Disney buys Marvel Entertainment

[JB2K]

It's way bigger than just the theme parks...

Toys - go down one of the toy aisles at Target/Walmart, and you'll see a whole section/row dedicated to "Disney Princesses", while the WDC's offerings for big boys/tweens is little more than some Power Rangers merchandise (that Disney-owned franchise lost a lot of steam after the 1990's). Marvel, themselves, own quite a bit of shelf space in the big retail stores.

Animated Features - currently, Marvel has some of their 'toons on Nick and others on Disney XD. This deal would guarantee all the Marvel animated features to have a permanent home on Disney XD (as Disney has really wanted this channel to take-off for boys age 8-14).

Movies - Some of the biggest hits of the past two years were produced by Marvel (but distributed by other studios such as Fox and Paramount). Those films include "Wolverine" and "Iron Man". And let's not forget the slew of Iron Man sequels and "Spider-Man 4" already on the drawing board. A deal with Disney gives Marvel an "in-house" major film studio in which to distribute their works (rather than having to cobble seperate deals with individual studios).

Ultimately, it's a win-win - Marvel gets the workings of a major film company, while Disney gets a proven property with the 8-14 demographic.

 

[jnadelman]

WDW should be embellished with Disney creations not Disney purchases.

The potential inclusion of Marvel characters in WDW only adds to the unDisneying process that began corporate Disney purchased the Muppets. Add the non-Disney-created Power Rangers to the mix and the result is less than magic. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had been part of HS (when it was MGM).

To be sure, the Disney-Pixar relationship became a "purchase," but that was a creative partnership first.

What's next: Teletubbies in Toon Town? [Oh no, some folks may be saying, "Hey, that's a great idea!"]

Very interesting perspective. I never thought about it that way. But if you take your logic to the nth degree, aren't most of the princesses non Disney? Even Pooh? These are characters that were created by forces outside of Disney. Disney brought them into their family and enhanced them to be the wonderful characters you now know and love. Can't the same be done here?

 

[twinklebug]

The marvel community is not happy with this, and I can't say I am either. Although I LOVE Disney they have a tendency to exploit successful characters to the point we start disliking them. I wouldn't want to happen to my favorite all time character (snoopy) and I don't want it to happen to the Marvel characters.

http://powet.tv

Take this news with a grain of salt since I haven’t seen it up anywhere else, but according to this article over at marketwatch.com, it looks like Disney is going to acquire Marvel Entertainment and all its characters including Spider-Man, The Hulk, The Avengers, and the X-Men. As a result it looks like Marvel’s stock price has shot up 25%, while Disney’s is actually down 1.5 %.

[UPDATE] Press release from Marvel is here.


From the article:

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. “Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.”

This seems to continue Disney’s trend of hopping on the back of other companies’ creations and innovations while they continue to lag behind with their own intellectual properties, and in some cases (Gargoyles), continue to run them into the ground. Perhaps this is the reason that Disney decided not to renew the license for the Gargoyles comics. Much as the stock price shifts show, it seems that this deal favors Marvel far more than Disney and only then if Disney can keep its hands out of Marvel’s ongoing content.

There will be an investors conference call this morning.

An investor conference call will take place at approximately 10:15 a.m. EDT / 7:15 a.m. PDT today, August 31, 2009. To listen to the Webcast, turn your browser to http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/presentations.html or dial in domestically at 800-260-8140 or internationally at 617-614-3672. For both dial-in numbers, the participant pass code is 51214527.

The discussion will be available via replay on the Disney investors website through September 14, 2009 at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT.

And yes, I spent entirely too much time on that post banner.

 

[JB2K]

WDW should be embellished with Disney creations not Disney purchases.

The potential inclusion of Marvel characters in WDW only adds to the unDisneying process that began corporate Disney purchased the Muppets. Add the non-Disney-created Power Rangers to the mix and the result is less than magic. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had been part of HS (when it was MGM).

To be sure, the Disney-Pixar relationship became a "purchase," but that was a creative partnership first.

What's next: Teletubbies in Toon Town? [Oh no, some folks may be saying, "Hey, that's a great idea!"]

At the end of the day, it's all about money, money, money -- and as I said in my previous post, Disney appeals to a lot of demographics, but has a serious "hole" in that young male demographic.

