But what has Disney done with regard to "age shrinkage"? Kids want Rugrats, not Mickey.
J.Y.
I'll admit that I'm a fan of Disney first, an investor in Disney second. I lived near WDW in Florida for quite some time, so I was particularly in tune with the parks division of the company. And I am currently noticing a real paradigm shift in new developments. Things like the new Rockin Rollercoaster, the first Disney coaster in the US to go upside down, and Test Track, a thrill ride that tops most coasters anywhere for speed. Things like Disney Quest, an entire building devoted to video games (a concept which is also being spread across the US---the first time a Disney attraction has been developed outside a park). Even developments overseas, like the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland Paris, which show a decidedly mature and macabre nature that would never have been done here, but definitely appeals to the European sensibilities. All of these things are squarely aimed at the younger crowd of today. Sure, they are small changes, but in all of Disney's years of entertaining, they represent some really fundamental shifts in thinking.
Remember, too, that Disney is also the same company that made the blockbuster "Armageddon", a movie that Mickey would have blanched at. <G> And "Tarzan" was probably the first animated feature where action was placed before story, music, etc.---a bow to the MTV generation.
Jape |
