Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore — Disney AI Task Force, Disney+ Perks, and Disney and Pixar Animation
This month's newsletter includes thoughts on Disney+ Perks, Disney AI Task Force, and Disney & Pixar Animation.
Welcome back to Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore!
In this issue, we will be covering:
Disney Has Unleashed Its AI Task Force 🤖
Disney+ Perks Is The Future of Disney+ 🛒
Disney Animation & Pixar Animation Updates: Jared Bush’s Plan & Elio 🎥
Podcast Plugs 🎙
Links of the Month 📰
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Disney Has Unleashed Its AI Task Force 🤖
Disney CEO Bob Iger has finally unleashed his AI task force after teasing it for years.
Disney’s Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Horacio Gutierrez looks to take charge against Midjourney, an AI image generator that has been using Disney’s IP. Thankfully, Disney has an ally in NBCUniversal.
Other Hollywood studios like Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, Amazon, and Netflix decided not to pursue the lawsuit with Midjourney alongside Disney and NBCUniversal. Paramount has a reasonable excuse as it’s in the middle of a potential sale, and it’s taking forever to get that deal closed. Warner Bros. Discovery should’ve been all for this, but maybe they don’t care that AI companies are benefitting from using their IP? Amazon and Netflix didn’t join either, and it’s a curious decision, as I wonder if those companies are secretly more pro-AI than the traditional Hollywood studios. AI may be the issue that shows us the clear break between tech companies and studios.
The case with Midjourney will set the precedent. Can AI companies just use IP willy-nilly, or will there be restrictions/royalties? Disney’s Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Horacio Gutierrez told Bloomberg that the goal of the lawsuit was “To maintain our right to authorize whether, on what terms, and by whom our IP and characters are commercialized.”
See now if we look at that line closely. Disney just wants to maintain the right to authorize the usage of their IP and how it is commercialized. This leads us to another development that Disney is talking to companies like OpenAI about potential partnerships. Disney may be fine with generative AI as long as they authorize the terms and how the IP is commercialized. Still, I wonder what Disney’s end goal will be with some of these AI companies?
Gutierrez told Bloomberg that the lawsuit is “part of a campaign to protect our intellectual property rights in the world of generative AI." It will just be fascinating to see if Disney is willing to license its IP to AI companies for a price or if they want to totally restrict access. Gutierrez also gave Bloomberg an all-time baller quote about the potential of more lawsuits with AI companies.
“This is our first case, but it likely won’t be the last.”
The Midjourney lawsuit will set a precedent on whether these AI companies can get away with utilizing Disney’s IP. It also seems like Disney is willing to go after other AI companies. However, Disney isn’t ruling out all AI. Disney’s main beef comes with generative AI. Yet it seems like they are willing to work with generative AI companies if the right type of partnership could be struck.
I think sometimes people think all AI is bad, but remember AI has been around for a lot longer than some may realize. Also, not every AI tool is used for creativity or “thinks for people” or “answers questions.” Sometimes an AI tool will do mundane tasks.
Walt Disney Imagineering has been studying AI for years and has done countless research papers on it. Pixar uses AI tools to speed up post-production (and it doesn’t affect anyone’s job either). I’m also sure Disney uses AI tools for productivity in other areas as well. It is extremely likely that the next iterations of the Disney+ and Disney Parks apps will include AI features. We are in the age of AI, and Disney seems to be realizing it. Now we just have to see what this landmark lawsuit leads to.
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Disney+ Perks Is The Future of Disney+ 🛒
Disney+ is cutting back on content, but it’s going all in on perks.
Disney+ Perks have been around for a while, but they have since received a major upgrade. The new level perks include contests, sweepstakes, and deals with big-name brands like DoorDash, Clear, Adidas, Duolingo, and Kroger.
The strategy seems eerily reminiscent of former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s scrapped plans to make Disney+ into more of a Disney Prime offering. A strategy that would’ve seen Disney+ evolve into more than a streamer and have perks across Disney and other companies similar to Amazon Prime. We did a whole deep dive on the prospect of Disney Prime back in 2022. It remains a fascinating idea for the company.
The unveiling of Disney+ Perks also meant the unveiling of Hulu Perks. Hulu Perks include contests, sweepstakes, and partnerships with brands like Microsoft and LG. Once again, Disney is creating an entirely new flywheel that will help reduce churn for Disney+, but it will also help these business partners get access to Disney’s huge streaming subscriber base.
The move may be flying under the radar, but as Disney+ reduces content output, it seems like Disney+ Perks will pick up some of the slack. Instead of a new Marvel show every few months, we may see a transition to a new perk. There will still be content, but it seems like the perks can help offset the lack of new material.
Once Disney+ and Hulu formally become one service, I could see perks being a headline offering, just alongside films and TV shows. This could be a way to position Disney+ as more of an Amazon Prime service instead of just simply a streaming service like Netflix, Peacock, HBO Max, and others.
