Disney's Streaming Services: Disney+ (and Hulu, ESPN+, Star, & hotstar)

[PiratesMansion]

Lack of a film isn’t proof that one doesn’t exist.

Hamilton was filmed in 2015, long before there were reports of a film existing. So just because there is no report of a Lion King or Frozen Musical film doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist. Chances are they do, chances are that Disney is just waiting to milk every last dollar out of the tours before releasing the film in order to milk even more money out of it. It’s the Disney way.

Also add to that broadway musicals film their productions all the time. So not hard to believe Disney didn’t do that same thing.

The filming of the Hamilton film was well-publicized: it was announced that they were making it prior to its release, and there have been articles published recently that shed light into the process. They had to negotiate with the cast, crew, etc. to make it happen. Serious Hamilton fans knew about the filming well before it was shot, perhaps in part because of the steps they had to make and because they had a deadline-the clock was ticking before many of the principal performers left.

While there are a lot of shows that are *filmed*, there aren't a lot that are shot specifically to be released commercially. I can think of maybe 20 musicals that have been shot and released for general consumption. All of these examples I can think of were shot with the intention of releasing them, which is not necessarily the case with all shows that have been shot ever. Most shows that have been filmed are there in New York Libraries for archival purposes rather than because there was ever any intention of releasing them commercially. They are not shot with an eye towards viewing, but towards preservation, often in the most basic, economical way possible. Shooting Hamilton the way they did was not cheap, and given that it takes most Broadway shows years to break even, let alone begin making money, and many shows don't even make it that long, I don't believe many producers/directors/etc would have felt it a justifiable expense. The ones that have been shot and made available, other than Hamilton, were made commercially available shortly after the performance was filmed.

All of these things collectively are leading me to believe that for most shows, professionally filmed performances simply do not exist.

 

[Disney Irish]

The filming of the Hamilton film was well-publicized: it was announced that they were making it prior to its release, and there have been articles published recently that shed light into the process. They had to negotiate with the cast, crew, etc. to make it happen. Serious Hamilton fans knew about the filming well before it was shot, perhaps in part because of the steps they had to make and because they had a deadline-the clock was ticking before many of the principal performers left.

While there are a lot of shows that are *filmed*, there aren't a lot that are shot specifically to be released commercially. I can think of maybe 20 musicals that have been shot and released for general consumption. All of these examples I can think of were shot with the intention of releasing them, which is not necessarily the case with all shows that have been shot ever. Most shows that have been filmed are there in New York Libraries for archival purposes rather than because there was ever any intention of releasing them commercially. They are not shot with an eye towards viewing, but towards preservation, often in the most basic, economical way possible. Shooting Hamilton the way they did was not cheap, and given that it takes most Broadway shows years to break even, let alone begin making money, and many shows don't even make it that long, I don't believe many producers/directors/etc would have felt it a justifiable expense. The ones that have been shot and made available, other than Hamilton, were made commercially available shortly after the performance was filmed.

All of these things collectively are leading me to believe that for most shows, professionally filmed performances simply do not exist.

You could be right that Hamilton being filmed was well publicized within the Hamilton fan community. But I never heard of it until Disney secured the rights. Not saying its not possible I missed it, could have been, but if it was big news you'd think it would have made it into the main stream news. And not just something only Hamilton fans knew, which appears to have been the case.

Anyways, if only Disney had a stage production company that was backed by TWDC to produce these shows. Oh wait they do.

So this is not your normal Broadway production company which would take years to recoup their costs. This is Disney Broadway, also known as Disney Theatrical Productions, who just so happens to be part of the film division of its parent company.

So to think that Disney would not film these things, being that the productions are literally part of the film division, is the most naive thing ever. Disney monetizes EVERYTHING. So if Disney thought there was a market for filmed versions of their Broadway shows they would 1000% put in the expense to film them. And we 1000% know there is a market for this. So yeah I 1000% believe they have filmed versions of ALL their Broadway shows just waiting to be released.

