IT all started with a mouse, this enormous creative content empire that has sent billions of people all over the world pining for the American dream.
Walt Disney, the founder, was a man of vision and gumption who collaborated with artist Ub Iwerks in designing Mickey Mouse for animation shorts in 1928.
It was like Steven Jobs pushing Steve Wozniak with the power of dreams, the itch to create something new before others do and, as the Beatles yelled, “go to the top.”
Dwarves into Giant
In 1937, Disney persevered to come out with the feature length animation “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”
The audience loved it and established Disney reputation in the film industry, winning awards and accolades that impelled him to create more animation hits.
“Snow White” repeated screenings have made it the biggest grossing animation film in the world.
Through the years, Disney the company has created, bought, acquired more than 8,000 characters in its kwadra or stable.
Stable of Stars
These are germinal assets that the company can turn into revenues depending on its business plans.
These are not just Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse or Donald Duck.
These include Winnie the Pooh, Indiana Jones, Captain America, Princess Leia, and a galaxy full of brilliant stars.
In the Philippines, we have the Ravelo family with its Darna, Dyesebel, Captain Barbell, and a dozen or so intellectual properties.
Pennies for Thoughts
We have Jose Marie Chan with his dominant Christmas hits and more than 50 years of prodigal outputs.
If he is paid royalties correctly, Chan could be raking more than his income in international sugar trading.
The only Filipino character that could match Mickey Mouse in age and cultural footprint is Kenkoy, created in 1929 by the artist Tony Velasquez who died almost like a pauper.
He was heartbroken when the house he thought was given to him by the publisher he helped get rich was razed down by the heirs.
We digress.
Strange Bedfellows
Disney has been around running into a hundred years and has grown much more.
It now owns the Star Wars, Chronicles of Narnia, Jim Hensons’s Muppets, the Indiana Jones franchise, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and the Pixar products such as The Toy Story.
It also bagged the Marvel Cinematic Universe characters. Some movie fans do not even realize they come from comics.
Wonder not why Disney is growing if your daughter is collecting Disney Princesses, or your cousin is citing wisdom from Winnie the Pooh, or your sons are waiting for the resurrection of Iron Man in the movies.
Walt Disney, the Man!
Walt Disney himself was a captivating story teller. His staff was spellbound whenever he pitched an idea.
He demanded perfection and excellence in work and that permeated through the organization even long after his death.
Disney has been able to parlay its animation wonders into a global empire.Works of art that connected with massive audiences.
When Pixar came into the picture (pardon the pun) and showed the future of digitally-impelled characters, scenes, and movements, it threatened Disney’s eminence.
The latter moved its pieces brilliantly and check-mated. It bought Pixar.
Greatest Shows on Earth
Dazzle the competition with pots of gold. Or lure creators who salivate for the challenge and the opportunity to have their works come into life in a rigorous environment with a lot of portals.
Disney also owns the television channels ABC, ESPN; films studios Touchstone Pictures, Lucasfilm, and Pixar.
Two years ago, Disney bought Fox Entertainment for US$72B and now owns such titles as The Simpsons, American Horror Story, andAmerican Idol, films like Alien, Home Alone, Avatar, Deadpool, and Independence Day.
This merger also includes media icons like National Geographic and Hulu.
In addition, Disney is the exclusive distributor of Studio Ghibli animation works outside of Japan.
Parks as Cash Cows
If you are in a country inundated by these Disney creations, how will your people think and act?
Furthermore, Disney owns record labels and publications, radio stations, cruise lines, jet rentals, tourism companies, parks and recreational facilities
Its biggest cash cows were its theme parks like Disneyland and Disney World, ideas from the man Disney, that has branched to Tokyo, snooty Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
The pandemic, however, has stalled Disney’s merry ways.
According to its corporate report for 2020, its revenues have gone down to “mere” US$16.5B from US$25.4B in 2019.
That is just a hiccup. We are sure that Disney will resume its gobbling and winning ways when travels resume. And when it has improved its streaming system.
Wish Upon A Star
This is part of the career talk I give to art students.
I tell them that when I was young I wanted to be like Walt Disney.
I used to sleep with a biography of him under my pillow. As if I was wishing upon the stars that his success would ooze into my own dreams.
That has not happened.
But it has not stopped me from visioning that my country would be able to find its own mouse, or carabao, or its own narrative that people around the world would gush over.-30