For years, Disney kept theme park guests and moviegoers relatively happy, considering you can’t please one hundred percent of people one hundred percent of the time. They were flocking to the theaters to watch films like the live-action Lion King (2019), Frozen II (2019), and Toy Story 4 (2019). They were also loving their time at places like Walt Disney World Resort, which had always been expensive, but the perks made it worth the price.
Related: Guest Provides Sad Reminder of Everything Disney Has Taken From Us
Then, it seemed that all of that goodwill changed in an instant when Bob Iger stepped down as CEO, and Bob Chapek took over.
Just one month after Chapek took the reins, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and he was forced to deal with issues Iger could have never dreamed of. And while people don’t hold him fully responsible for the decisions made during that time, they do hold him responsible for the absolutely terrible way he ran the company.
Below are just a FEW of the issues Disney fans had with Chapek.
- He ended the free FastPass system and implemented Disney Genie+
- He ended the Magical Express
- He said that Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill didn’t matter to the company, despite its thousands of LGBTQ+ cast members
- He revealed Scarlett Johansson’s pay on Black Widow to try to make her look bad when she sued them
- Fired popular executive Peter Rice, who many thought threatened Chapek’s position as CEO
- Took creative power away from creatives and concentrated it within his loyalists
Many fans were thankful when Chapek was fired by Disney’s Board of Directors after less than three years in the position. Bob Iger was then brought back in, but his time has not been as smooth as it was previously. In fact, it seems that Mr. Iger is struggling almost as much to gain favor with fans as Mr. Chapek did.
One of the biggest complaints about Mr. Chapek was that he either didn’t know what Disney fans wanted or didn’t care. They found that especially true when Chapek made the egregious statement that adults did not like animation. Yes, you read that correctly. Mr. Chapek said that after watching movies with their kids, adults would not be interested in watching another animated movie.
Many people were angry and felt that Chapek was way off base, and now Disney’s newest movie proves that he had no idea what he was talking about.
On June 14, Disney and Pixar’s highly anticipated sequel, Inside Out 2, hit theaters. The film was expected to perform well but has crushed every single expectation. Inside Out 2 made nearly $300 million in its opening weekend and $100 million in its second weekend, the first animated film ever to do so.
Related: When Can We Expect ‘Inside Out 2’ on Disney+?
The film is so successful that it is the second-most successful animated film of all time, and is on track to become number one, surpassing both Frozen II and The Lion King live-action remake.
Of course, we know that many kids are heading to the theaters to see the sequel film, but adults are loving it as much as the kids. Inside Out 2 deals with complicated emotions like anxiety and even addresses a scary panic attack. They are adult concepts that are addressed on a level that kids can understand as well.
Disney and Pixar have been struggling for the past few years, but Inside Out 2 proves that fans still love an animated movie, still love Disney, and still believe in the power of a good story. And that they can’t trust most of what Bob Chapek had to say about running the company.
Do you think Inside Out 2 is proof positive that Bob Chapek just didn’t know anything about running a studio? Let us know in the comments!
For all the mistakes Chapek made Iger didn’t do anything to reverse them. Iger continues to alienate fans, release awful movies, poorly maintains the parks. So just what is he doing to justify the enormous salary he collects?