yes I am aware of her position, and thanks but I was also clear that Star Wars is under Disney LOL it is also a big company that has other IPs
I just assumed that the article would say what you stated (without limitations/Star Wars)..... which is why I asked for additional links
I am not, by any means, a fan of AI or corporate leadership at TWDC, specifically, parks and movie studios. I think TWDC is facing massive problems. I also believe that I am a minority opinion on the DisBoards that Disney and its brands are suffering, both movie studios and the parks.
AI is coming to movie productions, because people are inefficient and costly. That's why I feel TWDC is embracing this change. That's all the wrong reasons to do it and why I don't agree with it. But, it is the same or similar to many decisions TWDC is making and it makes me sick.
I think when Bob Iger, Josh D'Amaro, Bob Chapek, etc. etc. etc. say that this company is about people, they aren't lying
per se, but they are just giving a stock answer that sounds nice and makes for a good clip. I don't truly believe Josh D'Amaro (or other leaders) hate guests or CMs, after all, his family members are likely park guests and movie theater goers and he himself is a CM. He doesn't come off as self-loathing.
The TWDC leadership, specifically under Bob Iger, has traded (for lack of a better term) a sense of creative curiosity, imagination and wonder for money. That is my opinion. This is a culture that many, many other leaders in TWDC have embraced, including Lucasfilm. It's also the same attitude and vision of many other entertainment companies like WB, Paramount, Netflix, etc. Except, TWDC used to be a gold standard in creativity and imagination and wonderment and dreaming big. Today, it is more prevalent that the productions are somehow cronyism or BFFs giving each other a boost or focus group driven. I rarely get the Wow! factor when I go to the movies and see something truly creative and full of wonderment and imagination. Last year specifically, the only two movies I went to see where I felt the movie was good was Sinners and Weapons, and I didn't walk out with a Wow! factor either. I understand that movies and enjoyment is all subjective. Yet, I'm still sad.
This leads me to my next point about the parks. I think the parks are in a very precarious and problematic situation. Because of the popularity of HP worlds and lands, it feels like TWDC made up its mind to be a follower (not a leader) and built lands like SW:GE, Carsland, etc. The problem for me is that the lands and attractions have now become inextricably intertwined with each other that it stifles creativity, imagination and wonder. No longer is Imagineering allowed to think of a brand new IP type attraction to bring to folks. Instead, whatever is being developed must be tied to a movie or a world. Look at the upcoming projects at WDW or DLR. A new Coco Ride, a new Avatar experience, a new Cars-related attraction, a new Avengers ride, a new Encanto ride, a new Indy ride, and a new Monsters Inc. attraction. Why can't Imagineers play with something totally new? Why must all new theme park rides co-exist with movies and IPs? My answer is primarily focus groups and marketing. That, in my opinion, is why we have lost creativity in corporations and sadly, in TWDC. TWDC used to lead, now they do whatever one else does. And "everybody else does it" is not an acceptable standard or answer, in my opinion. In fact, the intertwining of movie IPs and the parks attractions is almost anti-capitalistic in a sense. TWDC doesn't want to spur ingenuity with new ideas and new IPs. They don't let the Imagineers "cook" and come up with some cool new IP. What do you think the response, today, would be if an Imagineer told corporate executives that he/she/they had an adorable purple dragon that could be the basis of an entire attraction in a new land? They would be shut down. I would much rather have a new idea like Soarin' versus a Coco attraction sprinkled into the parks. (And BTW, Coco is one of my top-3 favorite Pixar movies). Note I said sprinkled. It doesn't all have to be new IPs. After all, I love Peter Pan's Flight as much as the next Disney nerd.
I will leave with this note regarding SW. I watched the new Mando & Grogu SB commercial, like millions of others. I almost started crying tears. No lie. For me, the commercial was an absolute disaster. TWDC marketing folks ought to be totally ashamed. Mando & Grogu is a D+ TV series. It is not, by its nature, a theatrical exhibition. People (especially those without D+) need to be introduced to this movie and its characters. Instead, the commercial was a spoof. A joke. That's what the marketing folks decided was a good idea? A joke? The commercial was so bad it makes me wonder if the people in charge of marketing hate the movie or the franchise. A commercial or trailer or teaser should build excitement and enthusiasm for a movie. My DW turned to me and said what's the point of this commercial? And she loves Grogu! It was an epic failure and disaster. On top of it, TWDC probably spent $10M on that TV spot. For a joke? Ironically, and as an aside, the Budweiser commercial with an actual Clydesdale was both inspirational and funny and really made a mark with my DW and I. So, my criticism isn't limited to one area of TWDC, but rather a criticism that is corporate-wide. That has to do with culture.
Walt Disney made mistakes. Plenty of them. Lord knows DLR was a bit of a disaster when it opened. But, he was also a creative, imaginative person who demanded (?) others push themselves creatively. He wasn't an easy person to work for, according to some of the historical pieces I have read. I don't expect Dana Walden to be creatively on the same level as Walt Disney. That isn't fair to her, because he is a Mount Rushmore-level creative. But, I am very sad that TWDC seems bent on the destruction and/or dilution of its brands through bad decisions, whether it be AI, corporate governance or otherwise.