 

[Ripken10]

You could be right that Hamilton being filmed was well publicized within the Hamilton fan community. But I never heard of it until Disney secured the rights. Not saying its not possible I missed it, could have been, but if it was big news you'd think it would have made it into the main stream news. And not just something only Hamilton fans knew, which appears to have been the case.

Anyways, if only Disney had a stage production company that was backed by TWDC to produce these shows. Oh wait they do.

So this is not your normal Broadway production company which would take years to recoup their costs. This is Disney Broadway, also known as Disney Theatrical Productions, who just so happens to be part of the film division of its parent company.

So to think that Disney would not film these things, being that the productions are literally part of the film division, is the most naive thing ever. Disney monetizes EVERYTHING. So if Disney thought there was a market for filmed versions of their Broadway shows they would 1000% put in the expense to film them. And we 1000% know there is a market for this. So yeah I 1000% believe they have filmed versions of ALL their Broadway shows just waiting to be released.

I had seen in the main stream news prior to Disney securing the rights. Never seen Hamilton either. From what I gather, it was pretty well known that it was recorded and was more than just Hamilton fans.

 

[PiratesMansion]

You could be right that Hamilton being filmed was well publicized within the Hamilton fan community. But I never heard of it until Disney secured the rights. Not saying its not possible I missed it, could have been, but if it was big news you'd think it would have made it into the main stream news. And not just something only Hamilton fans knew, which appears to have been the case.

Anyways, if only Disney had a stage production company that was backed by TWDC to produce these shows. Oh wait they do.

So this is not your normal Broadway production company which would take years to recoup their costs. This is Disney Broadway, also known as Disney Theatrical Productions, who just so happens to be part of the film division of its parent company.

So to think that Disney would not film these things, being that the productions are literally part of the film division, is the most naive thing ever. Disney monetizes EVERYTHING. So if Disney thought there was a market for filmed versions of their Broadway shows they would 1000% put in the expense to film them. And we 1000% know there is a market for this. So yeah I 1000% believe they have filmed versions of ALL their Broadway shows just waiting to be released.

I echo the previous post above mine that this wasn't just Hamilton fans who knew about the filming; it was indeed well publicized.

Even Disney has had flops on Broadway (i.e. Tarzan) and has to recoup a certain amount of money to break even before they start actually turning a profit. And as I have said, that typically takes YEARS for any show before it actually happens. Disney's pockets and marketing acumen help but cannot totally solve that problem instantaneously. Modern Broadway productions are incredibly expensive, with only very rare exceptions. You can fault Disney for many things, but not spending money on their productions is not one of them-all of them have very lavish, showy effects and technical elements. So even they require running a certain period of time before they actually make any money.

There are a lot of people saying that shows should be monetized NOW, but until recently this was very much a minority opinion. Conventional wisdom within the theater community was that the focus should be on getting people in the theater to actually see the show in person, and shooting the show and releasing it to the public would dig into the show's profits. There were also a lot of loud voices screaming out that "people only want to see these productions live on the stage, the way they're meant to be seen!" Even Disney probably didn't think much about it because it simply wasn't done. I think it is only now, or over the past decade or so, that it has been seriously considered that there is indeed a sizable market for these filmed productions. While Disney does monetize a lot of things, it does so only if it believes there's a clear, direct, instant return on investment. I'm not convinced that Disney believed this to be true with their Broadway output.

While the majority of Disney's musicals have been based on their own films, the musicals are handled by a completely different division of the company, Disney Theatrical. I don't feel that it's necessarily a given that because it's Disney and because most of their content is based on their films that those filmed productions exist.

 

[Disney Irish]

I echo the previous post above mine that this wasn't just Hamilton fans who knew about the filming; it was indeed well publicized.

