“Disney please buy Studio Ghibli”

[Augustus]

One of the biggest concerns people have about the business end of the modern western entertainment industry is that Disney is gobbling up other IPs and studios like hungry hungry hippos. Not only is it concerning as it's giving Disney an essential monopoly over the western entertainment industry but as a fan of Star Wars, I can attest that anything Disney buys gets a lot worse.

Now people want Disney to buy the Japanese animation studio Ghibli. For those of you who do not know of Ghibli. They've been around for a very long time now and are well known for making many beloved classic movies including My Neighbor Totoro, the Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service. According to the reasons stated on the petition they want this to happen so the female Ghibli characters would become “Disney princesses”, so they'll get sequels to Ghibli's films (because Disney always did an amazing job following up their own classic movies), and so Ghibli's films will be available on Disney+, Disney's streaming service.

Personally I'm looking forward to the live action remake of my favorite Ghibli film, Spirited Away.

Screenshots are from this tweet.

 

[Narbray]

The day Disney buys ghibli I prepare a rope and say goodbye to everyone.
However, I wonder if Disney can keep buying things.
Considering the antitrust laws there should be a limit, I understand that Facebook has already received a lawsuit recently for these same laws and it would not be surprising if Disney receives one one day ... if the laws really work.

 

[Augustus]

The day Disney buys ghibli I prepare a rope and say goodbye to everyone.
However, I wonder if Disney can keep buying things.
Considering the antitrust laws there should be a limit, I understand that Facebook has already received a lawsuit recently for these same laws and it would not be surprising if Disney receives one one day ... if the laws really work.

If Disney ever does try to buy Ghibli, I really hope the US government steps in to intervene. Though who knows if they would or not, the government has done a lot of sucking up to corporations in the past.

 

[Narbray]

If Disney ever does try to buy Ghibli, I really hope the US government steps in to intervene. Though who knows if they would or not, the government has done a lot of sucking up to corporations in the past.

I imagine that the government of Japan can also intervene, and I think the antitrust laws there are more severe.
recently there is also the case of Funimation.

 

[Dimunsis]

If Disney ever does try to buy Ghibli, I really hope the US government steps in to intervene. Though who knows if they would or not, the government has done a lot of sucking up to corporations in the past.

If the government will change public use/public domain laws so Disney can continue to have sole ownership of Mickey Mouse, they'd probably turn the other way when Disney becomes an even bigger monopoly.

 

[Narbray]

If the government will change public use/public domain laws so Disney can continue to have sole ownership of Mickey Mouse, they'd probably turn the other way when Disney becomes an even bigger monopoly.

The truth is that the situation with Disney is a bit worrying, let's hope their monopoly doesn't become unstoppable one day, for now I don't think we should worry, in fact I think that some services like Netflix are more worrying and even so they have shown that it is better than foreigners do not intervene much in the industry.
Right now I was reading an article and in the comments I read ´´the future of anime in Japan is abroad`` but the truth is I do not think that the Japanese have any intention of this. Anyway, let's hope that monopolies like Disney's don't put the spoon where they shouldn't
so far netflix and chrunchyroll have shown that it is better not to interfere much in the industry and have not shown anything that makes fans think that their interversion is good ... or at least I think so.
It is good that the industry creates and receives support, but I have my doubts about foreign interference in the industry and the massive popularity they are having, I don't think that is good ... but I will not deviate more from the topic of the thread.
I will just add that I hope disney stays distant from all this, at least the current disney.

 

[namedoesntfi]

(...) as a fan of Star Wars, I can attest that anything Disney buys gets a lot worse.

Yeah man, the state that Star Wars was left is deplorable. Convoluted movies. Fandom in pieces. I miss the days when the big discussion was Prequels vs Original Trilogy.

Right now I was reading an article and in the comments I read ´´the future of anime in Japan is abroad`` but the truth is I do not think that the Japanese have any intention of this.

I like the stance of the Yakuza series. It is something make for the Japanese audience and if people from other countries enjoy it, great. If not, it was not made for you.

Also, I think authors/companies should have in the contract that foreign companies are not allowed to change the content in any way.

 

[Jahy]

I really hope the US government steps in to intervene.

Unfortunately, I don't see anything like this ever happening unless there's radical reform at the highest levels of government. The last noteworthy attempt by the United States in terms of antitrust litigation was the lawsuit against Microsoft (United States v. Microsoft Corp.) in 2001. For those of you who are unaware, I encourage watching through this Nostalgia Nerd video for a quick summary. In short, Microsoft was accused of enforcing a monopoly over personal computers through the mandatory inclusion of Internet Explorer. The end result was that Microsoft was found guilty yet rather than be split in twain as it should have, it weaseled away from this fate through settlements. What Microsoft did was also much, much less oppressive than what we're currently seeing with tech giants like Google or media conglomerates like Disney.

As much as I hate to say it, unless we get blessed with another Teddy "Fuck Monopolies" Roosevelt, they're going to keep taking whatever they can. It's ultimately up to groups like Studio Ghibli to resist the blood money, if the offer is even extended. Considering how deep the mouse's coffers are, I don't have faith in many to resist.

Yeah man, the state that Star Wars was left is deplorable. Convoluted movies. Fandom in pieces. I miss the days when the big discussion was Prequels vs Original Trilogy.

A separate discussion thread on this might be interesting because I could go on for literal hours at how Star Wars as a whole has been ruined beyond comprehension. Before I started getting into Japanese entertainment and media, it was the franchise for me (and is also the origin of my name). What a fucking disaster that Disney buyout was. Yet another western franchise being corrupted and transformed purely for profit and politics.

 

[Funfetti Cake]

We all probably know that if Disney buys something, they'll touch their greasy hands with it and run it over, including (if they ever do) Ghibli.
And honestly, I cannot believe people are even remotely suggesting this. Disney killed the Star Wars community through their own work. Disney's live actions are acknowledged to be nothing more than souless cashgrabs. Same for the sequels. And streaming services are increasingly becoming a waste of money due to the fragmentation that has been happening in recent years.

I hope what this change.org petition wants to do never happens.

 

[Narbray]

I think we can only pray....

 

[PhantomXero1x]

Japan does not need to be lectured about morality from cultural western imperialsts.