By JOSHUA RIEBEL
Opinions Editor
A few days ago, Disney made headlines by firing CEO Bob Chapek and announcing that former CEO Bob Iger would return to the position after stepping down two years prior. Bob Iger had been Disney’s CEO from 2005 to 2020 after taking the reins from long-time CEO Michael Eisner. Bob Iger had been Eisner’s second-in-command at Disney and the clear choice to replace Eisner, who by then had fallen out of favor among Disney fans.
While Eisner’s shortcomings as CEO were revealed over the course of his 20-year tenure, Chapek’s were in the spotlight in less than two years. In fact, Disney seemed to have so little faith in Chapek that they created an advisory position for Iger to “oversee the transition” which lasted until the end of 2021. In the press release of Chapek’s firing, Disney’s board stated that Chapek had done “irreparable damage to his ability to lead, with a string of missteps resulting in the lost confidence of Wall Street and most senior Disney executives, as well as many rank-and-file employees” (New York Times). Bob Chapek’s tenure had not come without difficulty; however, the final straw appeared to be after Disney reported a $1.5 billion dollar loss on Nov. 9. Not only did that come as a shock to investors, but this was the final straw on a large mountain of straws. In fairness to Chapek, the global pandemic was always going to decimate Disney’s profits considering they own some of the largest theme parks across the world. However even after reopening, the parks have wasted no time raising ticket prices and adding “genie passes” as express lanes that charged per ride (as opposed to other parks i.e. Universal Studios offering an express pass that works on nearly all their rides). While this may seem alarming knowing Chapek’s background as the former head of Disney parks, his mess only gets larger from there.
Disney+ programming seemed like the solution to Disney’s financial mess, and for a while it was. In the last couple of years, Disney plus went from adding beloved childhood movies and shows to now making their own with mixed success. For every Mandalorian show they put out, there are several live-action Mulan movies. Big budget remakes without the charm of the original, instead adding an additional price tag for anyone watching (who is already paying the subscription fee). Remember Disney’s “Cruella?” No? I didn’t think so. While the pandemic shut down movie theaters worldwide, the result of burying their movies behind extra paywalls becomes clear as their new releases (i.e. “Thor 4: Love and Thunder”) were free to subscribers as soon as it was released on the streaming platform. Furthermore, some of Disney’s highly-anticipated animated features have bombed at the box office (“Lightyear” anyone?).
However, Chapek’s most divisive debacle was when Florida governor Ron DeSantis passed the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill and Chapek initially resonded by avoiding the conversation. Disney has spent the last handful of years promoting diversity in their films and shows, so when that diversity was challenged, many people looked to Disney to make a definitive stand–and it did not. In fairness, Chapek eventually made a public statement denouncing DeSantis’s bill. Unfortunately, his resistance resulted in Disney coming under fire by the LGBTQIA+ community for dragging his feet and by DeSantis and his supporters for being “Woke Disney.”
In an abundance of fairness to Chapek, following Bob Iger was never going to be easy. Iger oversaw both the Pixar, Fox 21st Century, Marvel, and Star Wars buyouts. Under his leadership, Disney released iconic film series such as Narnia and the Pirates of the Caribbean. He even was one of the main drivers behind Disney+, in effect profiting off of decades of old Disney properties that cost them absolutely nothing to make available. Likely, no one will be able to replicate what he did; yet, even his tenure is now marred by his abrupt return to the House of Mouse.
