Iger managed to hold off the wolves with a promise that he "hopes" they will restore dividends "at some point". A financial restructuring plan also sounds nice(except to the 7k laid off workers), but it's only words for now. Disney+ is also losing subscribers. What are your thoughts?

The whole time the live action Little mermaid thing was going on, I was telling people that if Disney really cared about representation, they would give an African folk tale the same treatment they give to Snow White and cinderella. The irony is that if they did, the same people who share the obviously staged videos of little black girls exclaiming "she looks like me!" While looking at The Little mermaid trailer, those same people would say that Disney is colonizing and appropriating African culture by making that movie. The people who scream oppression the loudest are the biggest oppressors.

As a former cast member, I have to say thank you for recognizing cast members in the theme parks 💕 we really do try to make everything magical and when it touches someone , it makes everything worth it

"Friendly reminder that representation is just cheap marketing" Don't whisper that, Greg. Say it LOUDER!

If they made a 2D animated picture about Anansi and his exploits, I’d probably buy a ticket in a heartbeat.

I'm still astounded by the fact that Disney made Tangled, *without* Pixar's help, and still managed to make its cast of characters look really good - including a young woman who goes barefoot all the time and has super long hair (hair and bare feet tend to be difficult to animate in CGI). Yet when they made Turning Red, *with* Pixar's help, they made its entire cast of characters look unbelievably hideous. Not to mention, Tangled's take on an old fairy tale was much more interesting than whatever crap is going on in TR. You couldn't even pay me to finish watching a trailer for that garbage.

Greg over here coming up with new and interesting Disney movies with great representation while Disney flounders like a fish in the desert.

12:04 the stories of Uncle Remus are amazing stories with values worth passing on. Song of the South is a great tribute to these stories. I know people have their opinions about Song of the South, but I have a lot of props for Walt for making it. He had honored European culture folk lore and made movies celebrating South American culture and he saw the beauty of these folk stories that came from African Americans and wanted to immortalize what they brought to the table too. Disney should do another Uncle Remus movie and hire someone who revers the legacy of Uncle Remus but have a goal to check politics at the door.

Disney used Anansi once, in Gargoyles. I too wondered why Disney has never used Anansi for movies. DC Comics even used him to F with the Justice League.

Greg: How did Disney forget a whole continent? The Lion King: Am I a joke to you?

Another issue with the parks that needs to be addressed is all the unwanted changes made in the past few years as part of their phony “diversity and inclusion” pushes, such as the politically-motivated changes made to classic attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Tom Sawyer Island, the Main Street Bakery and worst of all trying to retheme Splash Mountain into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure! All those changes need to be reversed if they want to win back the crowds!

Disney would do well to hire this guy as their "How not to be D!CKS to 97% of your fan base" Consultant.

7:22 holy hell, that was perfectly timed… you’re a wizard, Greg.

THANK YOU! African tales have amazing fairy tales and I have no idea why Disney ignores them.

There’s been very little since Princess and the Frog. Seriously they’ve done it once and had a great reception with it and that was there lot. That was over 13 years ago now.

Honestly, should some suits in Disney see this, they should invite you in for a chat and some advice/ ideas.

I hope your subscriber growth is just booming because this is fantastic content. Just apply for that CEO position right now; I'd hire you. Disney Animation Studios created such incredible stories (and are still capable of it - Tangled, Moana, Encanto were all strong and even the Tangled show was good). But they have to keep doing it and not going for cheap representation points. And Disney, the Company, has to be the one to push that point. They should be doing that in everything they own, from Disney Animation and Pixar, to Marvel and LucasFilm, all the way to ESPN (which is absolute trash now too even if ESPN+ is a great product because of how many sports they have bought up the rights to).

You see this is why I’m a DreamWorks fan. It’s sad seeing the king of animation fall from Grace, and is now trying to stay relevant by being “woke”.

Something that kinda ringed on me on the whole "parents are bumbling idiots" bit is the show The Replacements. While Todd and Riley (the protagonists) have parents that are sometimes not there when a lesson needs to be taught or are really busy with their work (mostly the dad; basically a less strict version of Phil Dunphy in Modern Family. Though the mom is pretty cool), they themselves get to see in the end of an episode how what they replaced is not good. For example, when their principal wouldn't suspend classes due to the snow but had him replaced with someone who was afraid of the snow, the students were forced to have make-up classes until their summer vacation after suspending classes due to the snow. In turn, Todd and Riley convinced the snow-phobe that the snow is nothing to be afraid of and that they need to be better judges of character for the next one

Small disagreement. Classic Disney movies got hard hitting mature complex themes, such as confronting trauma and puberty transformation (Lion king comes to mind). Peter Pan covers the idea of growing up and leaving your childhood behind. I will grant it was more subtle and graceful about it

I'm loving this channel! I was happy to see your new video.

