The Imagineering Story on Disney+

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
What exactly did "Disney" mean? Plundering public domain stories? Gobbling up IPs to make movies out of? And this was all done during Walt's lifetime and continuing thereafter.

Below are Disney animations listing IPs that were public domain (and therefore, not an original Disney IP) and bought/licensed. These are stories that were never originally created by Walt, his staff, or the company after his death. Disney (with and without Walt) has always been an aesthetivore, eating up other people's creativity. If you think there is something uniquely Disney that precludes bought-up IPs, then the thing that is uniquely Disney is their salesmanship making you think that.

And I haven't even touched their live action "work" such as the quintessential Disney property, Mary Poppins... which isn't Disney.

Public domain appropriations by Walt:
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Pinocchio
  • Cinderella
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • The Sword in the Stone
  • The Jungle Book
  • Robin Hood
  • Johnny Appleseed
  • Pecos Bill


Other People's Work that Good Ol' Walt Bought and Made into being "Disney"
  • Mr. Toad
  • Bongo
  • Little Toot
  • Dumbo
  • Bambi
  • Song of the South
  • Peter Pan
  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians
  • Lady and the Tramp



Public Domain Appropriation Post-Walt
  • Oliver & Company
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Aladdin
  • Pocahontas
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  • Hercules
  • Mulan
  • Atlantis: The Lost Empire
  • Treasure Planet
  • The Princess and the Frog
  • Tangled
  • Frozen
  • Sleepy Hollow
  • Jack and the Beanstalk

Licensed/Bought IP by Disney Post-Walt
  • The Rescuers
  • The Fox and the Hound
  • The Black Cauldron
  • The Great Mouse Detective
  • Tarzan
  • Meet the Robinsons
  • Winnie the Pooh
  • Big Hero 6
  • Marvel
  • Indy
  • Star Tours, et al.
  • Pandora
  • Pixar


Crap, THIS again.

Tell me, when people hear the words "Pinocchio", or "Peter Pan", or "Mary Poppins", what pops into their minds? The books they were based on, or the Disney film adaptations? Bingo! It's the Disney version people remember and love the most. That's because of the art Walt and his crew put into those versions. That's the Disney difference. There have been adaptations of books-into-films that have failed, but very few of those were produced by the Disney company. It's remarkable how successful the Disney adaptations have been. Their popularity has spanned generations and are beloved all over the world. When Walt and company got through with a book adaptation, it was an entity separate from the original. It was often better than the original. That's why, when I hear that Disney is going to adapt this book or that book for a film, I still get excited, even though Walt is long gone. That's the legacy of quality that Walt left behind. He didn't just buy up an already-adapted/played out franchise with the thought of reaping riches from merchandising - that's the way Iger thinks. Walt did what he did because of creative passion. Please don't act like he was an "exploiter". He didn't just "exploit" other's creations - he ENRICHED them. Once again - the Disney difference.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Crap, THIS again.

Tell me, when people hear the words "Pinocchio", or "Peter Pan", or "Mary Poppins", what pops into their minds? The books they were based on, or the Disney film adaptations? Bingo! It's the Disney version people remember and love the most. That's because of the art Walt and his crew put into those versions. That's the Disney difference. There have been adaptations of books-into-films that have failed, but very few of those were produced by the Disney company. It's remarkable how successful the Disney adaptations have been. Their popularity has spanned generations and are beloved all over the world. When Walt and company got through with a book adaptation, it was an entity separate from the original. It was often better than the original. That's why, when I hear that Disney is going to adapt this book or that book for a film, I still get excited, even though Walt is long gone. That's the legacy of quality that Walt left behind. He didn't just buy up an already-adapted/played out franchise with the thought of reaping riches from merchandising - that's the way Iger thinks. Walt did what he did because of creative passion. Please don't act like he was an "exploiter". He didn't just "exploit" other's creations - he ENRICHED them. Once again - the Disney difference.

This nonsense again.

Disney, and Walt himself, took ideas from others. They appropriated, bought, and licensed.

And yeah, people were familiar with the books. That's why Walt bought/licensed them. Because they were popular. He leveraged existing, popular IPs.