As for the "unDisneying process" you speak of, for many, Mickey Mouse can only go so far...

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

This is pretty cool, we are going Aug 2010 with my 3 boy cousins and they really enjoy spidey. Last time they went they really liked power rangers, but I think they have grown out of them.

So yaaaaay, I am excited for them to have some more "boy" things to do while we are meeting princesses haha.

 

[nile455]

WDW should be embellished with Disney creations not Disney purchases.

The potential inclusion of Marvel characters in WDW only adds to the unDisneying process that began corporate Disney purchased the Muppets. Add the non-Disney-created Power Rangers to the mix and the result is less than magic. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had been part of HS (when it was MGM).

To be sure, the Disney-Pixar relationship became a "purchase," but that was a creative partnership first.

What's next: Teletubbies in Toon Town? [Oh no, some folks may be saying, "Hey, that's a great idea!"]

I almost threw up once when I got off Space Mountain... not because of the ride, but because of the sight of Pokemon toys in the gift shop near exit area. That was the surest sign Disney had "sold out". The muppets, I can live with.

 

[twinklebug]

I almost threw up once when I got off Space Mountain... not because of the ride, but because of the sight of Pokemon toys in the gift shop near exit area. That was the surest sign Disney had "sold out". The Muppets, I can live with.

I agree. The marketing department is warping Disney in a way I doubt Walt would be happy with. Yes, they need to make money - but at what expense. How shallow are they to become?

BTW - the Muppets are a total different situation. Jim Henson admired Disney and had commented on how if any company could do right by his creations it would be Disney. Note the level of character infusion there is minimal (so far)
and Disney's kept the feel of the Muppets true to their creator's intentions.

I can only hope they'll do the same for the Marvel characters.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

Oh, this will be fun to watch how it plays out.

 

[WaltD4Me]

WDW should be embellished with Disney creations not Disney purchases.

The potential inclusion of Marvel characters in WDW only adds to the unDisneying process that began corporate Disney purchased the Muppets. Add the non-Disney-created Power Rangers to the mix and the result is less than magic. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had been part of HS (when it was MGM).

To be sure, the Disney-Pixar relationship became a "purchase," but that was a creative partnership first.

What's next: Teletubbies in Toon Town? [Oh no, some folks may be saying, "Hey, that's a great idea!"]

ITA! Disney has it's own characters and they are known for creating characters. Couldn't that 4 billion have been put to better use promoting them and/or creating their own characters for the demographic they are looking to target? Is Disney going to go after The Simpsons and Spongebob next??? I can think of many, many, MANY better ways Disney could have spent 4 billion dollars and not one of them includes Spiderman or the Hulk.

I would love to hear what John Lasseter's thoughts are on this aquisition.

 

[Capt. Barbosa]

People are talking like Peter Pan will be battling the Green Goblin while Donald Duck pairs up with Wolverine to fight the forces of Evil. Remember this is a company that owns Miramax and Touchstone these companies don't put out all sugar and spice family friendly films.

 

[Rhonna]

WDW should be embellished with Disney creations not Disney purchases.

The potential inclusion of Marvel characters in WDW only adds to the unDisneying process that began corporate Disney purchased the Muppets. Add the non-Disney-created Power Rangers to the mix and the result is less than magic. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had been part of HS (when it was MGM).

To be sure, the Disney-Pixar relationship became a "purchase," but that was a creative partnership first.

What's next: Teletubbies in Toon Town? [Oh no, some folks may be saying, "Hey, that's a great idea!"]

I was hoping I wasn't the only one not thrilled with this. If it's just the income from movies, merchandise, etc. I wouldn't mind but if they bring Marvel attractions and characters into the parks, it would ruin things, IMHO.

If I want to go to Universal (which we only tried once) then I'd go over there!

 

[JB2K]

Wow, this is a major acquisition in the entertainment and especially theme park world. I wonder if we start seeing Spidey at Magic Kingdom? And what happens to the existing Marvel stuff at competitor Universal?

Personally, while I am all for the Disney/Marvel marriage, I will offer this much:

Let's keep the Magic Kingdom "real" and have Spidey and friends set-up their camp at DHS.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

http://money.aol.com/videos/video/main/disney-ceo-on-marvel-entertainment-acquisition/3752079452

from this interview, it def. sounds like we will see marvel in the parks

 

[Brocktoon]

People are talking like Peter Pan will be battling the Green Goblin while Donald Duck pairs up with Wolverine to fight the forces of Evil. Remember this is a company that owns Miramax and Touchstone these companies don't put out all sugar and spice family friendly films.

