Last night I had the chance to go see The Little Mermaid with my girlfriend and her two little nephews. One’s about to turn 6, the other one is 3. They both got scared three or four times throughout the film, one of them even start moaning saying that they wanted to go home. This only lasted a couple minutes though.
Now, there’s a reason why I’m telling you all of this irrelevant information that you don’t care about. Keep reading.
To add even more background context…
I really love skipping first week opening nights. Typically theaters aren’t filled up with people when I go watch a movie on the second or third weekend. Not that movie theaters are packed anymore on first opening weekends… But that’s a convo for another day.
Last night the theater was packed. Very few seats available left.
This brings me to the first thought that I’ve been having since last night…
How Disney Really Gets Their Target Audience Right
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably well aware of the huge controversy The Little Mermaid has created amongst moviegoers ever since they announced that Halle Bailey would play Ariel. Because, how dare the kingdom of Mickey pick a black girl to play a princess.
No, seriously, I’ll stay out of the drama - even though it infuriates the heck out of me - but Disney, with this movie, has proven how they perfectly understand who their movie audience is.
They don’t give two craps about racist, woke-calling assholes on Twitter.
They know that the average family of four who are who drive most of the box office numbers show up to the movies to watch a good story. And that is what this new Little Mermaid movie offers. A good remake of the original classic in live action. That’s it! That’s all it takes!
I personally liked the movie. I was never a huge Little Mermaid fan growing up… I was just not into the princess stories. But this was a fun, charming experience to sit through.
Although I will say…
The added screen-time was a miss in my opinion. Having to sit through a movie of over two hours with a 5 and 3 year olds is a big ask.
What Disney Can Learn From This
If you watched my take on stocks last year, you know I’m a huge Disney fan. I think it’s the biggest moat in the entertainment business.
It’s been challenging lately for them though.
COVID-19, a costly Disney+ (which I strongly believe will pay for itself in the long-run) and turbulent anti-woke environment with everything they’ve been putting out there lately are making things a bit hard for Disney.
But Disney has a track record of adaptability and innovation. Throughout its history, they have been able to successfully diversified its business, expanding beyond traditional animation and theme parks into areas like live-action films, consumer products, and now streaming. Disney has consistently delivered high-quality content that resonates with audiences globally, and they have a strong creative team capable of driving innovation and addressing the evolving demands of consumers.
The Little Mermaid is just another example of how Twitter noise is not real.
Families still care about good stories, and Disney wants to be there and deliver.
