Streaming, Star Wars, and Staggs: The Top 10 Disney Stories of 2015
Dazzling. Heroic. Galactic. These three adjectives are among many that could be used in a Disney press release about the amazing year that was 2015. It was the year that Walt's beloved Disneyland turned 60, Marvel and Star Wars reigned supreme (aside from those pesky dinosaurs), and the rest of the company began adapting to the changing landscape of both media and the realities of the world. Overall it was a banner year with many notable accomplishments, but these 10 items — for better or worse — made the biggest waves:
10. Descendants
9. Security changes affect Disney Parks
It was a tough year both here at home and abroad with tensions running high following a number of shootings and other attacks. Although Disney Parks often serve as an escape from the rest of the world, a piece of today's reality arrived in Walt Disney World and Disneyland this December as metal detectors were added to security checkpoints at both resorts. Disney hasn't said if these will be a permanent fixture, but it should also be noted that other theme parks, including Universal Studios and SeaWorld, added additional precautions on the same day.
8. Disney makes a deal for Spider-Man
Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe took off, it's been every comic book nerd's dream to have Spider-Man join The Avengers on screen. Unfortunately, deals that were in place before Disney's acquisition of Marvel meant that Sony had exclusive right to the web slinger while other characters (namely the X-Men and Fantastic Four) were tied up at Fox. Sony never seemed keen on letting one of their biggest franchises go and leaked e-mails even showed Disney's attempt to bring Spidey home to no avail. However, in February of this year, it was announced that a deal had been struck and Spider-Man would be making an appearance in an upcoming MCU film before returning to Sony where Kevin Feige would executive produce a (once again) rebooted Spidey franchise. It may not be a perfect scenario, but it's better than nothing.
7. DisneyLife
For years, people have been asking for Disney to offer a subscription service giving fans access a boatload of Disney content all in one place. Disney finally began to offer the service... in the United Kingdom. While existing deals prevent Disney from offering their own version of Netflix in the United States, Bob Iger has said that, if it is successful, a Marvel Life and a Star Wars Life service could be offered in the future. While questions remain such as whether or not they will produce original content for the service and if it will ever come to the States, we can definitely see the appeal of having on-demand access to all the Disney films, music, and digital books — it is like an AP for Disney content.
6. Annual Passport restructuring
The success of Disneyland Diamond Celebration empowered Disneyland to do something they have wanted to do for quite some time. By dramatically raising AP prices (with a nearly unbelievable increase for the top level passes), Disney hopes to manage demand for the peak days that bring Disney the most revenue. In what is obviously the first step to dynamic pricing, Disney wants to reap more income while managing demand on peak days. Although Disneyland has been criticized for jacking up prices prior to closing several attractions to make way for Star Wars Land construction, most everyone would agree that the parks are too crowded even with its current capacity.
5. The Tale of Two Pixars: Inside Out vs. The Good Dinosaur
After taking a year off, Pixar returned, releasing two films this year — a first for the studio. The odd scheduling resulted from The Good Dinosaur undergoing some major changes that necessitated a later release date. While the studio has proven their Midas-esque ability to turn a troubled film around into box office gold, it seems their magic faded a little but with Good Dinosaur which disappointed both in reviews and in ticket sales. In fact, the film just barely passed $100 million domestically this past weekend.Meanwhile, Pixar's earlier release this year — Inside Out — showed the studio at top form. This clever, funny, and ultimately tear-jerking film received rave reviews and closed with over $850 million in the bank. Even with a slew of sequels in the queue, Inside Out proved that Pixar isn't out of original ideas.
4. Star Wars increased presence in the Disney Parks announced
Ever since Disney purchased Lucasfilm (and maybe even before that), rumors have swirled about a Star Wars Land coming to the Parks — or perhaps even comprising its own park. Finally, at the 2015 D23 Expo (oddly during the "live-action films" panel instead of the Parks one), Bob Iger announced that Star Wars Lands were being built at Disney's HollywoodThe first Season opened at Disneyland in November, bringing a Hyperspace Mountain overlay and plenty of Star Wars treats and collectibles to the park. On the other hand, no official dates have been announced for the East Coast version, although Star Wars Weekends have been canceled indefinitely. Not much is known about either land aside from some early concept art shared at the Expo, so expect to see further details emerge over the next couple of years.
3. Marvel on Netflix
When asked about streaming services in a recent earnings call, Bob Iger said that Netflix was, "more friend than foe." Part of the reason for his statement is the positive relationship the two companies have had in creating original content. Marvel's first two shows for the platform — Daredevil and Jessica Jones— have both seemed to make an impression on fans and critics alike (although Netflix does not release any metrics or ratings to know for sure how many people are watching). In addition to showing how powerful his new form of media consumption can be, the Marvel/Netflix partnership has introduced a darker side of the comic book company that isn't necessarily shown in their Cinematic Universe and could attract a new set of viewers.
