Another Look at Disney's Struggle Between Art and Commerce: 2014 Edition

Back in the early years of this blog, 2009 to be exact, I took a look at The Walt Disney Company's tug of war between creative expression and the overwhelming and dominant drive to offer big returns to investors- and company CEOs. (You can find it here.) 

There's a reason these two are photographed together.

Back then, the article came about because of the departure of Dick Cook, the former chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, but truth be known, it has been going on since the very origins of the company. However, there is a huge difference between how Walt and Roy struggled then- and their goals- and what's happening now until the short sighted, openly power hungry, leadership of Robert Iger. (By the way, the disappearing article criticizing his handling of Shanghai Disneyland and the ignorance and arrogance of the company with regards to the Chinese people is found here. There's a reason why the image on top is no longer the U.S. Dollar image I used in the original article.)

My main love and focus is on the Disney theme parks and secondarily on the animated films. At some level, I couldn't care less about other divisions nor am I any kind of expert on any of these. I'm just a hard core fan who grew up by Disneyland and developed a love for the art of Walt Disney and his Imagineering and Animation teams. That said, knowing I'll focus on the parks, consider this article of "Part Two" of sorts.

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From a park perspective, even the slightest cursory look at the parks should tell you a couple of important facts:

Shanghai Disneyland's Tomorrowland

1- Building an overseas (read "Chinese") presence is priority Number One

Did Jay Rasulo really stand a chance?

2- Walt Disney World is really only seeing investment because guests are changing their vacation patterns and spending more time at Universal Orlando.

This is only the beginning of the Star Wars invasion.

And Marvel...

... and hopefully a remake of this Indiana Jones film.

3- Recently purchased intellectual properties are the main reason overall investment into the American parks is being made.

Much the same can be said of the upcoming and sure to be popular changes to the park across the way. In California Adventure, we'll see the addition of Ariel's Undersea Adventure and Carsland and its Radiator Springs Racers. Are they in theme? That will be debated for ages. Terrific attractions for this poorly designed park? Sure looks like it. As I mentioned earlier, the astounding disaster of California Adventure and its poor reception from the public punctuates the struggle. Disney tried to put one over on its hardcore Anaheim fans by building a second rate second park. The wiser public voiced its opinion by not spending the money to go, and it was back to the drawing boards again to find the balance of quality and financial success.

This art and commerce tension is not limited to the West Coast. In fact, I would guess it is even more pronounced than in California.

The plans for the recently announced Fantasyland expansion in Florida's Magic Kingdom look terrific and are correctly in theme. The princess franchise and experiences and The Little Mermaid are preciously where they belong. For the company's arguably flagship park, Fantasyland needs to look more like something out of a realm long gone versus its current and tired incarnation, and the decision to make it stunning is long overdue. Disney management (and those amazing Imagineers!) gets an "A" here, even though it would be a nice touch to include something for the guys!

Epcot is another story. Any lover of this park, and anyone who saw EPCOT Center at its opening, would have to give a failing grade to the most recent changes. Detailed long ago on this and many other blogs, the changes to the World Showcases of Mexico and Canada are dreadful. The Nemo and Friends overlay to the once elegant Living Seas gets a slightly better grade, yet it has brought activity to this once empty attraction.

Disney's Hollywood Studios gets a pass, as the designers and accountants can throw just about anything in this catch-all park and make it "in theme".
The lush and gorgeous Animal Kingdoms suffers from the art and commerce struggle. It's been this way since its opening. Before the addition of Expedition Everest, the park relied on its artistic touches and lots of foliage but lost big points with guests for lack of beautiful new attractions due to shortage of cash.
Plans were quickly put in place, resulting in the horrible Chester and Hesters Dinorama. Thankfully, this cheaply built mess was followed up by the exquisite but expensive journey to discover the yeti. Next came Finding Nemo- The Musical. Beautiful, surprising and artsy, but it is another animated character addition. The mix of new additions to the park pack in the crowds as well as bringing added capacity.

The Walt Disney World Resort Hotels also display this art/commerce tension. Compare Pop Century with The Grand Floridian. There are more than "Guest Needs" in consideration here when the plans for expansion are made. It was shocking to realize the same company could design both!

Beyond the United States, the situation remains much the same. The tension is a worldwide phenomena.

Look at the world's most beautiful Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Paris. The innovative and distinctive Le Visionarium had to give way to the popular Buzz Lightyear, just as Captain Eo eventually gave it up to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. The park needed new attractions but was short on cash. The same can be said for the minimally themed Temple du Peril. At least this park has enough theming to made up for the mistakes!

Not so fortunate next door, where the very ugly younger sister resides. Following the California Adventure business plan, The Walt Disney Studios Paris opened entirely void of charm and warmth. Tepid reaction and again, loss of incoming cash, made the company rethink its plan. Just like its California counterpart, Imagineers tossed in the cheaper version of Tower of Terror and a couple of off the shelf attractions: the highly themed carnival ride Cars Race Rally and the not quite as highly themed Crush's Coaster. The park's next steps will be telling. If the newest Parisian addition is the Ratatouille attraction that has been detailed on Disney and More, the future looks much brighter even if coming after its recently acknowledged and very cheap looking Toy Story Land.

Above image perfected by Disney and More.

In Asia, Hong Kong Disneyland is a delightful park to view. The greenery is lush, the detail evident. Yet its shortcomings include a carbon copy castle, minimal "E" tickets, and a variety of character meet and greets in place of attractions. Thankfully, the incredible looking Mystic Manor is on its way- but so is Toy Story Land, a bare bones addition that inventive concept art cannot disguise!

Even in Tokyo, the art/commerce struggle grips the suits. Even the most unique of all Disney parks, Tokyo Disney Sea, has made steps to increase capacity and attendance at the price of dumbing down this elegant place. The Tower of Terror is a masterpiece, new theme and all. Raging Spirits? Not so much. Further, does this park really need Toy Story Mania or Turtle Talk shoehorned in? Absolutely not! But it is being done anyway. New attractions come at too high a price.

Things do come full circle. It seems the executive branch at the Walt Disney Company finally understands that quality will bring both crowds and profit. Maybe the success of the recently announced additions at the D23 Expo will flood the coffers, making investors happy and realigning to something Walt Disney always knew: Don't shortchange the customer- give them the best- and they will love you for it.

(Concept art copyright The Walt Disney Company. Photos copyright Mark Taft.)