The Loss of Disney’s Philosophy?

In last week’s article I mentioned a serious concern among fans young and old about what is lacking in newer offerings from Disney’s Television division – especially concerning the dual concepts of quality and philosophy. In order to expand on these two concepts I’ve chosen to pick out one example to answer a simple question – what is this lack – and what is this “Disney Philosophy”?

This one example is a relatively new series “Brandy and Mr. Whiskers” (B&MW), considered by many (including the authors) as a glaring example that the Disney Channel is only offering programming for kids, despite trying to appeal to adults as well - and very bad programming at that. As one writer has pointed out, B&MW is a show where the “humor is adult-oriented with a self-centered dog from New York and a white smelly rabbit lost in the Amazon together. The rabbit (Mr. Whiskers) frequently makes comments referring to sexual aspects, enjoys smelling his feet, etc. …and Brandy (the stuck-up canine from the Bronx) is self-centered, and just plain rude.” (1) “Quality” messages to send to our kids they are not.

But why shouldn’t the Disney Channel cater to young people exclusively? In the words of Mr. Disney himself (and I don’t mean Roy), “You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.” (2) The meaning here is that - whether it be motion pictures or television programming - it used to be (and should be again for many reasons) the policy of the WDC to aim it’s products at both kids and adults, to reach families and young and/or single adults, who will someday raise families themselves. This it seems is the classic Disney “Philosophy”.

The shows that are often mentioned as being worthy of inclusion in the Disney Channel schedule (and being continued or revived in some cases), appear to have this unique quality to them. They are all filled with lessons about life and relating to your fellow human-beings (even if the characters aren’t human, the message is clear), and at the same time, they often contain something enjoyable for the adult (or child inside each adult) usually by the device of a bit of humor that may go over a younger viewer’s experience.

However, for the Vault Disney groups (and perhaps Save Disney as well) it is important that they understand something, they aren’t the majority of the viewership, and actually only represent approximately 20 percent of the viewing population (3) (Sue Schuck’s assertions aside). The Disney television offerings from this era alone simply cannot appeal to the rest of today’s younger viewing population (again, myself included) without causing the demise of the Disney Channel. Which of course would cause the demise of the only possible outlet for these shows. That is not to say they shouldn’t be brought back however.

But on the other side of this coin, to exclude one program - or type of program - because it appears to only appeal to one age group (when the facts can and are proven differently) is so un-Disney that it boggles the author’s mind. Differences of taste aside, this is not what Walt had in mind. He wanted all his company’s offerings to be something not only families could enjoy, but (again) single adults who may someday raise families - and purchase Disney products - will find worthy of coming back to again and again. But it’s also understandable that the current scheduling by Disney Channel management leaves much to be desired. Is there a solution? I believe there is.

A Solution (Perhaps)

This is not my opinion of what the schedule should be - again my experience with the television portion of Disney is quite limited - but it’s an interesting possibility nonetheless. This comes from a viewer who obviously does know Disney’s television offerings and it is one possibility out of many variations, that we believe could satisfy everyone, with minor changes (mainly the broadcast times) perhaps being needed. (4) For the sake of space I’ve only chosen to include the Weekday portion, as the Weekend portion while different, is similar in its breadth of choices.

6:00 AM The Little Mermaid
6:30 AM Aladdin
7:00 AM Lilo & Stitch
7:30 AM Kim Possible
8:00 AM Disney's House of Mouse
8:30 AM Recess
9:00 AM The Gummi Bears
9:30 AM The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
10:00 AM 101 Dalmatians: The Series
10:30 AM Goof Troop
11:00 AM DuckTales
11:30 AM Darkwing Duck
12:00 PM Quack Pack
12:30 PM Timon & Pumbaa
1:00 PM The Little Mermaid
1:30 PM Aladdin
2:00 PM The Gummi Bears
2:30 PM Goof Troop
3:00 PM DuckTales
3:30 PM Darkwing Duck
4:00 PM Disney's House of Mouse
4:30 PM Sabrina, The Animated Series
5:00 PM The Weekenders
5:30 PM Recess
6:00 PM Lilo & Stitch
6:30 PM Kim Possible
7:00 PM Lizzie McGuire
7:30 PM That's So Raven
8:00 PM The Wonderful World of Disney
10:00 PM Kim Possible
10:30 PM The Proud Family
11:00 PM Lizzie McGuire
11:30 PM That's So Raven
12:00 AM Zorro
1:00 AM The Mickey Mouse Club
2:00 AM Walt Disney Presents
3:00 AM Walt Disney Presents Adventure
4:00 AM The Ink & Paint Club
5:00 AM Madeline
5:30 AM The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh

This is a schedule I think would be agreeable to almost every fan. There have of course been other suggestions, but this is only one of many possibilities that are representative of every fan’s desire. It still includes newer and still popular shows (assuming they are continued), could conceivably make room for even newer series that are worthy of inclusion, pleases the Vault Disney fans, and brings the afternoon classics back to a Disney channel that is accessible to many (although still not all) Disney television fans.

Now if the Walt Disney Company would only listen to us - the fans who pay the bills - then we’d have a Disney Channel everyone could enjoy.

- Michael Berger with Gregory Issac

(1) Disney Quality - Adam Humphreys (Preliminary Draft Copy - December, 2004)
(2) Walt Disney (Date and provenance unknown)
(3) United States Census Bureau http://factfinder.census.gov
(4) Toon Zone Forum (post by member Fanboy - December 5, 2004) http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=1532919&postcount=12