Dave dropped me a note last night which reads:
Jim,
We saw “The Muppets” over the weekend (fun film, by the way), and noticed that the familiar castle logo at the beginning of the film now just says “Disney,” instead of “Walt Disney Pictures.” We also noticed this for the trailers for “Beauty and the Beast 3-D” and “Brave” that preceded the movie.
Was this a sudden change? Why are they dropping Walt’s name from the studios he helped to create? I for one am not happy to see Walt’s name removed from (the) studio logo. Something tells me that others may feel the same way. Any insight as to why they felt the need to do this? Thanks!
Dave,
Actually, that singular “Disney” is something that the Company has been slowly rolling out over the past year or so. You may have noticed that – when Parks & Resorts debuted DCA‘s new logo in late 2010 – that this theme park suddenly went from being “Disney’s California Adventure Park” to the much-more-minimalist “Disney California Adventure.”
As for dropping the “Walt” & “Pictures” portions of the “Walt Disney Pictures” logo … Look, I know that there are Disney conspiracy theorists out there who will suggest that Mouse House managers are doing this deliberately because they’re eager to erase any & all traces of Walt’s legacy.
But if that were really what was going on here, then why would the Company be spending $150 million to turn DCA’s Sunshine Plaza section into Buena Vista Street …
… which is this romanticized & idealized version of the Los Angeles that Walt Disney supposedly encountered when he first arrived in Southern California in August of 1923?
From the names of the stores that Guests will encounter as they stroll through this part of the theme park (EX: Elias and Company Department Store, Kingswell Camera Shop et al) to that statue of young Walt & Mickey which will be prominently displayed in DCA’s equivalent of Main Street, U.S.A. …
… this section of Disney California Adventure is going to be a veritable valentine to the Company’s founder. And if The Walt Disney Company is willing to spend $150 million to do something like that … Well, why then would Mouse House managers be going out of their way to eliminate all traces of Walt on the “Walt Disney Pictures” side of the operation?
No, the real reason that the Company has clipped “Walt” and “Pictures” off of the “Walt Disney Pictures” logo has to do with all of those Droids and/or iPhones that many of us now use to watch our media on.
I mean, think about it, Dave. On that teeny tiny screen, the single word “Disney” is a lot easier to read / make out than “Walt Disney Pictures” is …
… isn’t it?
This is why the logo in front of “The Muppets” & the “Beauty & the Beast 3D” and “Brave” trailers has been changed in the way that it has. This honestly wasn’t an effort to eliminate Walt. But – rather – just Disney’s way of acknowledging that the ways in which many of us now use & view our media is changing. And since Bob Iger likes to be out ahead of change, rather than reacting to things after the fact … Well, that’s why the “Walt Disney Pictures” logo that the Studio uses recently had to be changed.
I mean, you only have to look at the deal which Disney cut with YouTube earlier this week to realize that the Company is serious about making many of its movies available for viewing on handheld devices. Not just on those giant screens that you’ll find at your local multiplex.
Does this explanation make any sense to you, Dave? It initially didn’t to me when someone at the Studio explained this concept earlier this year. But later that same day, when they showed me the “Brave” teaser trailer on their iPhone, I immediately saw what this individual was saying about how the just-plain “Disney” logo was far easier to read / make out on that teeny tiny screen.
Your thoughts?