Great vid and well thought out, but dude, as a GenX age person I have to say that some of those older animations contained moments that were anything but innocent childhood magic. Some of them left scars on my soul. 💀 Perhaps that is beside the point though. Childhood magic is the right prescription.

Cure is easy enough, stop obsessing over politics, race, gender and sexuality and focus on telling good stories that ANYONE can enjoy. That's the crucial thing, stuff like the Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Hunchback, etc are considered timeless classics because the lessons and stories are timeless themselves. All the crap they've been making now is horrendously dated because it's based on stuff people believe right now.

Great content. Love it keep it up. Agree with everything you said about Disney. Also, like the movie idea.

I swear I’m not a cynic, but when it comes to Disney’s current decision-making process, it would take several concurrent miracles for them to take your excellent advice.

YES. People genuinely do need to ask *why* certain people want kids targeted by certain messages…

Just discovered your channel and have already watched a dozen videos. I am really impressed on your content but your persona and writing really caught me. Keep up the good work and reminding the emperor when he/she/they/it/cat/dog (joke) are sans clothes.

6 kids!? You had my admiration before but now you have my respect

Will there be a part 3 to this I'm enjoying this series so far keep up the great work

I love your Anansi story idea! I would pay to see that! 😃

Anansi is probably the most popular African folklore character because he may be the only one people have heard of lol. Regardless it does sound like a good story although they recently announced Frozen 3 and Toy Story 5 so it seems they want to milk popular brands as opposed to selling something that people may not be familiar with. In regards to these childhood stories tackling mature issues. I have to disagree a little bit that Disney hadn't done this before. You've brought up that Pixar films before were able to tackle mature and adult themes while still being kid-friendly, and of course Disney films back in the day did that too. As far as tackling grey area or complex issues I feel like that's also not new for kids media and that a child may not immediately understand all that the film tackles but they may look back on it, understand it, and better appreciate that the film did that. Of course the overall product has to be really good. Last note, it seems like a modern thing that people want to see grey area stories from Disney to show that the world isn't so black and white, hince why some of their recent villain characters have been a surprise, have a tragic backstory, or a complex reason behind their motivation. However, the irony is that those villains haven't been as memorable or iconic as the past Disney villains that had a limit motivation but fun personalities and charisma lol.

I'm bisexual, neurodivergent, disabled, etc. I don't need Disney or anyone to sell me a movie that says "I'm valid" thanks I know it and I'm not paying you for that. I'm tired of the PD (I love it)

"when you Wish upon a Star, you'll only get cut and gain a permit scar." - no place like depression, History

I worked as a cook at Disney World for four months. I fucking hated it.

Thanks for talking about Anansi, I’ve read one or two of the short stories and they are knee slapping funny. Disney built an empire off the back of brothers Grimm remakes. Why not do the same to Anansi stories?

3:25 i feel like a show like the owl house did it best. character 1st, gays 2d. luz noceda and amity blight first off have actual bloody chemistry, a character arc, feel like an actual couple, and are actual characters with goals, flaws and strengths.

Turning bad wasn't enjoyable, and the moral of the story could basically boil down to "Modern preteens/teens understand the world better and are more responsible than all of their ancestors. Combined."

I’ve been saying this exact thing for years. Without pointing to a specific tale, just generically say they need to go back to fairytales and folklore from around the world, but also noted their lack of African tales (outside of lion king)

Innocent childhood magic is the key to Disney's Success.

I’d watch the hell out of that movie idea

if you ever make it to 1 million then i would love to see you make something like the anansi story you have a great talent for writing and i think its evident in the way you critique other ones

Yessss. I love your mention of using African folklore! I've been saying they have such an untapped potential!

Dunno if you got to see the renewed "Proud Family" clip of a "rap" stating repeatedly "Slaves Built this Country" with references to "Hands up Don't Shoot" and reparations owed. Pretty divisive. I wouldn't want my kids seeing it. Don't give $ to people who hate you. I want to see Antman 3 but really may not now.

more excited about this imaginary movie pitch than any of the fully marketed and released products i've seen in a very long time.

@3:17 - meanwhile, at Disney "Ironheart Is the First MCU Series to Cast Not Only One, but Two Non-Binary Actors", CBR, August, 2022.

I went to Disneyland five times before I was eighteen. I legit have never eaten inside the park.

My family never really ate at the Disney Parks say for a few times. Got Chicken Tenders on Main Street and a Mickey Mouse novelty ice cream at Animal Kingdom.

Innocence is a Dying Breed.Disney is the one that's Killing It...

Long as they stop being woke. I’m tired of it 🤷🏾‍♂️

Three letters are the key I.C.M. Innocent Childhood Magic.

