When I think of Disney, I have a lot of connotations. They now own many of the Muppet characters along with Winnie the Pooh, which were important to me as a wee one. Then there are the movies. What do these things have in common with soaps: history. The passing on of these things from one generation to the next from the movies being re-released in the theatre, to be able to buy them at a store. They have advertised using actors portraying older relatives sharing their love of Disney with their youth. Well isn’t that how many people started with soaps, a family member had one on television and it was passed around to everyone.
By pushing ABC soap fans away, ultimately they may be hurting their other productions. Soap fans buy movie tickets, music and DVDs. Many soap fans have children, and they may decide to buy presents featuring other characters. Soap fans watch sports too. Everything is tied together, and by hurting ABC, Disney and its relatives like ESPN may get screwed. Sports fans are loyal, but they aren't the only ones.
My childhood was shaped by Disney properties. Here are a just a few examples. There was the Disney music, hum a few bars of any song of in one of their musical I adore and it takes me back to the past. The first movie I ever went to was a reissue of a Disney classic that my sister took me to one Saturday afternoon. A strip mall replaced the movie theater, but I remember feeling so grown up that I was allowed to go to the movies.
The one thing Disney has been successful with is keeping products available for purchase involving their characters. Their limited runs of DVD (and now Blu-Rays) make them a lot of money. Of all the movies, I have most of them are either Pixar or Disney classics. There was a time where Disney animation was in serious trouble, but eventually they got it together. They refocused somehow, remembered their core values and then the age of movies such as The Little Mermaid came upon us.
Disney’s theme used to be when you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, everything your heart desires will come to you. Soaps are like that theme as they are also about wish fulfillment. Another theme of Disney concept is that good beats evil and eventually the bad people will be punished. The main character in Tangled is Rapunzel who was kidnapped as a baby. She grows up with an evil woman who uses her to stay young. In the end, Rapunzel gets back to her family, the man who rescued her who had been a villain is redeemed and they live happily ever after. If that isn’t the potential premise of a soap opera plot, I don’t know what is. We have a kidnapped baby separated from her family, growing up in a secluded tower, and then she runs away finding love. Tangled is for kids, but that and a lot of their older films have themes about friendship, family or love. Most of the films that have endured have touched millions of people and grab the emotions of the audience. At their best that’s what soap operas can do.
In recent years, I must admit the Disney movies I’ve enjoyed the most are the ones through Pixar. The Toy Story trilogy was about a lot of things. The closure in the last movie was about growing up and giving away childhood things, while passing them down with respect. Up was about love and loss, and creating a new family.
The movie Cars is the one that has the theme closest to my heart as a soap fan. While it may not be seen as the best Pixar film, there were parallels. If you haven’t seen the movie, there is no way you will get it, so I will try to summarize. After the summary, I will go through the parallels. The movie is about a world populated by cars, and the main character Lightning McQueen ends up in a small town and is picked up for insane driving. Lightning is a rookie racecar and soon he has to compete again due to a tie. He has to do community service, which was officiated by Doc Hudson. The town Radiator Springs had once been prosperous, as it was on Route 66, but people started to take the highway instead of that road. It comes out that Doc had been a famous racing car named Fabulous Hudson Hornet who had disappeared more than 50 years earlier after a serious accident. Once the road is completed Lightning has changed, but Doc still wants him gone. He leaves for his race. His friends in Radiator Springs including Doc come to the track. Seeing Doc the crowd went wild as he had been missing for all those years. The race began and Lightning used the tricks his friends taught him. He was going to win the Piston Cup, when he noticed that Chick Hicks was doing dirty tricks to the soon to be retired Strip Weathers. Instead of ignoring it, he went back to help allowing Chick to win. Chick disgusted everyone and while Lightning lost, he was the real winner. He got his dream sponsorship, but stayed with his old racing team. In the end, the Radiator Springs gang along with Lightning went home, but due to what happened at the Piston Cup the town was successful again.
When I watched this movie the first time on DVD, as the closing credits ran I realized my cheeks were wet. Doc and Strip reminded me of our veteran actors. Doc had been hurt and pushed aside, but made a triumphant return. He used his experiences to teach the younger Lightning becoming a mentor and a hero. Chick represented the individual who would do anything to succeed regardless of the cost. Lightning McQueen at the start of the movie is more like Chick, but becomes a better male car. Radiator Springs became home for Lightning just like soap towns can be home to viewers. It had been forgotten about due to neglect, but by the end it was a breathing, living organism.
