As a child, she grew up watching Disney movies on weekends and listening to her father read Disney’s Bedtime storybooks at night. She first visited Disney World in Orlando, Fla., in 1986; now she visits regularly with her own family, and says each time has been magical in its own way.
“Watching my children enjoy Disney movies and characters brings back the memories that I had from my childhood,” said Morris, who is from Ridgetown, Ont. “It’s indeed a full circle — and it’s priceless.”
Morris is one of the many devoted Disney fans in Canada and around the world. But with the multinational entertainment conglomerate marking 100 years since its founding, some say the company faces an uncertain future.
“The Disney brand is at a more precarious place than it has been, certainly in memory, maybe ever,” said Brooks Barnes, the Hollywood reporter for The New York Times.
Challenges faced by The House of the Mouse include declining revenue for new films, an evolving media landscape that leans on in-home streaming, and ideological skirmishes that threaten to tarnish its reputation as family-friendly and politically neutral.
Disney’s latest animated film Wish — itself a commemoration of the company’s 100 years — faltered at the box office when it was released in November, debuting in third place, according to Variety magazine.
That follows a string of underperforming releases in 2023, including The Marvels, also released in November, and June’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
In contrast, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, released in April, was one of the top grossing movies of 2023, reigniting debates about whether the Nintendo mascot is more recognizable to today’s kids than Mickey Mouse.
“Disney is struggling, to be candid,” said Barnes. “It’s sort of struggling to figure out where the future of entertainment is going, how to bridge the divide between the cable television era and the streaming era.”