Even Disney has had flops on Broadway (i.e. Tarzan) and has to recoup a certain amount of money to break even before they start actually turning a profit. And as I have said, that typically takes YEARS for any show before it actually happens. Disney's pockets and marketing acumen help but cannot totally solve that problem instantaneously. Modern Broadway productions are incredibly expensive, with only very rare exceptions. You can fault Disney for many things, but not spending money on their productions is not one of them-all of them have very lavish, showy effects and technical elements. So even they require running a certain period of time before they actually make any money.

There are a lot of people saying that shows should be monetized NOW, but until recently this was very much a minority opinion. Conventional wisdom within the theater community was that the focus should be on getting people in the theater to actually see the show in person, and shooting the show and releasing it to the public would dig into the show's profits. There were also a lot of loud voices screaming out that "people only want to see these productions live on the stage, the way they're meant to be seen!" Even Disney probably didn't think much about it because it simply wasn't done. I think it is only now, or over the past decade or so, that it has been seriously considered that there is indeed a sizable market for these filmed productions. While Disney does monetize a lot of things, it does so only if it believes there's a clear, direct, instant return on investment. I'm not convinced that Disney believed this to be true with their Broadway output.

While the majority of Disney's musicals have been based on their own films, the musicals are handled by a completely different division of the company, Disney Theatrical. I don't feel that it's necessarily a given that because it's Disney and because most of their content is based on their films that those filmed productions exist.

Well like I said I never heard about Hamilton, but I could have missed it. So I'm willing to concede that point.

But one thing is fact is Disney Theatrical is part of the Studios division. So its not a far stretch to think they would have filmed each of the shows at one point, even if it was just for the Disney Archives. Remember over the last 50 years Disney has made an effort to archive EVERYTHING Disney related.

Also I'll point you to here:

List of Streaming Broadway Musicals

The most comprehensive list of every Broadway musical that was filmed professionally and is now available to stream online.

filmedonstage.com

Which shows at least two Disney Broadway shows have been filmed and released, Newsies and Aladdin. Again not a far stretch to think Disney has filmed their other productions such as BatB, especially in the last decade, and just waiting to release them.

Anyways, this is not something we can prove or disprove here. Basically only Disney knows for sure. So we'll have to agree to disagree. But I surely won't be surprised if we see a bunch of Disney Broadway show films being released on D+ over the next year or two. Especially now that Hamilton appears to be a hit on D+. Disney will definitely try to capitalize on it.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Well if they’re looking for other broadway musical shows there’s Percy Jackson.

 

[Tony Perkis]

I was incorrect.

 

[Disney Irish]

I was incorrect.

As I suspected the lines long term are going to blur even further between brands. While I may never see my idea of a single app for both Hulu and D+ come to light. We may very well see a time, which I predicted long ago, where Hulu goes away and D+ is the single service for all TWDC content.

 

[Tony Perkis]

As I suspected the lines long term are going to blur even further between brands. While I may never see my idea of a single app for both Hulu and D+ come to light. We may very well see a time, which I predicted long ago, where Hulu goes away and D+ is the single service for all TWDC content.

Nah. Still to much harder PG-13 and R rated content out there to merge the two.

 

[PiratesMansion]

As much as it may be hard for people who don't get it like Iger to stomach, DIsney still has a very specific brand that's been cultivated for as long as its been around to mean wholesome family entertainment.

You might see some expletives left in from this property or that, but it will take at least another decade of continuing to dilute the Disney brand name before they can just put whatever on D+ and call it a day.

In particular, putting a film with an R rating on D+ will make headlines.

 

[Disney Irish]

Nah. Still to much harder PG-13 and R rated content out there to merge the two.

Its called parental locks.

Seriously, you never thought they would break the seal with language and (minor) nudity, and that happened. Especially in a time when they are looking for cost cutting measures. So its only a matter of time when the Bob's see the wasteful overlap in running both services.

 

[Tony Perkis]

Its called parental locks.

There‘s much more to it than that, but we’ve had that discussion. I think you’re discounting branding far too much.

