why Disney does not only focus on creating materials suitable for young children, but they focus on entertaining all age levels so as not to alienate a prospective market. For example, Abilash brought up a good point about Disney corrupting the masses via sexual issues with their products i.e. inappropriate words written in the night sky in the Lion King or a sexual image incorporated into one of the Little Mermaid’s poster cover on the movie packaging. Perhaps these are minor gaffs on part of individual animators, but it starts one thinking about ‘what if it wasn’t a mistake’ – what could it be then? Could it really be intentional on Disney’s part? How much interest was generated in the young adult market when these issues became newsworthy? Enough to keep Disney in the limelight, and that’s what was really important. The movies I watched when I was younger seem so much more entertaining if I watch them at this stage in my life– there are so many more jokes and innuendos that I could not pick up on before but I do understand now. Recently, Disney acquired Marvel Inc. – the ultimate superhero franchise. This will allow them to further capitalize on the interests of teens and adults that seem to feed off the hero theme. Many people thought that this would hurt the comic franchise but I think Disney will do well with it – after all, they are in this for the long haul and with this new development, will have the capability to appeal to different ages, different interests and different stages of an ever-changing market.
I grew up with many children’s movies and cartoons but it was only when I moved to Canada that Disney really took over the competition. I think that has changed now, with Disney representing childhood around the globe, with its competitors struggling to keep up. In the coming years, it will be interesting to see how Disney keeps its current audience and is able to develop its adult audience into followers as well.

- Kelly Ragoobar