In this blog we talked about how Disney innovated animation but no longer invest into 2D Animation like they used to. The Disney family does not own the Disney company, in fact they own less than 3% of the company.
Disney had lost its magic but to keep that magic (or at least to try) they buy other companies and intellectual properties. So like many other entertainment companies (especially Netflix) Disney will be investing into anime.
It has been reported that Twisted Wonderland will be made into an anime. If you have never heard of Twisted Wonderland before thats because it is only available in Japan. It is a mobile game based on portrayals of Disney characters. However, now it will be an anime and its coming to Disney+ Japan. Do not worry, with how popular anime is, most likely Disney will definitely bring it to the USA. Just like Netflix they are investing more into the Asian market. Disney also plans to produce Korean dramas.
Here are some anime titles coming to Disney+ Japan
Black Rock Shooter Dawn Fall
Summer Time Rendering
Tatami Time Machine Blues
Twisted Wonderland
Since the quality of animation is dying in the west and its “too expensive,” Disney figured that they produce anime instead since it was cheaper to make and of course, anime is more beautiful than American cartoons.
Keep in mind that this is not the first time, Disney gets involved with anime. Remember that its because of Disney that America has Studio Ghibli movies. If Disney had not licensed Studio Ghibli films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, then the west probably would have never heard of Hayao Miyazaki, so we do have to thank them for that.
Its about time that Disney gets into the anime business, especially now since they are not producing their own animation like before. People don’t know this but Disney actually inspired anime. The creator of Astro Boy, Osamu Tezuka, grew up watching Disney films in Japan and thus created the anime art style we all love with big eyes that we all love today.
It could easily be said that Disney is in the right position to invest into anime, also since they kind of helped create anime back in the 1950s. The reason why Disney never really got into anime was because they had their own Art style that Americans used to love (until they went cheap with shows like Phineas and Ferb). Also, so much talent has left Disney since…they got rid of their 2D animation department back in 2013.
Disney Had Their Hands On Anime and Did Not Even Know It
There is a Disney Land in Japan. Disney is pretty popular in Japan and they even did a super popular video game side project called, Kingdom Hearts, which I am sure you heard of before. Disney has always been in a position to get into anime but they never did because their primary focus was western countries. However, since they are more focus on 3D animation than 2D, their figured they produce their animation in Japan.
We talked about how Japanese animators are under paid and over worked. It cost less money produce high quality anime than it does to produce ugly American cartoons like Cat Dog or Hey Arnold or America Dragon Jack Long.
Disney had their hands on Anime for years but it wasn’t until now that they decided to get into because of how popular anime has become. They could make Disney anime but never did it. As said before, they had licensed Studio Ghibli anime. Now they are ready to produce their own original anime like Netflix but the question is, will it be enough.
Disney has messed up Star Wars so bad that people started losing confidence in them (including their own investors). Disney was successful with the Marvel movies but then started to go in a different direction with what is called “wokeness.”
Remember when anime was very niche back in the early 2000s and those who loved anime were made fun of and called nerds. Well now that Anime is popular everyone wants a piece of the pie. Even Celebrities love anime. Since Disney sees that anime has become mainstream (thanks to companies like Netflix) they want a piece of the pie too. A piece of the pie that they could have had a big chance profit from 20 years ago but didnt.
Disney could have imported anime to America back in the 2000s when the boom started. They could have made so much money since they already had their feet in deep in Japan but they didn’t. Then they decided to abandoned 2D Animation and made it even worst. Along with Cartoon Network, Disney could have been a big player with anime in the 2000s but like many people and companies, they ignored it.