Seriously, you never thought they would break the seal with language and (minor) nudity, and that happened.

I never said this. There are too many Fox PG-13 films with a single casual drop of the f-bomb and butt shots out there. Some of the MCU films have more casual swearing in them than DOFP.

You will probably never see that classic Disney film Titanic on that service.

Especially in a time when they are looking for cost cutting measures. So its only a matter of time when the Bob's see the wasteful overlap in running both services.

Wait, so let me get this straight: in a cost cutting manner, Disney is going to take 3 fully developed applications and services, which generally only require general maintenance along with the occasional feature update, and invest heavily building, developing, testing, rebranding, advertising, and rolling out a new service? That logistically makes no sense.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I was incorrect.

Notice it was a Marvel property that was given the exception.

Having now seen it, Love, Victor is really tame. Glad Variety called them out on being too scared to put it on Disney+.

 

[Disney Irish]

There‘s much more to it than that, but we’ve had that discussion. I think you’re discounting branding far too much.

And I think you don't give consumers enough credit to be able to distinguish between the "brands" under the Disney umbrella.

You will probably never see that classic Disney film Titanic on that service.

Never say never. I honestly wouldn't be surprised (depending on streaming rights) for Titanic to show up on D+.

Wait, so let me get this straight: in a cost cutting manner, Disney is going to take 3 fully developed applications and services, which generally only require general maintenance along with the occasional feature update, and invest heavily building, developing, testing, rebranding, advertising, and rolling out a new service? That logistically makes no sense.

1. It wouldn't be a new service, new interface yes, but not a whole new service. It would be a consolidation of 2 services (in this case just Hulu and D+) into the one existing D+ service with a new rebranded interface. And there wouldn't be heavy building or developing as its an existing infrastructure. Its just moving content from one service to another. Which I know is not as easy as it sounds. But it wouldn't require a whole new service or tons of development.
2. Its currently not just 3 services doing nothing but general maintenance. There are infrastructures, personnel, etc., all involved with each service, all potentially overlapping. Which is ripe for cost cutting and consolidation.

Anyways I don't want to go back around on this debate from long ago. But I still see a future where Disney moves to having a single streaming service for all content. You don't, and that is perfectly fine. We can just agree to disagree.

 

[MisterPenguin]

A New Animated Star Wars Series Titled 'The Bad Batch' Headed To Disney+

Today, it was announced that Disney+ has just ordered a brand new series, titled Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and it's set to debut in 2021.

thedisinsider.com

Luke Evans Shares an Update on The Gaston and LeFou Disney+ Series

Disney is in early development on a spinoff series centered on Gaston and LeFou from 2017's Beauty and the Beast with Luke Evans and Josh Gad returning.

thedisinsider.com

 

[DCBaker]

 

[mary2013]

Am I the only one who thinks Kermit sounds off?

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Am I the only one who thinks Kermit sounds off?

You’re not. Kermit’s new voice flat out sucks. Not sure who does his voice now, but he sounds awful.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Steve Whitmire didn't sound quite right when he took Kermit over either, so the performance will likely get better over time in this case as well.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Nat Geo Emmy Winning Series ‘Weird But True!’ Moves to Disney+

Weird But True!, from National Geographic, comes to Disney+ on Friday, August 14, and things this season get even weirder!

thedisinsider.com

Ally Maki, Kenan Thompson, and Chris Parnell Join Disney+ ‘Home Alone’ Reboot

Ally Maki (Toy Story 4), Kenan Thompson (SNL), and Chris Parnell (Hot Rod) have all signed on to the currently untitled Disney+ Home Alone reboot.

thedisinsider.com

Samara Weaving Joins Hulu Series 'Nine Perfect Strangers'

Ready or Not breakout star Samara Weaving has joined the star-studded cast of Hulu's limited series Nine Perfect Strangers, Deadline has learned.

thedisinsider.com