2. Tom Staggs: Heir Apparent
Ever since Bob Iger announced his retirement in 2011, many have questioned who will replace him. While his retirement has been delayed from 2015 to 2018, succession planning has been on the mind of many Disney followers. Swapping the roles of Jay Rasulo and Tom Staggs was seen as a test to see who would be the internal candidate for CEO. With the naming of Tom Staggs as Chief Operating Officer, a job once held by Iger, it became clear that Tom was Bob's heir apparent. Even Jay Rasulo got the hint, resulting in his departure. While it is possible that an external candidate will lead Disney after Bob, it would be surprising to see such a change for a company that has traditionally promoted from within, especially while it is firing on all cylinders.It is without question that Bob Iger has been a transformative CEO with major investments in the parks and acquiring franchises that have continued (and will continue) to pay dividends. But with audience fragmentation and cord cutting scaring the entire entertainment industry, it will be fascinating to see where Tom or whoever is ultimately named head of The Walt Disney Company may take the conglomerate as it deals with the transformative impacts of new technologies.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
At this point, creating a list of all the records the seventh Star Wars film has broken would take up most of this article. Needless to say, the movie has won over everyone from critics to casual fans to the hardcores (one notable exception but might George Lucas). After less than two weeks in release, The Force Awakens has already cleared over a billion dollars worldwide as is poised to overtake Avatar's all-time crown.If anyone was doubting Disney's $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm, one look at these staggering box office returns — not to mention the amount of merchandise being moved — should serve in proving it was one of the best buys the company has ever made (and they've had a lot of great ones!). Perhaps the most amazing thing is that this only the beginning. With the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens alongside their Marvel properties, in-house animated films, and Pixar films, Disney has ensured their box office domination for years to come.
Editor's Picks
FanBoy: D23 Expo
Although the D23 Expo had its fair share of operational challenges and many fans were hoping for even more announcements, I have to include the 2015 edition of the D23 Expo as my editor's pick. While the Expo featured sneak peeks, exhibits, celebrities and announcements, what truly makes this event special is gathering of all things Disney in one place. Seeing friends that you have lost touch with, bumping into Disney celebrities in the halls, and seeing fans display their fandom in interesting and diverse ways makes this event truly special. Sure the announcements, panels, and pavilions help make the D23 Expo a must-see for some, sharing these moments with my fellow Disney fans is my true highlight.
Besides the oddly timed Star Wars Land reveal, we also learned about Toy Story Land coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios along with Soarin' Around the World landing at Epcot and DCA. There were disappointments (Disney Store), oddities (The Iron Man Experience bit), and happy surprises (Johnny Depp), but, with everything is considered, the D23 Expo was once again the must-do Disney event of the year.
Doobie Moseley: Galavant
In recent years, ABC has become known for its diversity with shows like Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Black-ish, Fresh of the Boat, Modern Family and others. And ABC has, for the most part, steered clear of CSI and NCIS procedural clones and tried to bring something different to the networks like American Crime (critically lauded) and even Wicked City (critically panned). In 2015 ABC added to its diversity not with casting but with daring content. Galavant's brand of musical combined with over-the-top comedy hasn't been seen on network television since... well, I'm not sure it has. The fact that the network that brought us Cop Rock, a show that is still laughed about today, went out a limb to give us Galavant is itself worthy of applause, but the reason I made Galavant my Editor's Choice, is Disney not only gave it a chance but it also gave it a second chance. In CinemaBlend's 10 TV Shows Most Likely to Get Cancelled they wrote:While many people (like myself) love the refreshing take on TV musicals, the double-episode airings haven’t been great for Galavant’s ratings, which have dipped each week. Something tells me Sunday’s broadcast of the final two episodes won’t be the graceful rescue the show needs.Happily, ABC smiled on the show and Galavant's second season will begin on January 3rd. One more notch in ABC's diversity belt.
Alex Reif: The Death of Touchstone Pictures
Ron Miller created Touchstone Pictures in 1984 so that Disney could release movies that weren't exactly "family friendly." The Touchstone brand also proved to be a blessing in disguise, allowing Disney marketing to remove the Disney name from films if they were concerned about public reaction. That's how Disney films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Nightmare Before Christmas wound up as Touchstone films in their initial release.
Splash, Adventures in Babysitting, Sister Act, Father of the Bride and Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion are among my favorite films of all time, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Among the most famous films to come from the Touchstone label include Pretty Woman, Beaches, Dick Tracy, Ed Wood, Armageddon, 10 Things I Hate About You and The Prestige. With Dick Cook's departure from Disney, Touchstone Pictures became merely a distributor of Dreamworks films. In September, Disney announced that their partnership with Dreamworks would end in 2016, with just one more film planned for release under the Touchstone banner. Now that Disney has Marvel and Lucasfilm, who needs Touchstone? I, for one, will miss it.
Kyle Burbank: Disneyland's "new Fantasyland"
While Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom received a New (with a capital 'n') Fantasyland a few years back, Disneyland quietly began updating their's last year with the brilliant refurbishment of Alice in Wonderland. This unexpected development brought new magic to the classic attraction by beautifully integrating new technology that wowed without distracting. In 2015, the trend continued as my personal favorite ride, Peter Pan's Flight, received similar treatment.
Fans both in favor and opposed to the changes have noted that the Pan update wasn't as large in scope as Alice's but I'd argue that's what makes this initiative even better. The fact that the Imagineers aren't trying to overload each attraction with effects just because they can once again demonstrates their respect for these rides and their simple but effective charms. Take, for example, the fiber optic stars above Neverland (that single-handedly make this ride my favorite) which have thankfully remained untouched that could have easily be destroyed in the hands of lesser creatives.
Much the way Star Wars: The Force Awakens succeeded by using "all of the tools in the toolbox" (in that case meaning CGI and practical effects), the subtle makeovers that Disneyland has been giving to their famous dark rides have followed the same path and I think it's a great road to go down.