It continues today. People who say what Disney owns isn't Disney have their heads in the sand. Many people don't know the difference between Pixar and Disney.

Stop being obtuse.
 

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
This nonsense again.

Disney, and Walt himself, took ideas from others. They appropriated, bought, and licensed.

And yeah, people were familiar with the books. That's why Walt bought/licensed them. Because they were popular. He leveraged existing, popular IPs.

It continues today. People who say what Disney owns isn't Disney have their heads in the sand. Many people don't know the difference between Pixar and Disney.

Stop being obtuse.

(Channeling Rafiki): NOPE! WRONG AGAIN!

Typically, you're missing the point. Walt didn't choose to adapt certain books based on their popularity. He did it because he thought they'd make good Disney movies. Walt was interested in ideas, first and foremost. For instance, he based Lady and the Tramp in part on an obscure magazine story - "Happy Dan the Whistling Dog". Hardly a blockbuster bestseller, but the idea of a carefree independent mutt uninterested in a human owner intrigued him. He then paired that idea with a story that one of his artists, Joe Grant, was working on about a pampered pet spaniel, and that combo became Lady and the Tramp. That's called "creativity", son. Walt had no idea whether his creation would succeed or not - it had no "popularity" attached to it. But he liked the idea, and his judgement was correct. Lady and the Tramp was a big hit.

I realize that you Star Wars/Iger Acquisition-apologists love to try to minimize Walt in order to justify Iger's actions. But you lie when you do. Walt was not like Iger in any way, shape or form. Saying that Star Wars is Disney now because of Iger's deep pockets is simple-minded. Star Wars' success never depended on Disney's creativity. Neither did Marvel's. I bet when people think of Star Wars, they DON'T think of Disney. They think of George Lucas. And they don't think of Disney in connection with Marvel. They think of Stan Lee. There's a difference between owning and creating. Walt's decisions were based, first and foremost, on creativity. Iger's is based on money. Do try to keep up.
 

tirian

Well-Known Member
What exactly did "Disney" mean? Plundering public domain stories? Gobbling up IPs to make movies out of? And this was all done during Walt's lifetime and continuing thereafter.

Below are Disney animations listing IPs that were public domain (and therefore, not an original Disney IP) and bought/licensed. These are stories that were never originally created by Walt, his staff, or the company after his death. Disney (with and without Walt) has always been an aesthetivore, eating up other people's creativity. If you think there is something uniquely Disney that precludes bought-up IPs, then the thing that is uniquely Disney is their salesmanship making you think that.

And I haven't even touched their live action "work" such as the quintessential Disney property, Mary Poppins... which isn't Disney.

Public domain appropriations by Walt:
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • Pinocchio
  • Cinderella
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • The Sword in the Stone
  • The Jungle Book
  • Robin Hood
  • Johnny Appleseed
  • Pecos Bill


Other People's Work that Good Ol' Walt Bought and Made into being "Disney"
  • Mr. Toad
  • Bongo
  • Little Toot
  • Dumbo
  • Bambi
  • Song of the South
  • Peter Pan
  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians
  • Lady and the Tramp



Public Domain Appropriation Post-Walt
  • Oliver & Company
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Aladdin
  • Pocahontas
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  • Hercules
  • Mulan
  • Atlantis: The Lost Empire
  • Treasure Planet
  • The Princess and the Frog
  • Tangled
  • Frozen
  • Sleepy Hollow
  • Jack and the Beanstalk

Licensed/Bought IP by Disney Post-Walt
  • The Rescuers
  • The Fox and the Hound
  • The Black Cauldron
  • The Great Mouse Detective
  • Tarzan
  • Meet the Robinsons
  • Winnie the Pooh
  • Big Hero 6
  • Marvel
  • Indy
  • Star Tours, et al.
  • Pandora
  • Pixar

Are you really saying it’s the same thing to make an adaptation of a book or folk tale—and in some cases such as the Jungle Book completely change them—and to simply buy someone else’s successful work and start promoting it as your own?

