The Reason Disney Is Still On Top

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My girlfriend and I recently saw the new film Frozen from Walt Disney Pictures. I’m not a movie critic, nor does my opinion matter in the grand scheme of things, but if you ask me, the movie gets a ten out of ten. On our way home, I sat and reflected on the movie we had just witnessed, and it made me realize something. Ever since Walt and Roy Disney started the Disney Brothers Studios back in the 1920’s, they have been the best, and will continue to be the best.

As a man who grew up in the nineties, I spent countless hours watching films on VHS from the Walt Disney Company. Whether it was Aladdin or Lion King or even the classics like Peter Pan, Disney seemingly had the best movies out there, and they weren’t planning on stopping anytime soon. As I grew older, my affinity for Disney movies started to diminish, and I would find myself far away from the classics I grew up on.

About three years ago, my girlfriend, Kate, asked me to watch a movie with her. That movie was Tangled, and it was the classic story of Rapunzel with a Disney spin on it. I watched the movie with little expectations, but I found myself entertained, and I actually liked it in the end. We sat and thought about why our generation cared for a movie that was designed for kids, and I realized three years ago what I thought after seeing Frozen a few nights ago. Disney does many things, but they do it better than anyone else, and they won’t change their product. Tangled featured a princess, a thief-turned-hero who doubled as a love interest, an animal sidekick, singing, and a story that connects people of all ages. Sound familiar?

All 53 movies that are in the “Walt Disney Animated Classics Series” have similar features in them. There is singing, conflict, humor, characters that stick with you forever, and so much more. They haven’t changed much, and they are timeless. You can throw on Snow White or you can pop in Frozen and children of all ages will be glued to the television. They have the ability to adapt to today’s culture without compromising their product.

In today’s society, money has become the driving force in everything. Animated movies will throw in jokes from today, or incorporate the latest fad to get the laughs and to get people in the theater. Disney seems to stray away from that, and it shows in their results.

It isn’t just the Animated Classics Series that makes them successful. Disney has a partnership with Pixar, and the Dinsey-Pixar movies have brought in serious amounts of money, and they are just as timeless as the other ones. The most recent Pixar film, Monsters University, opened with a loud 82 million dollars on it’s first weekend. That was a prequel to a movie that aired a decade ago. They also own the largest sports company in the world in ESPN, they own ABC, and Disney’s footprint is the largest in the world. The company is worth over 100 billion dollars, and it all started with a man drawing a mouse over 85 years ago.

Walt Disney is celebrating a birthday today, and he would have been 112 years old. His company has massive theme parks in Orlando, Anaheim, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Everyone in America goes to Disney World once in their life, and when you attend a Disney Park, you are transported to a magical world. Disney was one of the greatest minds in the history of the world, and his visionary plans are still in motion today. The company’s ability to adapt to the world around them while paying homage to the past has been another reason they stay on top. In Disney World, The Swiss Family Robinson Tree House was transformed to the Tarzan Tree House, but a book titled Swiss Family Robinson sits on a table in the tree house. In Frozen, there is a scene that mirrors a walking scene in Lion King, and small things like that may go unnoticed, but it’s another reason they are the best at what they do.

Now, you could call me names for still enjoying movies who target a younger demographic, but it’s apart of my childhood, and a quote from Walt Disney himself helped me realize that there is nothing wrong with it. “The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique,” Walter Elias Disney once said. They have created movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and many others, and their venture into movies that target older demographics are just as good as the others.

Everywhere you go, you see a part of Walt Disney. Whether it be merchandise, movies, sports, television, or a smile, Disney touches our lives in ways no one else does. There are companies that do something well, and don’t stray in favor or public opinion. A good burger place will make good burgers, and they won’t try and mess with their product because of someone else. Disney is the leading company in all categories they are in, and it is everyone else that is trying to emulate their success.

Are they a company who has been without flaws? Of course not. We all have flaws, and anytime human beings are involved, there will be mistakes and bumps in the road. I hear skeptics criticize the company, and some cynics will try and point things out, but The Walt Disney Company has brought millions of people happiness, memories, and togetherness, and that’s another reason they stand on top. From Oswald to Frozen, the Disney Company has done things the right way, and have remained on top all these years.