The Walt Disney Company seems to have learned the hard way what many Americans knew instinctively: wokism has no place in children’s movies. In a shocking revelation, Disney revealed that it has lost over a billion dollars on four recent flops, even as it continues to cave to the progressives’ wish lists.
The four underperforming movies included “Strange World,” an animated film featuring a gay romance, “Lightyear,” which had LGBTQ characters engaging in same-sex kissing scenes, and “Elemental,” a CGI platform that promoted “racial metaphors.”
Additionally, Disney is seeing a decline in revenue from its cornerstone content, including Toy Story, Star Wars, Mickey and Friends, and Frozen. Even Minnie Mouse wasn’t immune from wokism. The company replaced the beloved icon’s red and white polka-dotted dress with a blue pantsuit.
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley reported that Disney now acknowledges the “risks associated” with going against public preference. “In a new corporate disclosure, Disney acknowledges that its controversial political and social agenda is costing the company and shareholders,” Turley wrote for The Hill.
Disney’s disclosure admitted that revenues and profitability suffered when its entertainment offerings and products failed to gain widespread consumer acceptance.
Shareholders might find it puzzling that corporate executives prioritize political or social agendas over profits. However, for individual executives, championing such causes can be a rationale for professional advancement.
But finding the right balance is difficult for a child-friendly company like Disney. Conservatives don’t believe that a time-honored institution like the Walt Disney Company has any place in dabbling with wokism, and many viewers find the resulting offerings as nothing more than hollow virtue signaling and a blatant attempt to indoctrinate children further.
While Disney shares have risen 6.8% this year, they are well below the S&P 500, which is up about 18%. Iger is optimistic about Disney’s chance to build in 2024. Disney CEO Bob Iger has noticed and decided to remove the company from the culture wars and focus on “building again.”
Some of his proposed changes include expanding theme parks, rebuilding Disney’s movie studio business, and building an ESPN direct-to-consumer platform. The ESPN streaming service will feature integration with fantasy sports and advanced statistics to draw in a younger target audience.
In a recent internal town hall, Iger acknowledged that Disney films have suffered over the past year but stopped short of pointing the finger directly at the company’s decision to “go woke.” He explained that Disney will make fewer films, claiming that the quantity of movies made has negatively impacted the company. He also took a moment to blame the pandemic for the company’s dismal film reception from the public.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what the Disney corporation claims is behind the company’s failures over the past year. If it returns to its former innocence by releasing family favorites like Frozen, generations of Disney fans will be eager to forgive, forget, and fill Disney’s coffers again.
