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The Disney Dilemma

The latest season of Land of the Giants from Vulture and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

More Stories From the Magic Kingdom

  1. follow the leader
    It’s Tough to Hand Off the Mickey EarsThe Magic Kingdom’s most successful CEOs each delivered radical change—and left a leadership crisis behind. Can Bob Iger end his tenure differently?
    By Josef Adalian
  2. the disney dilemma
    Where Disney’s Hollywood Empire Went WrongHow corporate missteps compelled the House of Mouse to prioritize business decisions over creative ones, damaging its crown jewels of Hollywood IP.
    By Chris Lee
  3. oral history
    THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE, Pacha, Kuzco Llama, 2000, (c)Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collect
    ‘We’ll Never Make That Kind of Movie Again’An oral history of The Emperor’s New Groove, a raucous Disney animated film that almost never happened.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  4. backstories
    LILO, STITCH, LILO and STITCH, 2002
    An Oral History of Lilo & StitchThe beloved Disney movie made in a “secret hangar” that almost brought hand-drawn animation back.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  5. ohana means family
    How to Watch Every Stitch Thing After Lilo & StitchNo direct-to-video sequel gets left behind.
    By Savannah Salazar
  6. vulture lists
    A Crash Course in a Century of Walt Disney Animation StudiosAs exemplified by its greatest hits and catastrophic failures.
    By Josh Spiegel
  7. the disney dilemma
    Does ‘Disney Animation’ Still Mean Anything?Facing a creative lull, mission drift, and tough competition (so many Minions), the studio needs to figure out how to draw itself a clearer future.
    By Neil Janowitz
  8. the disney vault
    2003_SS_14189, 9/9/14, 9:59 AM, 16C, 8000x8091 (0+1289), 100%, Repro 2.2 v2, 1/80 s, R86.0, G56.7, B64.8© Disney Enterprises Inc Repro_2.2_v2 Xrite_090914_WDARL_BL1 White_090914_WDARL_BL1-blur
    The Disney Vault Is Real. Here’s What It’s Like Inside.It’s located on an anonymous block in Glendale, California. I wouldn’t dare say more.
    By Drew Taylor
  9. vulture lists
    Every Disney ‘I Want’ Song, RankedEver since The Little Mermaid, Disney musicals have featured songs where the protagonist sings about what they “want.” We wanted to rank ‘em.
    By Tom Smyth
  10. disney
    Bring Back the AnimationTraditional hand-drawn animation is certainly not dead, but Disney has forsaken it. Why?
    By Bilge Ebiri
  11. vulture games
    Cinematrix No. 120: The Disney EditionCan you name a Disney/Pixar animated movie starring John Goodman?
    By Joe Reid
  12. there can be only one
    Disney vs. Universal: The Ultimate Theme-Park ShowdownFrom hotels and booze to lines and Wi-Fi, it’s time to settle the score once and for all.
    By Bethy Squires
  13. theme parks
    How Disneyland Became America’s Great National ParkIt’s a small world … -dominating empire after all.
    By Rebecca Alter
  14. the disney dilemma
    ‘All Anybody Wanted to Talk About Was That Commercial’Former quarterback Phil Simms takes us behind the scenes of the 1987 Disney ad that overshadowed his first Super Bowl victory.
    By Dan Reilly
  15. admission for one
    A Guide to Defunctland: YouTube’s Favorite Theme-Park EnthusiastKevin Perjurer makes documentaries for people with PhDs in RollerCoaster Tycoon statistics.
    By Rebecca Alter and Alejandra Gularte
  16. vulture 10x10
    The Happiest Puzzle7-Down, Six Letters: Horned animals you can see at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
    By Stella Zawistowski
  17. buffering
    Inside the 1995 Media Merger That Changed Disney ForeverA longtime ABC exec who worked closely with Bob Iger remembers what happened when Michael Eisner arrived.
    By Josef Adalian
  18. magical entertainment
    When You Wish Upon a Star … Your TV Deals Come True?In the late 1980s and ’90s, a struggling Disney righted the ship by rediscovering its magic. Striking gold with television certainly helped, too.
    By Neil Janowitz
  19. from the archives
    From the Archives: Mickey Mouse Time at DisneyAfter a long hot streak, the studio looks goofy at the box office.
    By Jeanie Kasindorf
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