A History of Disney Acquisitions 1997 to Now
How Disney's Most Recent Deals Should Give Hope To Marvel Fans
They didn't attempt another major buyout until 2002, when they dipped their collective toes back in the water with a small scale purchase that has large sale consequences for their recent Marvel Comics purchase.
2002: Saban Entertainment
Perhaps the most portentous Disney acquisition relating to the Marvel deal is that of the Power Rangers, the major target in Disney’s 2002 buyout of Saban Entertainment. Although the Power Rangers franchise never reached the creative heights of Marvel Comics, their similar in Disney’s attitude towards the companies – both are seen as an attempt by Disney to reassimilate the male teen demographic they’ve lost by relying on more feminine franchises like Lizzie McGuire and Hannah Montana.
The fate of the Power Rangers could be a distressing omen for Marvel fans, since Disney essentially changed the overarching mythology of the characters. Gone was the five-plus year metastory referred to as The Zordon Saga, replaced by a Disney-led initiative of relaunching the story from the ground-up every season.
It is worth noting, however, that the greatest success of the Disney Power Rangers was Dino Thunder in 2004. Dino Thunder returned the characters to their original mythology, for the first time referencing and building upon the original mythology by catching up with original characters and concepts.
2004: The Muppets
Disney had long sought to purchase Jim Henson’s Muppet characters, including an all-but-finalized deal in 1989 that was scuttled by Henson’s sudden death.
After becoming part of Disney in 2004, the Muppets have become a less powerful brand. Before the Disney deal, the Muppets were film and television stars in their own right. Since 2004, however, they haven’t appeared in a single theatrical release or television series. Instead, Disney has relegated them to sporadic television specials and cameo appearances.
They’ve also neutered the property. Under Henson, the Muppets were both children’s entertainers and powerful satirical tools, as evidenced by the freewheeling political statements of the early Muppet Show and the all-ages humor of box office smash The Muppet Movie. Disney repurposed the franchise for a younger demographic only.
There is some hope, though, in the form of BOOM! Comics’ revival of The Muppet Show in comic book form. Cartoonist Roger Landrige successfully captures the more subversive elements of the original franchise while remaining safe for a children’s consumption, all under complete official license by Disney.
2006: Pixar Animation Studios
Those who’ve champion the Disney/Marvel deal have cited the Pixar deal as evidence that Disney is able to do right by creatively flourishing subsidiaries, but they’re truly different beasts.
The Pixar acquisition was more of a merger, with Disney seemingly realizing their old creative ways were bankrupt. Not only was Pixar founder Steve Jobs added to the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company, but Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter’s role was expanded to encompass all of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Such a unique response to creative turmoil may show a friendlier Disney attitude towards outside properties, but the circumstances show a different story. Pixar’s distribution deal with Disney was the source of the only successful properties to come from Disney’s feature film division. Since 2001, Disney’s only lasting non-Pixar hit was Lilo & Stitch. In the same period, joint Pixar/Disney productions won seven Academy Awards.
It must also be said that even though Pixar’s films are critically acclaimed, they’ve been aimed at the same audience as most of Disney’s products. Marvel Comics’ audience is far older, and the subject matter is usually more violent and mature than Pixar’s.
Conclusion
The ink isn’t yet dry on the Disney/Marvel deal – as of this writing, it has yet to be cleared of all federal antitrust tests, although it has been ratified by the boards of both companies. Therefore, it’s unknown what Disney’s first actions with the Marvel brand will be.
Disney’s history should actually provide a hopeful outlook to Marvel’s many fans, even if they haven’t always made perfect decisions. Disney brass has stated they have no intention of messing with the publishing side of Marvel Comics, and there is no real reason to doubt them.
Yes, they squashed some Miramax distributions, but Marvel has taken similar actions themselves by pulling and pulping issues of comics like Peter Milligan and Mike Allred’s Princess Diana storyline in X-Statix.
If Disney willingly released Pulp Fiction through Miramax, there’s no reason to believe that they’ll automatically begin editing high quality Marvel Comics like Criminal and the noir-tinged Daredevil.
Finally, while the Pixar deal isn’t a perfect indicator of the fate of Marvel and it’s characters, it was at the very least a drastic overhaul of the company’s creative direction. Disney has shown the ability to learn from its mistakes, and allow the creatives they employ to produce what they want as long as the audience keeps supporting it. That’s really what it boils down to – Disney is a company that likes money.
Marvel, although sometimes violent and profane, rarely publish anything that could be seen as irresponsible. In all likelihood, Disney sees that the niche group of fans that support the publishing side of Marvel Comics are important enough to placate – while they exploit the Marvel Characters in other media like Television and Film that yield a higher monetary upside and more general acceptance of different demographics than the comics.
A Disney/Marvel deal may be a boon for comic fans.
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