Disney feeds on yesterday while starving tomorrow’s childhood
Disney still prints money, but creatively it feels like a company on borrowed time. Marvel and Star Wars once powered revenues, yet a collapse in quality and a relentless release schedule have dulled both brands. The animation studio that set the global standard now leans on sequels and live-action remakes.
Worse, Disney struck a devil’s bargain by cultivating the “Disney adult.” By chasing the childless consumer, the company bought short-term profits while starving its future. At this rate, the company will have no next generation to buy into its nostalgia-based market.
Disney once sold childhood to children and, by doing so, sold a future to parents. By pivoting to the childless super-consumer, it sold out both.
Walt Disney’s dominance came from talent and timing. He had a gift for stories that delighted children and amused their parents. He also built in an era when mass media suddenly reached every living room, the postwar baby boom swelled the audience, and families had disposable income for the first time. Walt converted that moment into a network of theme parks that became rites of passage. In America, childhood meant Disney, and Disney meant childhood.
The empire grew after Walt’s death. Parks multiplied. The company expanded into television, music, sports, and games. Disney stretched its reach to older kids and teens, building an ecosystem where a child could live almost entirely inside one brand. That was the genius: Every formative memory wore a set of mouse ears, and nostalgia was guaranteed on the back end.
But invention is hard. Replicating Walt’s spark isn’t a system you can scale. Disney wanted every demographic and every dollar. Children had been the untapped market, but kids don’t control income; parents do. Marketing directly to adults looked unrealistic — until executives realized nostalgia could do the work.
Nostalgia as strip mine
Nostalgia feels like striking gold. You don’t need to create; you need to repackage. Decades of artistry built so much goodwill that the faintest echo could trigger warm feelings: a musical cue, a costume redesign, a cameo. For young adults who discovered the world is harsher than childhood promised, revisiting Disney’s stories and parks delivered comfort on demand.
That same generation had fewer children, often none. The old route — enchant the kids to unlock the parents’ wallets — narrowed. Disney pivoted. Sequels, reboots, and remakes pushed out originality. Marvel briefly rescued the strategy, but social justice sermons plus a firehose of content burned out the audience. Lucasfilm looked like another bottomless mine, yet once the initial excitement faded, fans saw the studio couldn’t craft new myths. The product kept coming; the magic didn’t.
From children’s parks to adult playgrounds
The parks followed the money. Regular attendance became a status symbol among young adults eager to flaunt luxury consumption online. Disney obliged, hiking prices and layering on exclusive experiences squarely aimed at childless visitors with cash to burn. Elite dining clubs, after-hours parties, and “premium” line-skipping converted nostalgia into a subscription lifestyle. Even Walt’s no-alcohol rule vanished. Spaces designed for families became curated playgrounds for nostalgic adults.
Nothing exposed this shift like the Star Wars hotel. The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser promised full immersion — actors in character, missions, staged set pieces, and themed cabins — at an eye-watering starting price of $5,500 for two nights for two people, but often much more. Families had no chance. The corridors filled with adults paying thousands for a few days of role-play and an Instagram dump. When the novelty faded and the numbers stopped working, Disney shuttered it.
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Eating the seed corn
For a while, the nostalgia economy worked. Remakes still posted strong weekends. Parks extracted more revenue per guest. But the company stopped enchanting children. Re-skinning "Beauty and the Beast" or "Aladdin" keeps cash flowing for a season; it plants nothing for the future. You can only harvest memories if children are making new ones now. Disney has been eating seed corn instead of planting for tomorrow.
That creative retreat shows up in the audience. The company trains adults to consume experiences rather than build households. Disney adults don’t just buy tickets and merch; many postpone or abandon the basics of civilization — marriage, kids, a home — so they can keep chasing the next “exclusive.” Some even treat continuing their bloodline as evil. Disney is not solely to blame for this wider phenomenon, but it reinforces it and profits from it.
None of this means Disney’s executives are uniquely foolish. They followed the incentives. The audience that most reliably spends money was the one you made last generation: the kid who grew up inside Disney’s ecosystem and never left it. Social media turned that audience into free marketing. Wall Street demanded predictable growth, and nostalgia delivered on time. The trap is that nostalgia always cannibalizes tomorrow to feed today.
The moral is bigger than one company. A civilization that feeds on recycled memory while sneering at renewal is a civilization drifting toward hospice. Disney once sold childhood to children and, by doing so, sold a future to parents. By pivoting to the childless super-consumer, it sold out both.
Tapped out: Decrepit mock-rockers reach underwhelming ‘End’
Beatles don’t come cheap.
A quartet of movies based on the Fab Four is coming our way, and while the films aren’t close to releasing yet, we’re getting a peek at the price tag for the project.
‘By saying “Free Palestine,” you’re not admitting what you really think.’
Now, that may be the catering budget for your average Marvel movie, but it’s still an alarming figure for four dramatic features. All four films, to be shot over an extended 15-month period, will be helmed by Sam Mendes (“Skyfall,” “1917”).
