And much like its creator, Walt Disney, the corporation is an edacious entity known for screwing over the working people and taxpayers while trying to present itself as some force for good. Not sure if Walt and his brother were always this way. Maybe they just wanted to prove that animation could be successful as feature entertainment instead of a short before everybody watched the main movie. Maybe they wanted to elevate the amusement park experience to something even more amazing than Coney Island or those scary carnivals. I guess I could find out by reading a decent biography anyone can recommend.
One thing I know with absolutely certainty, Walt behaved in the same manner as every other asshole rich person who really required the government to make his fortune. He was a fan of FDR, especially when the New Deal paid him to make cartoons to assure the public we could beat the Nazis. Then he turned into a dick Republican when the Democrats let his slaves…I mean employees unionize; Walt used his power to make free ads to promote “I’ll make the green in two” Eisenhower.
Cigarettes may have killed him and the urban legend of a frozen corpse kept him in the public mind throughout my childhood. I personally think he discovered a way to pass his dark, bigoted WASP soul into a series of CEOs by the Eighties with a touch of Pac Man. As of today, Disney owns the ABC broadcast network, it’s still unclear to me how things work with the Fox network, ESPN, other cable channels, Marvel Comics, Star Wars, Pixar, The Muppets, National Geographic and a shit ton of real estate. It may be a powerful player in streaming but sadly it’s due to them owning and just sitting on well-loved stuff. They’re generally one of the most risk-averse studios too, it’s why we’re receiving all those boring live versions of crap nobody asked for. However, our worthless, dark joke called American Democracy will always bend a knee to Disney. It’s why they needlessly extended copyrights for them in the Nineties over another generation. Thanks to Europe showing they have more spine than our Gerontocracy, Amerika may follow suit and Steamboat Willie will enter the public domain where it belongs. I doubt Disney has little to sweat. I’ve barely met any children in 30 years who like Mickey Mouse much, again, probably why they bought Marvel.
When enough Boomers die, I do hope the newer generations will break Disney up along with NewsCorp, Viacom, Comcast, Warner-Discovery, etc. I don’t think the US will last another 30 years with all these ‘too big to fail’ who ‘own too much’ brigands. And if Bob Iger doesn’t like it, he can move to Russia.