Disney could end up using the Disney+ Perks program to help other aspects of the company as well, like Disney Parks and the collaboration with Epic Games. Maybe eventually Disney will reward fans who are D23 Gold members plus Disney+ subscribers. There are a lot of unique angles they can take with the perks and overall membership system.
I have it on good authority that this is just the start of Disney+ Perks and that there will be even more perks rolling out in the future.
Disney Animation & Pixar Animation Updates: Jared Bush’s Plan & Elio 🎥
Throughout June, we got various updates on Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. In large part thanks to the Annecy Animation Festival in France. Disney Animation CCO Jared Bush made the rounds and made a big splash by announcing Ron Clements’ return to the studio as a mentor.
Bush also spoke to TheWrap and said he has a “10-year slate” he is currently focusing on. Bush described himself as a “planner.” Frozen III, Frozen IV, and Moana 3 are the sure bets for that 10-year plan, and I’d also include Encanto 2 as a likely possibility. I’m interested to see Bush’s approach to originals and how it differs from Jennifer Lee and even John Lasseter.
There were a lot of news bites that came from Jared Bush’s press rounds, and I’m honestly still combing through some. My initial take, though, is that he seems eager to do great in this role and that having a “planner” in the Chief Creative Officer role is pretty perfect.
Now, on the Pixar side of things. Elio had Pixar’s worst opening weekend ever, but it’s hard to put all the blame on Pixar and Elio. It came out amidst some pretty steep competition, but still, an original Pixar film should do better than that. It’s easy to write off Elio as a project that didn’t receive marketing (it spent quite a bit on ads and had various brand integrations). Did audiences just not like the vibes of the teasers? My biggest concern for Elio was that it looked too much like Lightyear.
“We have to find out what people want before they know it. Because if we just gave them more of what they know, we’d be making Toy Story 27,” said Pixar CCO Pete Docter at a Fast Company conference. Despite the Elio miscalculation, Pixar has some intriguing originals like Hoppers (being described as Mission: Impossible meets Avatar but Pixar) and Gatto (Enrico Casarosa’s follow-up film to Luca with a brand new art style). If those originals don’t set the world on fire, Pixar has a couple more originals brewing, including a new original from Turning Red/Elio director Domee Shi. They also have a surplus of sequels like Toy Story 5, Peter Sohn’s Incredibles 3 with a script from Brad Bird, and Coco 2. Not to mention, I believe there are some other sequels/continuation stories in the works at Pixar that haven’t even been announced yet. We may have more on those soon.
Yet one last thought on Pixar doing originals and its marketing efforts…
Is it time for Pixar to mix it up, though? Maybe do an adaptation of a book or brand? Maybe there is something there with some pre-awareness that Pixar can do. Heck, maybe Pixar attempts to do the first-ever animated Muppets film that mixes realistic Muppet-like animation and puppetry? Remember when there was a rumor Pixar was going to make a film about F.C. Barcelona? That may work!
Maybe Pixar just needs to find another universal story concept like “toys come alive” and “monsters under your bed.” Easier said than done.
When it comes to marketing, maybe it’s just time to hire Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort to market your films in tandem with Disney’s marketing resources? At this point, you've got to do something. I’m expecting the Hoppers to campaign to be radically different from Pixar, and if it isn’t, then maybe there is a problem.
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Podcast Plugs 🎙
The Zach Perilstein Show did its annual Father’s Day special with Max Perilstein where they discussed Muppet*Vision 3D, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, Letterboxd four favorites, and more. (Spotify) (Apple)
Ryan Cortero of Agents of Fandom and Collider discusses the first three episodes of Ironheart. (Spotify) (Apple)
The Lowdown on the Plus-up kicks off Season 2 with an episode dedicated to America’s Roadside attractions. (Spotify) (Apple)
LINKS OF THE MONTH
— Boardwalk Times is back on YouTube! Join Boardwalk Times columnist Kyle Silagyi as he tells the story of Beastly Kingdom. We have some fun plans in the works for YouTube! (Boardwalk Times on YouTube)
— Disney announced a Lilo & Stitch sequel on 626 Day. The biggest no-brainer decision of the year so far. (The Walt Disney Company)
— We asked the question, and no one has any idea of what a fifth park for Walt Disney World would even be! (Boardwalk Times)
— A Salute to Attractions The Disney Parks Never Should Have Closed (But Mostly Muppet*Vision 3D) (Boardwalk Times)
— What We Lose When We Lose Muppet*Vision 3D (Boardwalk Times)
— I really enjoyed Andrew Barth Feldman’s tribute to Muppet*Vision 3D. (Vulture)
— This is a jokey and funny article from The Hollywood Reporter on a Netflix theme park, but in all honesty, I think Netflix should explore something on a grander scale than mall experiences. (The Hollywood Reporter)
— Disney Succession update: Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro seems to be in pole position to be the next CEO of The Walt Disney Company. (The Hollywood Reporter)
— Disney officially revealed new concept art for Piston Peak National Park (A new Cars Land) coming to Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom. (Everything You Need To Know)
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