“Can’t Buy Me Love,” perhaps, but money will get you some recognizable faces.
Let’s meet the Beatles: John Lennon (Harris Dickinson), Paul McCartney (Paul Mescal), Ringo Starr (Barry Keoghan), and George Harrison (Joseph Quinn).
The Liverpool lads remain a permanent part of pop culture — for us older folk. But is that the case for Gen Z, the generation most likely to visit theaters?
“Money (That’s What I Want).” And they’ll need plenty of it to recoup those exorbitant costs ...
Spinal Nap
These reviews don’t go to 11. In fact, some are real “s**t sandwiches.”
“Spinal Tap: The End Continues” hits theaters this weekend, 41 years after the original mockumentary made this faux band immortal. We certainly didn’t need a new “Spinal Tap” movie. The original, directed by and co-starring Rob Reiner, gave us so many classic lines and gags, it feels like it never went away.
The new film features the key original cast members (Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, and Michael McKean) along with returning co-stars (Fran Drescher, Paul Shaffer) and copious cameos (Paul McCartney, Elton John).
Reviews have been mixed so far, with even the positive notices saying the sequel can’t come close to measuring up to the original.
What could?
One relief? It appears Reiner’s late-stage Trump derangement syndrome didn’t enter the frame, beyond a brief reference to Stormy Daniels. Phew.
The bad news is one distinct reality. Reiner’s directorial career fell off a creative cliff after a stunning run of movie classics (“Stand By Me,” “Misery,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “A Few Good Men,” “The Princess Bride”). He hasn’t had a hit since 2007’s “The Bucket List,” a film few would rank near the top — or even middle — of his filmography.
More than one critic cited a brutal line from the 1984 original in their reviews — the aforementioned sandwich ...
Seinfeld stands up
For a guy who made a show about nothing, Jerry Seinfeld suddenly has something profound to say. And he’s virtually all alone in saying it, especially in the rarefied air of modern celebrity.
The legendary comic teed off against the pro-Palestinian movement, comparing it to the KKK. Except the latter group at least scores points for honesty.
Not this bunch, the sitcom superstar said.
Free Palestine is, to me, just — you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. By saying “Free Palestine,” you’re not admitting what you really think. So it’s actually — compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here because they can come right out and say, “We don’t like blacks; we don’t like Jews.” OK, that’s honest.
The comments come as nearly 4,000 of his industry peers pledge not to work with film groups with Israeli ties for their complicity with war crimes.
Seinfeld has all that sitcom money at this point. He also has a bigger moral compass than many of his peers, apparently ...
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Sunny makes sense
“There are no words,” we often say in the face of tragedies like Wednesday’s shocking murder of conservative superstar Charlie Kirk. Unfortunately, the media generally insists on talking anyway.
Sometimes, miraculously, they get it right. Like “The View” host Sunny Hostin, of all people:
This man was 31 years old with two children, I think ages 1 and 3, a family man, a wife. Now, all these children will grow up without their father. This woman will grow up, you know, grow old without her husband. I just — this country — there’s just no place for this kind of violence in this country. I am heartbroken over it. ... The First Amendment is the first amendment for a reason. We should be able to voice whatever opinions we have.
God bless Charlie Kirk and his family.
DC Comics immediately cancels new series after author mocks Charlie Kirk's murder
A new comic book series was canceled after the writer mocked the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was murdered during a stop on his campus tour at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, leaving behind his loving family that includes his wife and two children. Kirk was just 31 years old.
'We place the highest value on our creators and community and affirm the right to peaceful, individual expression of personal viewpoints.'
On the same day the first issue of DC Comics' "Red Hood" was released in stores, the company announced it was canceling any future orders of the series. "Red Hood" is a spinoff from the "Batman" universe, with the main character being Batman's former sidekick, Robin.
In a statement sent to retailers late on Wednesday, DC wrote, "DC Comics cancels existing orders for Red Hood #2 and Red Hood #3, and any orders for future issues of the series."
"DC Comics will credit retailers for all invoiced copies of Red Hood #1, inclusive of copies that may have already been sold," the publisher wrote, according to Popverse.
The cancellation comes after the comic's writer, Gretchen Felker-Martin, allegedly posted horrific commentary about Kirk's death on the social media platform Bluesky.
Felker-Martin's name appears on the cover of "Red Hood" as one of the writers.
As reported by Bounding Into Comics, the writer seemingly took to her Bluesky account to mock Kirk within an hour of the news of his shooting.
"Thoughts and prayers you Nazi bitch," the post read. But it did not stop there.
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Adding to the heartless display, the post added, "Hope the bullet's okay after touching Charlie Kirk."
Without mentioning Felker-Martin's name, DC Comics responded to Popverse after the outlet reached out asking for the reason behind the canceled comic.
"At DC Comics, we place the highest value on our creators and community and affirm the right to peaceful, individual expression of personal viewpoints," DC Comics said in a statement. "Posts or public comments that can be viewed as promoting hostility or violence are inconsistent with DC's standards of conduct."
