4 Corporate Disney in Action
Working together: synergy in action
Case study: Frozen (2013)
Pre-release strategies
Film release
Post-release promotion/activities
Case study: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Pre-release promotion
Force Friday
Merchandise madness
Final pre-release events
Film release and beyond
Beyond case studies: other examples of synergy
Expanding the Multiverse: building the brand, maintaining franchises, and deepening the demographics
The Disney Princess franchise
Controlling the Multiverse
Controlling intellectual property
Case study: the Oregon Duck
Controlling labor: working for the Mouse House
Studio workers/animation
Theme-park workers
The rewards: salaries, promotions, perks
Mickey as Teamster
Controlling through tough tactics
Conquering the world: Disney’s globalization
Global agility: political persuasion
Global opportunities: exploiting labor
Making the magic: technology
Media content
Theme parks
Consumer products
Disney research
Marketing The Mouse
Playing nice: corporate social responsibility
Philanthropy
Environment
Summary: corporate responsibility = public relations
Conclusion: the bottom line, after all
Notes
8 5 Analyzing the World According to Disney Approaches and methods of studying media content What is Disney? The Classic Disney model Characteristics of Classic Disney Classic Disney stories Reinventing folk tales Narrative style Classic Disney characters Classic Disney themes and values Individualism and optimism Escape, fantasy, magic, imagination Innocence Romance and happiness Good triumphing over evil Revised Classic Disney Disney as art: aesthetic analysis Walt Disney, the artist, the auteur Disney as art Analyzing Mickey Mouse Critique of Disney’s interpretation of children’s literature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Classic Disney and Snow White Feminist analysis of Disney products Introducing a feminist analysis of popular culture Women in Classic Disney Women in Revised Classic Disney The Little Mermaid (1989)