I cannot wait to see what fun can be had when Mick enters the public domain

If Disney were to sell a company, they should sell 20th Century Fox before selling Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. That whole acquisition was just a bad idea to begin with.

Dang that commercial timing was incredible

11:52 THIS!!! I can't tell you how many people this side scratch their heads about how ignorant Hollywood is on the wealth of stories that are here. It's A LOT.

5:15 Imagine if they named a movie "Getting Hard"...because it was a bunch of boys who turnt into Rock Gollums... Or "ERECT" where its a family of Giants Like seriously there's NOOOO way around that NOT being WEIRD😭. How did "Turning Red" even as a NAME get GREENLIT!?😭

" they are basically fucking feral at this point". U killed m!!! I'm dead right now, in stitches laughing like all the other hyenas here in SA😂😂😂. Thanks for the laughs

the movie I want to see is an adaptation of the Marsh kings daughter by Heuns Christian Andersen. A story about a lost Egyptian Princess that ends up getting raised by Vikings.

What 🌈Rainbow Warriors LACK, WE Make Up For in Alliance with Our Black & Latino Brethren & Latina Sisters!

The funny thing about Light year queer. They didn't make a big deal about it(at least in the view of my family and I)

Hey I have a question, do you think your sexuality and gender content etc etc should be taught be your parents or by schools?

That bluey reference aged poorly 😂, but still love the video 😊👌

I live in Alaska. Totem pole stories could make s great disney content (minus the death, infidelity and cannibalism).

I have a gold colored Mickey hat. They could have just made it silver colored or even Chrome

…and giant, Mickey Mouse shaped food.

I want to just unplug sh*t and come back in 5 years with my fingers crossed.

Magnificent Dad Bod. Lovin it........from one of the 7%

You missed one important part in your wonderful movie idea: MAKE IT 2D HAND-DRAWN ANIMATION. Distinguish yourself as an animation studio. 3D has become stylistically bankrupt. If you want to recapture the nostalgic fairytale feel, you present it as an illustrated fairytale book. Hand-drawn 2D isn't a lesser form of animation, just itching to graduate to 3D computer animation, it's a massively under utilized art form. Modern gaming studios are increasingly honoring 2D side-scrolling as an artistic choice, no longer treating it as a primitive relic. Film studios should start treating 2D hand-drawn animation the same way.

Honestly at this point Disney’s a lost cause they destroy anything they touch if you haven’t seen the whole thing with that new proud family show you’ll get what I’m saying Disney at this point I want to be surprised if they just went broke altogether with all the shit that they’ve been pushing honestly Disney just needs the day off and let other companies buy up their properties and actually do them properly Disney at this point in my opinion is too far gone

That story sounds pretty good. I’d love that story.

I fall into the camp of people Disney tries to pander to. Would I love to see bisexual and alternative family representation in film? Of course. And I don't think there's anything inherently sexual about liking the same sex or both if heterosexual relationships are shown in kids or "family" content. However, I agree Disney has no interest in showing proper diversity but instead sexualizes and trivializes people that are not straight White men. Forced diversity and politicizing their content turns everyone away, not just the "traditional" family demographic, but the people Disney panders to as well.

Greg, what does it take for you to stand up in front of Disney's board of directors (Bob Iger included) and tell them exactly what you say in this video? Because I think what you've been saying in this series of videos is exactly what Disney needs to hear. Greetings from Argentina. ✋🇦🇷

6 Kids… Greg is THE Target Demographic of Disney. 🤣

You look too young to have6 kids. Just discovered your channel, it's very good. I subscribed, looking forward to watching all your content.

1:29 - That poll result only shows the "social contagion" effect of the last few years. The real number is between 2% and 4% (depending on how you define "LGBT") and has been for DECADES.

Disney could return to it’s roots back when Walter ran Disney but the people that run Disney now probably never watched Disney back then. If they want Disney + to grow maybe they should add the Walt Disney to it, the wonderful world of Disney. Not rewrite the movies just play them as the are. Another would be as Walt Disney did tell history, American history.

Greg. You are crazy. I love you.

Both The Lion King and Tarzan take place in Africa.

We need to rely less on corporation's and more on ourselves for creativity.

I don’t care if it’s woke or asleep I just want some good fucking films and movies

Disney please do Anansi Boys.

Yes!! I have been saying for years so insulting to take other peoples, mythologies and stories and going hey we will give you our stuff and put your or people that look like you in it. I think it was back in the 90s when I saw “fairytales for every child”. It just took European fairytales and put colored. So Hansel and Gretel were African. Little red riding Hood was Asian. Sitting there going white, those are entire regions of it with rich histories and stories. I am sure there is stuff that we can go find cleaned up a little bit because it probably has a really stark message like most fairytales.

we need a anansi disney movie now!!!!

That sounds like a great Disney movie that needs to be made.

