While Disney Calls for an Intervention in Desantis Lawsuit, an Unusual Animated Series Shoots to the Top of the Disney Plus Charts
Image via Disney/Hulu
Another day, another update on the DeSantis vs. Disney debacle: the Mouse House has made a move to get DeSantis’ lawsuit thrown out of court as the battle between the entertainment company and Florida governor just gets increasingly more confusing to follow. In happier news, an under-the-radar anime is pulling amazing streaming numbers and is proof Disney should delve further into the genre. Meanwhile, there’s only a little over a week to wait for The Little Mermaid to swim into theaters, but be warned: this isn’t a word-for-word remake of the beloved animated film.
It’s never a dull day in Disney World (though this virtual one is thankfully, much less humid). Let’s get into it!
Disney is asking Florida court to throw out DeSantis lawsuit filed by handpicked board of supervisors
Disney has decided to ask a Florida judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by their special district’s board of supervisors, who were handpicked by DeSantis earlier this year. Last month, Disney sued DeSantis after the governor attempted to take over the company’s theme park district, alleging that the takeover was part of a retaliation campaign against Disney after it opposed the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prevents educators from sharing media that contains any reference to the LGBTQ+ community in their classrooms. After Disney filed its federal lawsuit, the DeSantis-appointed special district board of supervisors filed their own state lawsuit against the company, asking the Florida judge to rule some of Disney’s development contracts with other companies as void.
Recently, DeSantis signed a bill that voided Disney’s construction contracts, making it so that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is unable to comply with the contracts’ terms. Disney is arguing that this new bill makes the board’s lawsuit “moot” and “legally irrelevant.” Per the motion filed by Disney (obtained by Deadline), the company believes a decision in either party’s favor is irrelevant as the contracts are already void under DeSantis’ newly signed bill.
If the Court rejects the board’s claims on their merits and agrees with Disney that the contracts complied with any procedural and substantive requirements of state law, the board would still be prohibited from complying with them under the new state statute. For the same reason, even if the Court found merit in the board’s objections to the contracts, any order to that effect would be pointless because the contracts would already be void under the new state statute. In short, any declaration about the contracts’ enforceability, voidness, or validity—either way—would be an advisory opinion with no real-world consequence. Trial courts in Florida are forbidden from issuing advisory opinions, and this case should be dismissed.
A representative of the special district told CNBC, “This motion by Disney is entirely predictable and an acknowledgement they know they will lose this case.” Disney filed its lawsuit in federal court as it believes DeSantis’s retaliation is against its constitutional right to free speech but the board’s lawsuit is filled specifically in Florida. In the motion, Disney refers to the Florida government as “a newly hostile state administration,” so it does seem the company might fear a local court case. Though truly, it feels like Florida has a lot more to lose if Disney moves for good as the Mouse employs a large amount of the state and brings millions in tourist revenue to the local government.
‘The Little Mermaid’ star cautions fans that some familiar moments will be missing as film takes some creative liberties
In lighter news, The Little Mermaid will be floating into theaters on May 26, but don’t expect an exact replica of the 1989 classic. Star Jacob Trembley, who voices the very beautiful and not at all controversial Flounder, sat down with People to chat a bit about the film and what all has been changed. He told the publication that director Rob Marshall decided to add new details as well as completely remove some parts of the story; Trembley specifically mentioned the iconic “Kiss The Girl” as one of the songs to undergo a switcheroo.
“There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl’ because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” Trembley said about the song possibly being interpreted as not being about a consensual kiss. “I think we obviously moving forward as a new generation have to make sure things are more sensitive. “So that’s always cool to be a part of that change.”
Composer Alan Menken also mentioned the song “Daughters of Triton” will not be included in the film. saying, “We definitely wanted the film to start with a much more of a live-action feel of the ocean and meeting Ariel.” He says the change heightens the anticipation for other songs like “Part of Your World,” ultimately giving fans a better pay-off when those songs kick in. It remains to be seen if the changes are worth it, but if Menken, the award-winning talent he is, believes they are, The Little Mermaid might finally break the curse of terrible Disney live adaptations.
Disney dips its toe into anime with great results
Though other streaming platforms have benefited from investing in anime — Netflix and Crunchyroll come to mind — Disney hasn’t really explored the medium as much. Other than distributing Studio Ghibli films like Princess Mononoke to U.S. audiences, the company’s never created original content. After the surprising success of the show Tengoku Daimakyo — or Heavenly Delusion — the entertainment company might be interested in delving more into the anime space.
The show follows two young survivors, Maru and Tokio, living in the aftermath of a mysterious disaster that destroyed Japanese civilization some 15 years prior. Tokio lives in an isolated facility with other children until one day she becomes aware of the outside world and Maru, a boy with identical facial features as Tokio, wanders Japan with his bodyguard Kiruko while searching for “Heaven.” It’s a suspenseful sci-fi thriller that’s been gaining praise for its plot and wonderfully-written characters, and it’s reportedly one of the highest-streamed animated series right now, beating out The Muppets Mayhem.
The show is streaming worldwide on Disney Plus and on Hulu in the U.S. which means those high streaming numbers are without the help of U.S. viewers. Given Disney’s large amount of capital and the success of Tengoku Daimakyo, it seems inevitable that the company will further explore the anime scene. Disney’s already announced an anime adaptation of the popular mobile game Disney Twisted Wonderland and if anime continues to be well-received on its streaming platforms, we’ll likely see Disney competing with other platforms in that space.