It is unfortunate that the happy endings we tend to get at the end of Disney films; do not come to pass in the real world. If they did, there would never have been any cancellation rumors, let alone cancellations. The legacy of Disney films especially some animated classics that have been around for over 50 years were never forgotten. I hope the legacy of our soap operas gets the same kind of respect.
My childhood was shaped by Disney properties. Here are a just a few examples. There was the Disney music, hum a few bars of any song of in one of their musical I adore and it takes me back to the past. The first movie I ever went to was a reissue of a Disney classic that my sister took me to one Saturday afternoon. A strip mall replaced the movie theater, but I remember feeling so grown up that I was allowed to go to the movies.
The one thing Disney has been successful with is keeping products available for purchase involving their characters. Their limited runs of DVD (and now Blu-Rays) make them a lot of money. Of all the movies, I have most of them are either Pixar or Disney classics. There was a time where Disney animation was in serious trouble, but eventually they got it together. They refocused somehow, remembered their core values and then the age of movies such as The Little Mermaid came upon us.
Disney’s theme used to be when you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, everything your heart desires will come to you. Soaps are like that theme as they are also about wish fulfillment. Another theme of Disney concept is that good beats evil and eventually the bad people will be punished. The main character in Tangled is Rapunzel who was kidnapped as a baby. She grows up with an evil woman who uses her to stay young. In the end, Rapunzel gets back to her family, the man who rescued her who had been a villain is redeemed and they live happily ever after. If that isn’t the potential premise of a soap opera plot, I don’t know what is. We have a kidnapped baby separated from her family, growing up in a secluded tower, and then she runs away finding love. Tangled is for kids, but that and a lot of their older films have themes about friendship, family or love. Most of the films that have endured have touched millions of people and grab the emotions of the audience. At their best that’s what soap operas can do.
In recent years, I must admit the Disney movies I’ve enjoyed the most are the ones through Pixar. The Toy Story trilogy was about a lot of things. The closure in the last movie was about growing up and giving away childhood things, while passing them down with respect. Up was about love and loss, and creating a new family.
The movie Cars is the one that has the theme closest to my heart as a soap fan. While it may not be seen as the best Pixar film, there were parallels. If you haven’t seen the movie, there is no way you will get it, so I will try to summarize. After the summary, I will go through the parallels. The movie is about a world populated by cars, and the main character Lightning McQueen ends up in a small town and is picked up for insane driving. Lightning is a rookie racecar and soon he has to compete again due to a tie. He has to do community service, which was officiated by Doc Hudson. The town Radiator Springs had once been prosperous, as it was on Route 66, but people started to take the highway instead of that road. It comes out that Doc had been a famous racing car named Fabulous Hudson Hornet who had disappeared more than 50 years earlier after a serious accident. Once the road is completed Lightning has changed, but Doc still wants him gone. He leaves for his race. His friends in Radiator Springs including Doc come to the track. Seeing Doc the crowd went wild as he had been missing for all those years. The race began and Lightning used the tricks his friends taught him. He was going to win the Piston Cup, when he noticed that Chick Hicks was doing dirty tricks to the soon to be retired Strip Weathers. Instead of ignoring it, he went back to help allowing Chick to win. Chick disgusted everyone and while Lightning lost, he was the real winner. He got his dream sponsorship, but stayed with his old racing team. In the end, the Radiator Springs gang along with Lightning went home, but due to what happened at the Piston Cup the town was successful again.
When I watched this movie the first time on DVD, as the closing credits ran I realized my cheeks were wet. Doc and Strip reminded me of our veteran actors. Doc had been hurt and pushed aside, but made a triumphant return. He used his experiences to teach the younger Lightning becoming a mentor and a hero. Chick represented the individual who would do anything to succeed regardless of the cost. Lightning McQueen at the start of the movie is more like Chick, but becomes a better male car. Radiator Springs became home for Lightning just like soap towns can be home to viewers. It had been forgotten about due to neglect, but by the end it was a breathing, living organism.
It is unfortunate that the happy endings we tend to get at the end of Disney films; do not come to pass in the real world. If they did, there would never have been any cancellation rumors, let alone cancellations. The legacy of Disney films especially some animated classics that have been around for over 50 years were never forgotten. I hope the legacy of our soap operas gets the same kind of respect.
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