Bob Chapek X Disney Comments On Adult Animation Taken Out Of Context In Viral Clip

I’m not going to re-post the shortened clip here because that would be irresponsible journalism, and, quite frankly, I hope as Elon Musk moves into Twitter he just buries it for reasons like this. A widely circulated clip of Disney CEO Bob Chapek is going viral that starts at right around the 16:49 mark below and cuts off at 17:03.

Out of context, yes, that’s a shit thing for Bob to say. But, when you watch the entirety of the point he is trying to make in the question that he is asked which revolves around the “elasticity” of the Disney brand, in that, how FAR can that brand expand upon the values of what the company was founded on. In fact, directly after where the Twitter clip ends, Bob can be seen talking about how if they internally are feeling heat from consumers that the Disney brand is being too protected in favor of legacy vs keeping the consumer happy, they are going to listen to their consumers.

Disney isn’t stupid. Their stock is trading at just under $105 per share and has a YTD revenue as of July 2022 of $21.5 billion. They know that if streaming is the foundation of what they are going to do, that kids aren’t going to be the deciding factor on whether or not a subscription to Disney+ is purchased, that’s left up to the adults and people who are 18+ and able to purchase things. It’s also important to note that Disney Star, the national brand of the Disney+ streaming service, features all of the adult animation that Hulu has, and over the last couple of years, made a concerted effort to remove adult animation from affiliate networks in countries like UK, Australia, etc., in favor of keeping that programming on Disney Star and Disney Star only. Moreover, Disney+ is even a growing hub for it’s TV-PG and up audience, as evidenced by both the big fucking logo of The Simpsons on their hub AND series like Marvel’s What If?, Marvel Zombies (four episodes coming next year), also becoming part of the service.

So no, Bob Chapek doesn’t hate adult animation. The Simpsons was the service’s most-watched program globally in 2021. That shit pays his bills. ADIDAS literally announced a new Homer Simpson shoe like three hours ago. Also, shame on the so-called “animation Twitter handles” re-sharing that edited shit.