Why Can't Disney be "Cool?"

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yes, in Japan it goes beyond the cuteness. But it's the acceptance of cuteness in mainstream adult culture that allows it to, imo. First and foremost, in the minds of most Americans people, Disney=cartoons=cutesy=chidlish=instantly uncool. So even if a product with the Disney name on it isn't itself a kiddie product, it has that "stigma". In Japan, that's not a stigma, so they are free to use the brand in other ways and more adult markets.

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Disney=cartoons=cutesy=chidlish=instantly uncool.

I agree this equation is likely at work in the US - but looking at the links, it kind of illuminates what's different in Japan.

First off the cartoon to childish linkage isn't there. Thank manga (and Hentai) for that. You know once upon a time (think Ub Iwerks) cartoons were adult pre-feature entertainment, somehow in our culture this evolved into a "kids only" medium. Perhaps Shrek and the works of Pixar are starting to broaden that pidgeon hole here, but we've a long way to go.

But I also have to agree with surfinmuse, outside the US, people are given alot more liberties with the Disney Cannon - which yields some rather interesting and provocative work that we rarely see at home.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

First off the cartoon to childish linkage isn't there.

That's what GD was saying.

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

That's what GD was saying.

Perhaps, but I find this component worth contemplating further. Is Disney, by virtue of being "Disney" condmended to eternal uncoolness in the American market? How is it that cartoons became the exclusive medium of children here? Is that the bridge that has to be gapped in order to make Disney Cool? Is Disney music necessarily "cartoonish?" Must Disney create or aquire other brands (i.e. Touchstone, Buena Vista, MiraMax, ESPN, etc.) in order to achieve a sort of Trojan Horse coolness?

I don't dispute GDs claims, but I think there's far more to explore here than statements of assumed fact.