About the author
Image via Disney/Hulu
Another day, another update on the DeSantis vs. Disney debacle: the Mouse House has made a move to get DeSantis’ lawsuit thrown out of court as the battle between the entertainment company and Florida governor just gets increasingly more confusing to follow. In happier news, an under-the-radar anime is pulling amazing streaming numbers and is proof Disney should delve further into the genre. Meanwhile, there’s only a little over a week to wait for The Little Mermaid to swim into theaters, but be warned: this isn’t a word-for-word remake of the beloved animated film.
It’s never a dull day in Disney World (though this virtual one is thankfully, much less humid). Let’s get into it!
Disney is asking Florida court to throw out DeSantis lawsuit filed by handpicked board of supervisors
Disney has decided to ask a Florida judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by their special district’s board of supervisors, who were handpicked by DeSantis earlier this year. Last month, Disney sued DeSantis after the governor attempted to take over the company’s theme park district, alleging that the takeover was part of a retaliation campaign against Disney after it opposed the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prevents educators from sharing media that contains any reference to the LGBTQ+ community in their classrooms. After Disney filed its federal lawsuit, the DeSantis-appointed special district board of supervisors filed their own state lawsuit against the company, asking the Florida judge to rule some of Disney’s development contracts with other companies as void.
Recently, DeSantis signed a bill that voided Disney’s construction contracts, making it so that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is unable to comply with the contracts’ terms. Disney is arguing that this new bill makes the board’s lawsuit “moot” and “legally irrelevant.” Per the motion filed by Disney (obtained by Deadline), the company believes a decision in either party’s favor is irrelevant as the contracts are already void under DeSantis’ newly signed bill.
If the Court rejects the board’s claims on their merits and agrees with Disney that the contracts complied with any procedural and substantive requirements of state law, the board would still be prohibited from complying with them under the new state statute. For the same reason, even if the Court found merit in the board’s objections to the contracts, any order to that effect would be pointless because the contracts would already be void under the new state statute. In short, any declaration about the contracts’ enforceability, voidness, or validity—either way—would be an advisory opinion with no real-world consequence. Trial courts in Florida are forbidden from issuing advisory opinions, and this case should be dismissed.
A representative of the special district told CNBC, “This motion by Disney is entirely predictable and an acknowledgement they know they will lose this case.” Disney filed its lawsuit in federal court as it believes DeSantis’s retaliation is against its constitutional right to free speech but the board’s lawsuit is filled specifically in Florida. In the motion, Disney refers to the Florida government as “a newly hostile state administration,” so it does seem the company might fear a local court case. Though truly, it feels like Florida has a lot more to lose if Disney moves for good as the Mouse employs a large amount of the state and brings millions in tourist revenue to the local government.
‘The Little Mermaid’ star cautions fans that some familiar moments will be missing as film takes some creative liberties
In lighter news, The Little Mermaid will be floating into theaters on May 26, but don’t expect an exact replica of the 1989 classic. Star Jacob Trembley, who voices the very beautiful and not at all controversial Flounder, sat down with People to chat a bit about the film and what all has been changed. He told the publication that director Rob Marshall decided to add new details as well as completely remove some parts of the story; Trembley specifically mentioned the iconic “Kiss The Girl” as one of the songs to undergo a switcheroo.
“There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl’ because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” Trembley said about the song possibly being interpreted as not being about a consensual kiss. “I think we obviously moving forward as a new generation have to make sure things are more sensitive. “So that’s always cool to be a part of that change.”
Composer Alan Menken also mentioned the song “Daughters of Triton” will not be included in the film. saying, “We definitely wanted the film to start with a much more of a live-action feel of the ocean and meeting Ariel.” He says the change heightens the anticipation for other songs like “Part of Your World,” ultimately giving fans a better pay-off when those songs kick in. It remains to be seen if the changes are worth it, but if Menken, the award-winning talent he is, believes they are, The Little Mermaid might finally break the curse of terrible Disney live adaptations.
Disney dips its toe into anime with great results
Though other streaming platforms have benefited from investing in anime — Netflix and Crunchyroll come to mind — Disney hasn’t really explored the medium as much. Other than distributing Studio Ghibli films like Princess Mononoke to U.S. audiences, the company’s never created original content. After the surprising success of the show Tengoku Daimakyo — or Heavenly Delusion — the entertainment company might be interested in delving more into the anime space.
The show follows two young survivors, Maru and Tokio, living in the aftermath of a mysterious disaster that destroyed Japanese civilization some 15 years prior. Tokio lives in an isolated facility with other children until one day she becomes aware of the outside world and Maru, a boy with identical facial features as Tokio, wanders Japan with his bodyguard Kiruko while searching for “Heaven.” It’s a suspenseful sci-fi thriller that’s been gaining praise for its plot and wonderfully-written characters, and it’s reportedly one of the highest-streamed animated series right now, beating out The Muppets Mayhem.
The show is streaming worldwide on Disney Plus and on Hulu in the U.S. which means those high streaming numbers are without the help of U.S. viewers. Given Disney’s large amount of capital and the success of Tengoku Daimakyo, it seems inevitable that the company will further explore the anime scene. Disney’s already announced an anime adaptation of the popular mobile game Disney Twisted Wonderland and if anime continues to be well-received on its streaming platforms, we’ll likely see Disney competing with other platforms in that space.
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