Hmmm I do seem to recall a movie set in Africa besides Wakanda series. It's the Lion King, just saying.

At first I was a bit confused about the issue with mature themes in Disney, or animation. (Don’t get me wrong, a lot of stuff are not really things I’d want to watch alongside stuff like DuckTales!) But I think what you’re saying is that it’s not that Disney, or animation shouldn’t tackle serious topics, it’s that these topics shouldn’t be the BIG MAIN FOCUS of children-specific content! And while I still think that kid’s should have their mind’s challenged with movies like Inside Out, and shows like Gravity Falls, I do agree that a LOT of stories that are out now need a separate demographic range, movies like Soul should be at least aimed at middle school demographics! And Turning Red literally is about middle school, and while that’s all well and good, I don’t think mixing it in with much more kid focused content like Cars (which both the first and third films did have mature, serious themes, but nothing super duper “inappropriate!” Themes like finding yourself, slowing down, and thinking of others, or even more serious stuff like what to do when you’re getting too old or start to lose your touch, and can’t keep up with the next generation, while somewhat simple, can and are explored in mature ways that aren’t all preachy or awkward! There are adult jokes of course, but it’s not “Live action Cat in the Hat” levels of insane!) Just because it’s made by Pixar doesn’t mean it has to be PG! PG-13 Pixar can and, imo, should be a thing! Heck, genuine Young Adult animation should be made a part of Disney’s line-up! They shouldn’t have to choose between super, intellectual thought provoking art-works, and silly, wholesome fantasy fun for families! And neither type of content needs to JUST be super fun magical childhood wonder, or JUST super insane crazy mind-bending think pieces! Each one can have a bit of the other in it! In fact, as you mentioned, Puss in Boots the Last Wish (I REALLY WANNA WATCH IT, BUT I’M WAITING UNTIL THE SNOW MELTS SO MY FRIEND CAN COME OVER AND WATCH IT TOGETHER!) seems to be a perfect blend of both! And while I want more animated stories like that, I also recognize that a lot of it isn’t something that should be added into every piece of kids or family media! WE NEED JUST AS MANY MOVIES AND SHOWS LIKE CURIOUS GEORGE AND BOB THE BUILDER, OR THE TOY STORY TRILLOGY, AND THE HERBIE MOVIES FOR EVERY SOUL, OR MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, OR GARGOYLES, OR SCOOBY-DOO, MYSTERY INC. Sorry for the caps lock! I love my thought provoking, mature themed, animated movies! But at the same time, we need a branch of media where we can enjoy the show without needing to have our brains overload! Especially for movies and shows where kids and adults can enjoy it together!

As soon as you said Anansi, you got a like.

African folk tales would be a great source of new, genuinely diverse stories. The only problem is Disney's addiction to deconstructing and gender/orientation/ethnicity swapping every character, and ramming feminism, critical theory and contemporary American political and social messaging into every story. Turning another culture's stories into a Disney Frankenstein monster would get pushback, as seen with Mulan and with Netflix's race swapped Cleopatra.

Spot on. Disney should hire you as a senior consultant to help filter out inappropriate content for the targeted audiences.

Addendum: I feel like the people making these “woke” movies might as well show the character’s stats like that of a Final Fantasy VII character for an hour. Plus, it would be “woke AF” hashtags that’ll be outdated in a month. I much rather watch that the most of their movies now.

You know the stories have the same moral as the original.

How long until Elon bids for Pixar or Star Wars.

Disney wants you to stand in line

I loved Disney as a kid and younger adult because it was a place that did not reference the real world. I'm also sick of them making recycled material and race swapping characters, so it can yell "racist" at anyone who dares point out how unoriginal and bad the new projects are.

Trying to make art unpolitical is a failed attempt...the problem is Disney has lost its subtlety and is now all over your face about it.

I mean... Lion King...

Generally movie and streaming content is 2 to 3 years behind current culture trends. Disney will be the last to shift from identity politics if they do all.

If all the critics I like and they have a similar liking to my tastes for whatever disney pull out of its ass, then all watch the movie or the end of a season. I will not give Disney an inch more.

even tho there are things that i agree with you in this video, i dont agree with the whole argument against including more mature themes in Disney/Pixar movies if anything, i think its great that (especially pixar) want to break the mold of being viewed as a "family friendly" company bcuz, as an animation, i want to watch more mainstream western animation targeted towards my demographic (teens and young adults) like it is in Japan. sure they don't always succeed, but i like to see that the creatives are trying to offer more to the audience. i like the maturity they want to start portraying not to undermine kids animated content, i do think it would be nicer if we could have a larger balance between what should/could be animated content for kids, teens, and adults created by larger studios

if you made that movie you would make $1B

The one thing I don't so much mind about the word "woke" being overused is that so are the concepts that corporations like Disney keep recycling and trying in every film they put out these days.