Competition for Mickey????

[Bob O]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/09/business/media/09SHOP.html
So should Mickey be worried???? Other companies are creating new characters and how might this affect Mickey a couple years/decades down the line if the young generation doesnt like him as much as we might???

 

[KNWVIKING]

I didn't sign up in order to read the article,but I think I understand the point of the thread & the article.

Isn't Disney already shifting focus away from Mickey and more onto "The Princess' ", Buzz & Woody, L&S, etc. The shelves are still full of Mickey plush, but it isn't the dominant figure anymore.

 

[raidermatt]

There's several ways to look at this...

If Disney does a good job of maintaining its brand, promoting its characters, and creating new characters, they have absolutely nothing to worry about. However, their record in this is a bit spotty, and I think there is room for others to steal some thunder away.

However, I'd hardly call Nickelodeon the "New Disney". Spongebob is doing great right now, and Nickelodeon has done a good job of coming up with new characters that the kiddies like every few years.

But they have yet to create anything that rivals the Disney characters for longevity, or even the Loonytoons for that matter.

Rugrats are the next Peanuts? Please.

Now, I'm not saying Nickelodeon hasn't been succesful, or that they can't grow in the future. But SO FAR, they have not found a way to connect with adults the way Disney did, and even the way Looneytoons did.

As for Mickey Mouse, kids of the 70's didn't have Mickey Mouse on the brain either, so I wouldn't be too concerned about him for that reason. But he has become a "corporate symbol" as Robin Williams said, so his popularity could eventually be hurt if Disney continues to allow their brand power to diminish.

As is usually the case, if Disney just concerns itself with what Disney does, and does it RIGHT, they will be fine.

 

[raidermatt]

Isn't Disney already shifting focus away from Mickey and more onto "The Princess' ", Buzz & Woody, L&S, etc. The shelves are still full of Mickey plush, but it isn't the dominant figure anymore.

Disney pimps, er, promotes whatever is selling, and right now, the Princess stuff is selling.

But I think Mickey still does ok, considering he's 75 years old. And more importantly, its reasonable to expect he will still be popular in 10-15 years. Maybe not the dominant figure, but still a biggie.

And the princess thing is interesting. Disney has found away to get some serious mileage out of some older classic characters, mixed in with some newer ones (though they are older than Spongebob...).

I'm sure that's one of the reasons why Philharmagic is coming...

 

[KNWVIKING]

I believe I read somewhere- maybe here on this board- that Disney is going to push other charactors in anticipation of the Sonny Bono trademark/copywrite law being repelled & Mickey becoming public domain. If they can reduce Mickey's popularity or at least profitabilty, maybe it will stop the scabs from selling worthless knock-offs.

 

[Bob O]

Well i dont know how my kids wil feel in twenty years, but my youngest daughter doesnt have the same feeling my older kids do about disney characters or Mickey or as me and my wife. And if i remember correctly Winnie the Pooh out sells Mickey already in merchandise and with other channels like Nick being alot more popular than the disney channel it makes you wonder how things will be in the future,escpecially is disney's animated films are medicore like they are as of late and Pixar goes elsewhere when the contract is up as their characters have outdone disney's as of late.

 

[KNWVIKING]

It's funny, I was trying to think of examples of the HOT charactors my kids had to have when they were little -their version of the Spongebob's- and I guess I proved my own point because I can't think of any,although I know they existed. There will always be a "latest & greatest" something,ie Gabage Patch dolls, Tickle me Elmo, but without the support & history of an icon like Disney, I can't imagine any current product threatening Mickey.

 

[PKS44]

a few years ago one of the hottest shows on Nick was Angry Beavers...have not heard much from them lately--I love SpongeBob-but let's wait a few decades before we pronounce him a classic.

 

[meowthew2]

The Angry Beavers had very low ratings, actually, and was cancelled very quickly. Meanwhile, episodes of SpongeBob have claimed multiple spots in the top ten cable ratings every week for almost three years now. If it's not a classic already, it certainly will be.

 

[DEE DEE]

You are right on iin posting this for I was just thinking Disney has no educational shows for kids on any of their channels much less the Disney Channel.Where is something to compete with Blues Clues which Nick has that made over a billion dollars a couple of years ago.I get the feeling Disney is turning into Blockbuster 2 ,not very creative but they do like sequels.So why do they keep buying channels to ruin them?Also.Disney shows nothing on their channels except Lizzie,and Even Steven.At least Nick and PBS are putting on some new shows.The Wild Thornberry Movie was well done and funny ,a good film for the holidays. Stores like Wal-Mart are not carrying much Disney at all while Sponge Bob rules on everything from sheets to toothbrushes.So why is Mr Eisner in the tv business if he does not want to entertain? Poor Mickey he is held captive .I cannot imagine Walt would be very pleased that they are more interested in putting out Gangs and Hot Clicks than a quality production like Lords or Harry Potter!

 

[poober25]

I won't be around for about a week to respond to this, because we are leaving for the World in the morning , but there are educational programs on Playhouse Disney. At least I consider them educational. Stanley, for one. And they don't make me gag to watch them. JMHO

 

[CM Tinkerbell]

I honestly don't think that Disney has anything to worry about. These popular shows come and go. We'll have to wait and see if Sponge Bob has the staying power. I would compare him more to the "Bugs Bunny" of our time. When I was a kid, the looney tunes shows were sooo popular and are classics today. However, even through that, Disney characters have always maintained that "something special". I don't think Disney ever had the market for tv cartoons. It just seems almost too different to compare. As far as Mickey, think of how many places we see him. Just think of all those antenna toppers out there. He's still very popular.

 

[PKS44]

Originally posted by meowthew2
The Angry Beavers had very low ratings, actually, and was cancelled very quickly.

False. Angry Beavers at one time was one of Nick's highest rated shows...of course that did not last and its low ratings led to it being cancelled...like I said, I love SpongeBob, but it is too soon to know if it has staying power.

 

[Testtrack321]

I like Sponge Bob, I like Mickey, but my parents ONLY love Mickey and I bet I'd only like Mickey too, but not Sponge Bob. Sponge Bob deals more with comic irony that Mickey does. Watch the show and you'll see it has moments, but I don't think Sponge Bob will be around in 75 years, let alone 10.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Hey, can you cut & paste for those of us that don't care to register to that type of news source?

 

[Bob O]

The thing i worry about for disney's sake is that while we may love Mickey, when you get to the younger generations that love affair isnt the same IMHO or as widespread as it is among adults and that can have big effects years down the road, escpecially when Winnie the Pooh is already more popular in merchandise sales and disney may lose their rights to those characters. Disney needs to make new Mickey cartoons to make him relevant to the younger generations. When i was at USH the lines for Sponge Bob were as long as the lines for Mickey when i was at DL and the park wasnt any where near as busy!!!