This week I bring you more of a traditional newsletter than an essay— a round-up of what’s happening in the not-so-small world of Disney.
Reedy Creek District and the State of Florida: The Florida legislature has passed a bill that gives the state more control over the Reedy Creek Improvement District— the previously autonomous, quasi-governmental organization that Disney set up with the state of Florida in the 1960s to run Walt Disney World’s massive property. Once this is signed into law, Governor DeSantis—who has been going after Disney since last year— will have the power to appoint the members of the district’s oversight board.
The district was an unusual partnership to begin with—leading some to aptly call Disney World a kind of Vatican City, subject to its own jurisdiction. The law is a symbolic punch in ongoing national culture wars. This isn’t the first time Disney has been part of those, and it won’t be the last— as I argued last year, Disney’s stories evolve with American ones. But it’s troubling, to say the least, especially coupled with Florida’s moves to control education and banish “woke” subjects. Reedy Creek is more about sanitation than Cinderella. Their board doesn’t write the script for the Hall of Presidents. It’s still, in my opinion, not great.
The Little Mermaid has a new teaser trailer— with shots of Prince Eric, Ursula, and a blowfish. Yes, the live-action remakes are like a money-printing machine. But I also find them fascinating. They are like Disney midrash— re-writing an old story, filling in some gaps, imagining it just a little bit otherwise (except for the remake of The Lion King, which irked me with its near shot-for-shot fidelity.) Or maybe the animated films were a d’rash on the fairy tales. It’s always interpretation, all the way down. May will be a prime month for millenial and late Gen X nostalgia for the film that started the Disney Renaissance. Unfortunately it might also bring the same racism we’ve been seeing since the film was cast— but I’m hoping that the beauty of more inclusive representation will win out in the stories we tell about this film.
The Kansas City Chiefs won the Superbowl and went to Disneyland. I’m a Green Bay Packers fan, but as a resident of eastern Pennsylvania I wanted the Eagles to fly and thought the holding call was a depressing and questionable way to end a thrilling game.
That said, it’s always fun to revisit the history of the “You’ve just won the Superbowl/I’m going to Disneyland!” ad.
The first quarterback to say it was Phil Simms of the New York Giants in 1987. All I knew of football in 1987 was my father turning on the Jets for a minute, holding his head in his hands, and then turning them off. But, since I grew up in Central Jersey—it’s a real place!—I remember that Superbowl. “I’m going to Disneyland!” was a meme long before digital virality. I also love it as a kind of messianic horizon. It cemented the message that Disney parks are the place of the pinnacle, so extraordinary that even after reaching the greatest achievement of your life— the day you thought might never come— they are the only place at which you can still arrive. The paradise beyond the paradise.
Also, for Paul Rudd fans, here’s an adorable video of him, with his son, Jack, on the field after the big game. You’re welcome.
Disney 100 is here. 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of what we now call the Walt Disney Company, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Studio. Many festivities are coming, and a commercial celebrating this occasion aired during the Superbowl. I could analyze this commercial for DAYS. Also, it made me cry. Disney 100: The Exhibition opens in Philadelphia this weekend and I’ll be heading down this weekend, so more on that soon. I saw a sneak peek of a few objects at the D23 Convention last September and spent a lot of time in front of the carousel horses from Mary Poppins.
For now, I’ll leave you with the final line of the Disney 100 ad: “You Made This Dream Come True.” This is peak Disney/peak modernity (perhaps they are one and the same?)— it’s always about YOU— but also, it gets at the heart of my research. There are a lot of companies in this world— a lot of brands, a lot of films. The ones that endure do so in part because of fan investment—human emotion. Humans imbue them with their power. They are social. (For religion nerds, yes, this is a Durkheimian read on Disney.) Saying you made this dream come true—or “you are the magic”—-is not (just) appealing to our inner narcissist. It’s also the special sauce, the engine— the power that drives the machine, the rug that really ties the room together. Sacred and silly, capitalistic and yet so emotionally powerful, all at once.