Well, isn't this exciting! Disney CEO Bob Iger announced yesterday that the Disney+ streaming service will include the entire Disney library! It was a question that I have had for quite a while. Well, at least since they announced the service.
You should know, that I am a Disney movie collector. It started when my parents gave me the VHS (yes...VHS) copy of Peter Pan for Christmas. I was THRILLED! I immediately went to my room and watched it. I may have watched it more than once that day. It was so cool to have a piece of Disney in my house! Something that I could see anytime I wanted to. It brought me so much joy, and started me on a path of collecting the movies in every version that came out. I have so many copies of Snow White, it's hysterical. How may versions of one movie can you have? In my case, obviously A LOT!
The thing about this announcement is that for a monthly fee (which he says will be less than Netflix), you can see ALL of their films anytime! No more films being stored in "The Vault" (except for Song Of The South, which is another story). Just bring up the Disney+ streaming service, and VOILA! Any movie you want to see. That is a lot of movies. A LOT!
The next question is "Does that include television shows?" There were some amazing shows I watched on The Disney Channel growing up! A lot of behind the scenes stuff that I couldn't get enough of. There were also some great shows that were just for kids. Not to mention some other shows that they now own that were not Disney at the time. There is also the question of what has been made digital, and what hasn't. I have to tell you, I'm pretty sure that some of the shows I loved back in the day probably wouldn't hold up with today's audience. But nostalgia is a big thing, and Disney knows that. Remember, Disney is a business, and it's primary job is to make money. That is what will drive these decisions.
Let me be clear...Mr. Iger was not clear in his announcement. Not a lot of details. He said "At some point fairly soon after launch, it will house the entire Disney motion picture library. The movies you speak of that have traditionally been kept in a vault and have basically been brought out every few years will be on the service." The use of the words "At some point" makes me think this may be a while rolling out. For some, it will not be fast enough, and for others it will be like opening a present every time they release something new to the service. I'm in that second group.
In the end all we can do is take Bob Iger's word, and just wait to see what happens. Does this mean I stop collecting the digital versions of movies? Probably not. I've been doing it for too long to stop now. It is a point of pride with me. Just ask my kids...they have watched me alphabetize my dvd's and blue ray versions many times. But there are a lot of movies I don't own. Mainly most of the live action movies. I love them, just didn't really collect them. And there are a lot that have never been released. The possibility of watching any of those movies at any time is exciting.
Now all we can do is wait...and dream about what movie magic is going to appear in Disney+. Looks like we won't have to wait too long.
Oh, and update our budgets to include this new way Disney is getting their hands in our wallets.
Well played Disney, well played.