Also, to get back on topic, I think the series illustrates the awkward relationship many fans have had with the parks for the last few years. We appreciate Iger’s investments and quality, but question the ‘Toonification across projects. Then I think everyone who understands economics and value can agree the pricing structures, upcharge cupcake parties, and food and merch prices are out of control. But that’s what happens when a company is chained to short-term profits.

SWGE is the most recent example. It opened halfway and the company itself panicked, fired an exec, fired mid-level managers, and cut entertainment. Then ROTR finally opened and SWGE is suddenly considered a roaring success. It reminds me of the doublespeak/doublethink news in the book 1984. Keep contradicting yourself and revising facts to protect the leaders, and people eventually won’t question you.
 

RobWDW1971

Well-Known Member
And giving more exposure to Disney's lesser-known films and shows of the past. I'm planning on checking out Babes In Toyland sometime before Christmas. The only film that I'm still waiting to show up on Disney+ is "So Dear To My Heart".
Interesting on the Verizon ads for Disney+ that the women says “there is something special about a Disney movie” and then they show clips from Star Wars and Marvel movies.

“Disney” is just now the broad marketing umbrella for all of these “family” brands.
 

spacemountaincarlo

Well-Known Member
The weird propaganda in the last two episodes made them a bit hard to watch, but I really enjoyed the rest of the series. I hope they'll release some expansions of some of the parks at some point, and maybe years down the line they can revisit the last two episodes and make them not as contradictory.

One thing that stuck out to me was in the 6th episode when they kept putting down Pirates of the Caribbean to push the Shanghai one.
 

DoleWhipDrea

Well-Known Member
One thing that stuck out to me was in the 6th episode when they kept putting down Pirates of the Caribbean to push the Shanghai one.

I took that more as the Imagineer noting the cultural differences that they needed to adapt to in order to create something that would have been more exciting for Shanghai guests. But I get it - it feels personal when someone indicates that Pirates isn’t the amazing attraction that it is.


I am really sad we’re not seeing any more episodes. Every update felt like a Disney parks fan’s dream (ignoring some of the obvious skips and propaganda.) The cleaned up vintage footage, the exclusive bits of art, photos and video of things from the archives never released before...it was incredible. The EPCOT CENTER stuff blew my mind.
 

Stripes

Well-Known Member
I took that more as the Imagineer noting the cultural differences that they needed to adapt to in order to create something that would have been more exciting for Shanghai guests. But I get it - it feels personal when someone indicates that Pirates isn’t the amazing attraction that it is.


I am really sad we’re not seeing any more episodes. Every update felt like a Disney parks fan’s dream (ignoring some of the obvious skips and propaganda.) The cleaned up vintage footage, the exclusive bits of art, photos and video of things from the archives never released before...it was incredible. The EPCOT CENTER stuff blew my mind.
To really appreciate the OG Pirates today, one has to have nostalgia or admire and understand the story at a deeper level than the average brain dead guest would. The technology and effects don't wow like they did when the ride opened.
 

Princess Leia

Well-Known Member
I’ve been watching the show over the last two days, and I just started episode 5. I don’t want to discredit Iger, because he did do good things. The cost cutting of the 90s really harmed the parks, and he helped turn DCA around.

However. I know what ended up happening to DCA recently. And what’s happening with Future World. And what happened to Great Movie Ride. And now I’m sad.
 

michmousefan

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone... if you, like me, dug the soundtrack to The Imagineering Story, you may be pleased to learn that the full soundtrack is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, etc...

Here's the album link for Spotify:


Enjoy...
 

Tay

Well-Known Member
I don’t know much about the history of Eisner and Wells but after watching Episode 3, I have so much respect for them. They were a great team and you can tell they really did their best for the parks.

I imagine in Episode 4 with Franks death that it goes downhill for Eisner...
I agree. I’ve heard so much negative things about Eisner but all the bad things happened after Wells died. I really feel for him. I can’t imagine losing someone I was so close to so tragically. It really is sad watching him do a 180. Grief is tough, especially when you lose someone tragically. Starting episode 5 now. This series is way realer than I imagined(pun intended) but I just feel like they’ll make Iger a savior.
 

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