Disney Plus is a paper tiger.
At $7.00 per month it’s priced very aggressively.
So much so, it’s obviously a loss leader. If you are thinking about subscribing, go with the annual payment option because this one won’t last a year.
In theory the bench looks pretty deep.
But in practice it’s a bunch of Peyton Mannings, who are in their Denver Broncos years.
Bob Iger came up through the business end of things. He is not remotely a creative type.
Not even a little bit.
Wall Street is under the impression that Iger has acquired a number of valuable Intellectual Properties. But the truth is that what he really acquired were Irreplaceable Men.
Pixar
Irreplaceable Man: John Lasseter
Pixar walked a tight rope for a decade. Each movie was great and each was a monster hit…BUT…it would have only taken one medium boxoffice performance to sink the company.
Pixar now produces one movie a year. They are okayish but a big chunk of them are weak sequels like Incredibles 2. The rest are inspired drivel like Inside Out.
Bottomline: Pixar ain’t what it was and John Lasseter now works for Skydance. The Irreplaceable man is gone.
Disney Animation
Irreplaceable Man: John Lasseter
After the Disney Renaissance 1990s came the crash of the 00’s. Things hit their lowest point with Home on the Range. After the Pixar merger, Lasseter turned that division around.
Bottomline…He’s fired. Theoretically because of #METOO, in practice because Iger was feeling threatened. Regardless, at this point Disney Animation is apparently rudderless.
Star Wars
Irreplaceable Man: George Lucas
Okay, I’m as shocked as anyone that I’m calling George Lucas an irreplaceable man but so far that has unquestionably proven itself to be the case. Kathleen Kennedy is an abject disaster on unearthly proportions. The Titanic has hit the iceberg and it’s captain is bellowing, “full speed ahead!!!”
Bottomline: Star Wars is the weakest leg supporting the Disney Plus table. The big question is, are there enough Star Wars Zombies to keep this IP viable? Is there enough of the Jedi Walking Dead, that will keep shambling into theaters to see ANYTHING with Star Wars in the title to keep this franchise viable? We shall know at Christmas.
Marvel
Irreplaceable Man: Kevin Feige
Here at least, Disney is finally finds itself on firmer ground. Feige is at least still drawing a paycheck from Disney.
However, after Infinity War 2, we have no idea what will happen with the MCU. Downey looks like he’s out. Chris Evans is definitely out. As for the new blood, Brie Larson has quickly proven herself to be an utterly obnoxious and needlessly offensive cunt. She is NOT capable of replacing the roguish charm of Robert Downey.
It was widely rumored that Disney bought Captain Marvel’s boxoffice percentage. That is kind of a first, if true.
Bottomline: Feige is still works at Marvel. The future of Marvel Films is murky but for the moment, it isn’t on the skids like Disney/StarWars/Pixar.
Overall, Disney Plus seams to be substantially built on a nostalgia market, rather than anything new and exciting.
On the plus side. Hey, they now have The Simpsons…
The Dark Herald 
Maybe now the Simpsons can finally die.
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My bet is that the MCU is dead, but just doesn’t know it yet. Endgame is going to be it for a lot of people. Inertia will keep them making money for a few more years. However, I think the trend is about to crash.
With Star Wars, I think Disney is giving up on movies for awhile and going all in on the streaming shows. That might work or a fatigue factor will kick in. Lucas has some success running a show or two out there between and after the trilogies. The man had a good feel for not flooding the market. Disney is going to milk the cow to death.
All of that said, how good of chance does Disney have with pulling off a streaming service? If past online ventures by Disney are any indication, the odds are not good. This is one area where Disney has repeatedly failed. Plus, I think some trends are going against them.
1. The Mouse is now a fat beast. If they get too aggressive online, it might actually trigger some Fed anti-trust actions. It would definitely get EU notice.
2. The streaming field is saturated. Everyone wants that direct streaming cash. The problem is it has segmented the market to the point to get several different options, you are paying a lot. Do you want to pay for a bunch of old shows and a couple of new ones for a streaming service?
3. Remember when cable was ad free? You can just feel that ads are going to start being a part of the pricing and already are like Hulu and CBS All Access. (OK, not Disney related, but just thought I would mention it.)
4. Disney has a deep catalog for hit movies. The Disney TV shows though are crap. The old ones have no replay value. They do have the Fox and ABC shows though.
5. Physical media sales are falling but that is due more to people having caught up with purchasing. I think many people are starting to see streaming as a Faustian bargain. Why not take that streaming money and buy a box set or a couple of movies every month?
6. Finally, very few of the new shows created for streaming are any good. That would be okay if most of them were on three streaming services. Spread them across ten, and you have a problem.
Disney can make it happen if they are willing to lose money on it for at least five years.
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If you were chief mouse would you want Captain Brie’s movie to fall on her flat ass just before the biggest movie evah hits the theatres?
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