The Auron MacIntyre Show - How the Disney Adult Killed Disney ｜ 9⧸11⧸25

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00:00:30.400 it's no secret that disney is struggling creatively the entertainment giant is still

00:00:34.720 very profitable but in many ways it feels like it's running on borrowed time marvel and star wars

00:00:40.320 were legacy properties that the company acquired to boost their box office domination but a drastic

00:00:45.680 drop in quality and an exhausting release schedule has tarnished their brands disney's once vaunted

00:00:52.080 animation studio now relies heavily on sequels or releasing live action remakes of classic films

00:00:58.320 but what is far more dangerous is the devil's bargain the company has made by creating the

00:01:02.800 disney adult by catering to the childless consumer disney has locked in large short-term gains but

00:01:08.960 ensured that there will be no next generation to buy into their nostalgia-based market the dominance

00:01:15.040 of walt disney over popular culture is a product of incredible talent and incredible timing the

00:01:20.400 visionary animator and businessman obviously had an amazing gift for producing charming and entertaining

00:01:25.360 stories that captivated children and even entertained their parents the entrepreneur was also working

00:01:31.040 at a time when mass media allowed children to consume far more entertainment than ever before

00:01:35.760 with the post-world war ii baby boom and the large increase in disposable income suddenly marketing

00:01:41.520 entertainment and products to children became extremely profitable while disney was smart enough to

00:01:47.600 parlay the success into a network of theme parks that would become a rite of passage that parents felt

00:01:52.800 compelled to provide to their children in america to be a child was to be a fan of disney the two

00:01:58.640 experiences were almost inseparable the disney empire continued to grow even after the death of

00:02:04.400 its founder the company expanded the number of theme parks and moved into television music sports and

00:02:10.160 video games it also sought to update its appeal to older children and teens extending their reach well

00:02:16.160 into adolescence children could live their entire lives in an ecosystem of entertainment from one

00:02:22.240 company all of their formative experiences would in one way or another be disney branded an

00:02:27.920 incredible way to ensure powerful feelings of nostalgia in the future wait i didn't get charged

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00:02:56.560 a limited time creating innovative and charming experiences is a great business model but a

00:03:05.120 difficult task to reliably replicate disney continued to burn the candle at both ends seeking to expand its

00:03:12.240 reach and profit base to every possible demographic when walt began his company children were an

00:03:18.080 essentially untapped market but they come with downsides like not having their own income you have

00:03:23.760 to trick their parents into spending the money for them initially the idea that a children's

00:03:28.640 entertainment company would directly market to adults seemed unrealistic but it turned out that

00:03:34.160 appealing to nostalgia was the trick nostalgia is an amazing product to sell because in many ways it feels

00:03:41.040 like tripping over a gold mine there's no need to engage in the difficult and inconsistent art of

00:03:46.960 innovation and creation because all the work is already done for you the generations of storytelling

00:03:53.920 and design laid down by talented disney creators had built up so much goodwill that simply seeing those

00:04:01.120 properties represented in a slightly different way brought back warm feelings many young adults found out

00:04:07.680 that the real world was a far more difficult place than the one they remembered back when they were

00:04:11.920 watching disney films and looking forward to visiting their theme parks revisiting those experiences

00:04:17.440 reminded these disney adults of better and more carefree times the younger adults were also having

00:04:23.760 fewer children than previous generations if they even had children at all there were fewer opportunities 0.97

00:04:29.680 to use children as an avenue to their parents pocketbooks so disney would need to go after the adults

00:04:35.040 themselves the company started to shift its emphasis from new properties to nostalgia bait producing

00:04:41.920 fewer original films and relying on sequels or live-action remakes of animated classics movie executives

00:04:48.880 initially struck gold after turning the flagging comic book publisher marvel into a film juggernaut

00:04:54.800 but a mix of social justice messaging and fatigue from the sheer number of releases caused the perceived

00:05:01.040 quality to plummet over time disney also acquired lucas films with the expectation of crafting another

00:05:07.440 cinematic universe that would come with a rabid fan base but it was clear that the company was unable

00:05:13.360 to produce new memorable stories and after a wave of initial excitement the fans began to lose interest

00:05:20.560 on the theme park front disney began to cater more and more of its experiences to adults the company was

00:05:26.640 fully aware that regular attendance at the parks had become a status symbol among young adults who

00:05:32.640 enjoyed glamorizing their conspicuous consumption on social media prices skyrocketed as exclusive

00:05:39.840 experiences were added to cater to childless adults nightclubs elite dining clubs and luxury resorts were

00:05:46.320 introduced to soak up all that new disposable income the parks even broke waltz long-standing no alcohol

00:05:52.880 policy and adult beverages quickly became readily available it became clear that disney was now

00:05:58.320 focusing much of its efforts to squeezing every last dollar from the adults they had enchanted when

00:06:03.760 they were children rather than enchanting a new generation of children nothing highlights this trend

00:06:10.880 quite like disney's failed star wars hotel the galactic cruiser the experience started at a shocking

00:06:17.280 5 500 for two people for just a few days but could easily cost several thousand more the guests were

00:06:24.640 supposed to receive a fully immersive visit where every part of the environment was themed every employee

00:06:30.480 was an in-character actor and an original story unfolded in front of them in reality the experience was

00:06:36.560 so cost prohibitive and complicated that families with children had no hope of ever attending the halls of

00:06:43.200 the hotel were dominated by childless adults burning large sums of money so they could post pictures

00:06:49.360 on instagram and the sad thing is that even the influencers who were just posting on instagram for

00:06:55.040 clout found the entire experience subpar the hotel quickly closed and became a graveyard or really a

00:07:02.160 monument to the failure of disney to understand where it was going while the shift from creating

00:07:08.160 children's entertainment to catering to adult nostalgia initially felt like a gold mine for disney

00:07:14.000 it turned out to be a strip mine the company's movies are often still profitable though that is now

00:07:19.440 far less certain than it used to be but they're no longer focused on creating a memorable experience

00:07:24.560 for children the studio might rake in cash after reminding audiences about how much they loved beauty

00:07:30.800 and the beast or aladdin but that trick can't work forever eventually there will be no new generations

00:07:36.720 of children who fondly remember disney properties once they become adults the company is eating its

00:07:42.160 own seed corn for short-term profits rather than planning it for a later harvest the far more

00:07:47.680 depressing realization is that disney is also destroying its future by creating adults who

00:07:52.400 no longer care about the future of their bloodline disney adults are spending all of their income

00:07:57.840 regularly attending the park and chasing exclusive experiences they often don't save up to buy homes

00:08:03.520 get married or start a family they don't see the continuation of their family or culture as a

00:08:08.640 good worth pursuing and in some cases see it as an outright evil to be prevented disney is not solely

00:08:14.640 to blame for this wider cultural phenomenon but they are certainly perpetuating it and profiting from it

00:08:21.200 by shifting its focus to disney adults the company has made it far less likely that there will be a

00:08:26.720 next generation of disney children while this business model is clearly doomed if it continues there's no

00:08:33.280 obvious solution for the entertainment company the far more chilling fact is that most of these

00:08:38.800 warnings could be applied to our civilization as a whole

00:08:42.400 thanks for watching guys if you enjoyed this video go ahead and click like and if you haven't

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00:09:17.440 columns at the blaze thanks for watching and as always i'll talk to you next time

The Auron MacIntyre Show - September 11, 2025

How the Disney Adult Killed Disney ｜ 9⧸11⧸25

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