Yep, I agree. Disney should know that you don't want to tick off the fanboys. I don't think they'll water anything down or release any Marvel stuff under the Disney banner unless it's a more family friendly property. I'm one of those older comic book geeks, and I'm not too worried about this. BOOM studios is currently putting out some Disney comics, so I'm sure that deal may go away. But besides that, it's sort of a wait and see.

I'd sure love to see some of the Pixar folks get a crack at animating the Marvel U.

 

[Carmen NC]

Maybe Disney World can make arrangements with Universal Studios and allow 1 or multi day park admission when multi day Disney tickets are sold and if you hold an annual pass maybe something like an allowance of 5 visits per year. Of course transportation would need to be included...say they make one stop an hour from Downtown Disney, and maybe a couple of the larger Disney resorts. It really could be a win/win situation if they both play their cards right. I have never been to Universal Studios in the 5 times I been to Disney. Would love to go to their City Walk (I think that is what it is called).

 

[WaltD4Me]

Personally, while I am all for the Disney/Marvel marriage, I will offer this much:

Let's keep the Magic Kingdom "real" and have Spidey and friends set-up their camp at DHS.

There isn't all that much room at DHS...how about they leave it for Pixar (who deserves more representation) and it's characters who are currently not represented, like The Incredibles, Monsters Inc. more Cars and future Pixar characters.

 

[tractortippin]

I didnt really like when Disney bought Muppets and Power Rangers....Its Disney!!! I feel like they have created so many of their own characters that are super sucessfull why use someone elses. I was a little horrified that they were even considering Harry Potter and this Marvel thing isnt any better (in my opinion anyway).

I totally get what people are saying about them not having much for older boys/men. And I'm sure for a business it makes sense but its Disney!!!! Surely they could have come up w/ something (that they made/thought of)??? Its Disney they can do anything!!

I agree w/ the poster that said what would Walt think. I think that all the time. And maybe the truth is the company wouldnt have survied if they ran it now the same they did when they first opened Disneyland. But then again w/ everything Walt did...I kind of think he could have done anything and made it work. Truely an amazing person.

I guess its done though..so we'll see what happens!

 

[nile455]

I didnt really like when Disney bought Muppets and Power Rangers....Its Disney!!! I feel like they have created so many of their own characters that are super sucessfull why use someone elses. I was a little horrified that they were even considering Harry Potter and this Marvel thing isnt any better (in my opinion anyway).

I totally get what people are saying about them not having much for older boys/men. And I'm sure for a business it makes sense but its Disney!!!! Surely they could have come up w/ something (that they made/thought of)??? Its Disney they can do anything!!

I agree w/ the poster that said what would Walt think. I think that all the time. And maybe the truth is the company wouldnt have survied if they ran it now the same they did when they first opened Disneyland. But then again w/ everything Walt did...I kind of think he could have done anything and made it work. Truely an amazing person.

I guess its done though..so we'll see what happens!

But for some reason The Muppets feel Disney like to me. That might have something to do with the fact I've been to the DHS show about a thousand times.

 

[jnadelman]

Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen
Winnie the Pooh - A. A. Milne
Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty - Charles Perrault
Aladdin - Anotine Galland
Snow White - The brothers Grimm
Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
Dumbo - Helen Aberson
101 Dalmatians - Dodie Smith

And the list goes on. Sure, you might think Disney is selling out, but are they really? How many of the classic things that you 'Think' are Disney are really the creation of Disney?

This is nothing new.

 

[twinklebug]

But for some reason The Muppets feel Disney like to me. That might have something to do with the fact I've been to the DHS show about a thousand times.

Jim Henson held many of the same philosophies as Walt. In fact prior to his death he had considered who should take over the Muppets and would keep them "alive" in much the same manner he used. His decision was Disney. There was no question & I believe Disney has done an excellent job of keeping the characters off in a world of their own. They may be able to continue doing the same with the Marvel characters - it all depends on how much the marketing department is allowed to convince the imagineers of otherwise. I believe this acquisition was strictly a financially based one. The Muppet acquisition was very different.