Felker-Martin's Bluesky page no longer exists at the time of this publication, and a search on the social platform for her name did not bring up any other profiles.
The second and third issues for "Red Hood" had already been scheduled, but will seemingly never hit the shelves. Issue No. 2 was set for release on October 2, 2025, while the third issue was scheduled for November 12, 2025.
Both issues had Felker-Martin announced as the writer. The series was also meant for a mature audience, with a rating of 17+.
Felker-Martin was the subject of headlines in 2022 after writing a horror novel that featured author J.K. Rowling dying in a fire at the hands of transgender activists, according to Daily Mail.
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Animator Tom Bancroft: From 'The Lion King' to the King of Kings
Tom Bancroft remembers the moment when the Disney magic began to wear off.
During his career at the studio, the veteran animator had helped create characters from some of Disney's biggest '90s hits: Mushu the dragon from “Mulan” and Simba from “The Lion King," to name a few. He was living every aspiring animator's dream.
'It hit me so strongly ... when kids pray from that point forward, this might be the Jesus they see in their heads.'
He also defended the company from critiques that it was indifferent or even hostile to Christianity, saying Disney simply stayed true to the story and followed it wherever it might go.
'Uncomfortable' truth
Then he worked on a 2000 short film called “John Henry,” a tale of U.S. slaves who endured the “peculiar institution.”
Faith, Bancroft tells Align, was “such an intrinsic part of that story,” something his storyboard animatics reflected. Disney brass disagreed.
“’This makes me feel uncomfortable,’” he recalls the president of animation saying at the time about its spiritual themes.
“It hit me like a ton of bricks," recalls Bancroft. "I didn’t see that coming. ... I’ve been telling everybody for years we were just staying true to the story ... we can have Mulan pray to her ancestors because that’s what they did in ancient China in that culture.”
“Now, we come to Christianity, and you’re not comfortable. It was the first time I said, ‘There’s another side to this story,’” he said.
“I didn’t know it then, but six months later, I [would leave] Disney ... I need[ed] to go use my talents and abilities for God more directly,” he says.
Seeing the 'Light'
Bancroft went on to work on the popular “Veggie Tales” franchise, as well as shows on the Christian Broadcasting Network. He's also written acclaimed books on animation, while co-hosting a popular animation podcast with his fellow animator — and twin brother — Tony.
Now, he’s brought his Disney skills to a 2D animated feature film that captures the life of Jesus Christ in a bold new way.
“Light of the World,” in theaters now, follows Christ’s story through the eyes of the youngest apostle, John (voiced by Benjamin Jacobson). That allows young viewers to experience Christ’s mission from a fresh, relatable perspective.
The film may not hail from the Mouse House’s iconic studio, but critics are praising both its sensitive storytelling and gorgeous animation. Bancroft was able to glean critical tips from the “nine old men,” the core Disney animators who helped bring the studio’s inimitable artistry to life.
“We get to put that emotion and that knowledge that we learned there [into the film] ... they were still passing down that wisdom to people like me and my brother [in the 1980s],” he says.
Finding Jesus
Bancroft played a role in bringing beloved Disney characters to life. Bringing Jesus to the big screen offered another, far more critical challenge.
“I honestly would wake up in the middle of the night ... it hit me so strongly ... when kids pray from that point forward, this might be the Jesus they see in their heads,” he says, adding his team created a Jesus figure with a skin tone darker than some previous screen incarnations.
The “Light of the World” Jesus posed another problem as a storyteller.
“Thematically, as a character in a film ... [Jesus] doesn’t really work. You want to have arcs to a character ... he’s going to question himself, he’s going to try, and he’s going to fail, and then he’s going to succeed later ... you don’t have that with Jesus,” he says. “Thankfully, we had that with John.”
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Bible stories on a budget
Working with Disney gave Bancroft access to money and resources that smaller, independent films can’t match.
“We had at least 10 at-bats ... we can miss a few times, maybe even nine times, and get it on the 10th at every level,” he says, meaning storyboard creation, vocal performances, and animation.
“I would do scenes over and over again until it was just right or just what the director wanted,” he says. “In an independent film, you have to get it right within the first one or two tries. You don’t get that many at-bats.”
The benefits, as he sees them, are considerable.
“You get to make the film you want to make,” he says, adding the film’s key financer, Matt McPherson, gave his team few guidelines beyond staying true to the Bible.
“I’ve never in 35 years had that freedom to make a movie,” he says. “We were off to the races and were loving every minute of it.”
Faith on the fast track
And he thinks more films like “Light of the World” are coming our way.
The faith-friendly genre has expanded in recent years, from “The Chosen” to 2024’s “Sound of Freedom.” Major streamers like Amazon Prime and Netflix have embraced spiritual stories, partly due to positive reactions from customers.
It’s show business, after all.
Another big difference, he says, is financial. Now, experienced storytellers who may have found themselves outside Hollywood’s creative bubble like Bancroft are getting back in the game on their terms.
“The money getting to the right people, honestly, has been the biggest difference. People don’t like to talk about that, but honestly, that’s how you make a change in Christian film,” he says.
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