There is an explanation for Disney's war on children
Very often, when companies go woke, it turns out that the wokeness is a cover for changing market forces. That is, they're not alienating traditional demographics; they're reflecting that their money is coming from new demographics. When it comes to Hollywood and the NBA, for example, the big bucks are coming from China, not America. And when it comes to Disney, the main profit center isn't children; it's young adults who, Peter Pan–like, refuse to grow up.
The brilliant Daniel Greenfield makes this point in an article entitled "Disney's Business Model is Turning Kids into Dysfunctional Adults: Its customer base isn't kids. It's messed up adults." Greenfield, as always, has done the research, and, in the case of Disney, he points to the fact that Disney's most fanatic consumers are in the over 18 demographic:
Disney isn't for kids anymore. Its movie business is dominated by Marvel blockbusters. Half of Disney+ subscribers, its big bet on the home streaming future, are adults with no children.
What about the theme parks?
60% of Disneyland visitors were adults with no children. Only 36.7% of Disney World visitors had children under 18. The largest demographic for the theme parks, like the movies, are millennials. They are also members of the fandoms who are likeliest to spend money on licensed merchandise, and on toys and movie tie-ins that are Disney's bread and butter.
And Disney is rapidly adapting with theme parks and resorts that emphasize its Marvel and Star Wars properties more than classic fare. Its Galactic Starcruiser hotel, aimed at Star Wars fans, costs $4,809 for two adults. Why bother with kid stuff when you can sell $13 beers?
Mr. and Mrs. Middle America, who care deeply about their children growing up to be happy, healthy, normal adults, aren't Disney's target market. Instead, Disney is directing its resources to the same dysfunctional adults you see screaming on college campuses because their professor forgot to give them a trigger warning before exposing them to the work of an awful, cisgender, heterosexual White male like William Shakespeare.
Image: Disney's Bob Chapek. YouTube screen grab.
While Disney's customers once wept because they needed a bottle, a diaper change, and a nap, its current target demographic become hysterical if someone uses the wrong pronouns in their presence. It's these people who, having been bombarded since 2008 with messages about alternative sexualities, genders, and lifestyles, and other non-traditional, non-child-oriented messages, have embarked upon a crusade to bring up the next generation in accordance with their "new normal." Or as Greenfield writes:
Disney's new demographic are adults who have never properly grown up and on some level still think of themselves as children. That's also the profile for the average child molester. And of the kind of adult who insists that schools force children to "explore their sexual identities".
Healthy adults raise, protect and care for children. Deeply unhealthy ones erase the barriers between themselves and children in ways that can be merely immature or outright evil.
(And for some reason — and I'm saying this based on my personal observations — people on the LGBTQ+++ spectrum are especially attracted to Disney and have been for as long as I can remember.)
What helps push Disney in this direction is America's declining birthrate (with our population propped up by births to immigrants and illegal aliens). Back in the day, Disney marketed to Boomers. Now, with Millennials eschewing children and, instead, living themselves as perpetual children, it's only logical for Disney to market itself to groomers. To keep itself viable, it needs lots of new groomers:
Disney still has a profitable kids segment, but its real profits come from overgrown children born into broken families, prematurely coming of sexual age, who are eager to embrace leftist utopian causes and fantasies, who are seeking an identity and an escape at the same time.
The company isn't for kids, it's for broken adults. And it's only natural that Disney would seek to create more broken adults to perpetuate its business model. A healthy functional adult isn't nearly as profitable for the entertainment giant as a dysfunctional one addicted to its product.
Disney may have changed from charming to creepy, but it's doing what thinks it needs to do to stay alive.
There are alternatives, though. The Daily Wire still believes there is a market out there for quality, intelligent children's products. It's investing $100 million over the next few years to create wholesome, intelligent fare for children. Meanwhile, Dennis Prager's Kids Watch has already created dozens of fun videos for children that entertain even as they educate about American history, great men and women, and traditional values.
The saddest thing about Disney's decision is that, for millions of Americans who came of age in the 20th century, Disney is sullying their memories and destroying a world of innocence and beauty that they always believed they'd be able to hand down to their children and grandchildren.