Disney has seen technological innovations that have impacted its films and profits over time. Starting with animation in the 1930s, Disney introduced synchronized sound in 1929 and the first full-length animated film in 1937. In the 1970s, Disney benefited from new motion control cameras in Star Wars. Disney also pioneered computer animation through Pixar films starting in 1995. Today, Disney uses advanced rendering and snow simulation software to create realistic effects. Disney has also expanded through theme parks, cruises, streaming services and merchandise to reach large audiences and generate substantial profits over many decades.

1. DISNEY:
EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY
By Olivia Marsden
Fig.1

2. INTRODUCTION
• Walt Disney first started to create entertainment for audiences
on 16th October 1923. His first piece of work were short
animations of the well known ‘Mickey Mouse’.
• The technological innovations are a main aspect because as
Disney has grown the films have become better for example
Beauty and the Beast.
• Disney films had a long term influence because the two step
flow theory(McQuail and Windahl, 1993).
• The process of production and distribution has changed over
the years by starting with animation and then introducing live
action.

3. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
• 1929 introduced the first cartoon with synchronized sound (Steamboat
Willie) causing a break through due to massive profits(The Museum of
Modern Art, 2004).
• The first animation(Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), gained $7 million in
the opening weekend and tripled the budget. The film had aspects of The
Grimm Brothers’ version, but changed the striking feature that Snow White
was surrounded by animals and nature(Whitley, 2012).
• 1977 Lucasfilm created Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope, the first film
using a motion-control camera. The opening weekend of the film gained $36
million proving that is was a popular film. Since 2012, Disney profited from
the creation of many Star Wars films by using various technological
techniques e.g. CGI. The Star Wars franchise is huge and very profitable due
to the technology and the merchandise(Child, 2012).
• 1995 Pixar Studios announced the first computer-animated film(Toy Story).
Toy Story 2 was released in 1999 and 2001 they announced Monsters’ Inc.
which was also a great success and gained $64 million from the opening
weekend. Disney bought Pixar because they produced very successful
Fig 2.
Fig
3.
Fig
4.
Fig 5.

4. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
• Hyperion Renderer, works by calculating how the light bounces
around a scene and shades objects, using path tracing helps
generate digital images by how light would interact with
objects. Matterhorn is used to create snow effects especially in
Frozen, by having large amounts of snow interacting with the
characters. Meander Animation Tool brings hand-drawn
animation and digital tools together to create a film(Disney,
2017).
• Other big film companies have followed in their footsteps. For
example DC have created their own superheroes from
Superman to Batman and created similar films to try to appeal
to the same demographic, but are struggling to keep up.
According to Gatenburg, ‘The idea of standalone DC films even
suggests that Warner Bros. might finally be throwing in the
towel and admitting it can’t play Marvel’s game of building a
Fig 6.
Fig 7.
Fig 8.

5. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS
• The Disney store is a innovation but not technological. Disney create
merchandise for films e.g. Disney created a ‘Belle’ doll and all kids went
mad for it but not in a good way. The Emma Watson doll was compared to
Justin Bieber because the facial features and expression wasn’t similar to
Emma Watson in any way but like ‘Justin Bieber in a wig’(Blott, 2017). This
indicates that Disney will not reach profits set for this product because it
has been heavily criticised by the audience.
• The family theme parks and now Disney Cruises, allows families to come
together and enjoy. Theme parks were originally aimed at just kids but
Disney changed that by allowing parents to let their inner child out. Over
the years Disney have opened and close various rides from closing Tower
of Terror in 2017 for refurbishment. This will make a significant impact
because many visitors have rated it as a 7/10 on a thrill scare rating(Levine,
2017).

6. FILMS THAT HAD LONG TERM INFLUENCE
• Disney classics such as Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book,
have been recently recreated due to audiences wanting the films to
incorporate the new technologies and tell the story in a different way.
This indicates that they had a long term influence because viewers
want them to be recreated to have more of an impact to viewers and
still entertain people years down the line(Parkhurst, Acuna and Oswald,
2017).
• The Little Mermaid had a long term influence because ‘ever since the
opening of the movie when Eric’s ship triumphantly emerged through
the mist and the hauntingly beautiful music erupted at the first
glimpse of King Triton’s castle, it was apparent that Disney animation
was back to its finest’(Bonner, 2013, p6). This demonstrates that The
Little Mermaid still has influence after being released in 1989 and is
still being watched by millions everyday through Disney Life or via
DVD.
Fig. 9
Fig.10

7. FILMS THAT HAD LONG TERM INFLUENCE
• The princess films had long term influence. For example
The Beauty and The Beast 2017 brought out costumes and
dolls which children went mad for (Goldberg, 2017). This
illustrates that they are having long term influence because
Belle is a character children start to ’look up’ to likewise
Elsa and Anna.
• The Two Step Flow explains how an opinion leader(Old)
then tells consumers(Young) about the media product that
they have consumed(McQuail and Windahl, 1993).
• Uses and Gratifications allows audiences to be entertained
and personally identify with characters(Sullivan, 2013).
Reception Analysis makes the audience active or passive
because they watch(Passive) or tell others about their
experience(Active)(Williams,2003).
Fig.11
Fig.12

8. FILMS THAT HAD LONG TERM INFLUENCE
• ‘Frozen Fever’ was used after the film because the atmosphere carried on.
Disney’s Dancing on Ice included Frozen in the worlds of enchantment. ‘The
Disney on Ice production of ''Frozen'' will be the skating equivalent of a
touring Broadway musical’(Barnes, 2014), indicating how popular Frozen has
become and has had a long term influence on audiences lives. Sold more than
$1.2 billion worldwide and the soundtrack had 2.7 million copies in the United
States alone, and sales have been among the best Hollywood has ever
seen(Barnes,2014), this indicates how entertaining this film has been and how
it has influenced many countries.
• Princess and the frog is the first black princess. In 2009 when it came out it
proved that there had been a shift in opinions. However, opinions were divided
because she falls in love with a white prince(Thompson, 2009).This
demonstrates that since 2009 Disney have brought out other princesses from
Elsa to Moana but haven’t brought out any other black characters. ‘Disney has
also been responsible for problematic portrayals of minority groups,
specifically using racial stereotypes in their films…”(Foote,2011). Being racist
will deter audiences from watching their films.
Fig.1
3
Fig.14

9. NEW METHODS OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION
• Started with animation in 1937(Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs). This indicates that Disney was gaining a young
demographic and still is. Disney stayed with animation till
1940(Fantasia).This was a breakthrough for Disney because the
opening weekend earned just over $6million. (Disney,1940)
• Changes began and Disney didn’t stick with animation as in
1950(Treasure Island) the first full live action adventure film was
released(TCM,2010). This is the same in 1953( The Living Desert)
because it was a true life adventure and tried to appeal to the
same audience but also as different audience, therefore gain more
money.
• In 2000 there was a rise in animation to try to appeal to the
younger demographic because children enjoy animation so will
earn a bigger profit. It can be said that profits rise because of the
type of films that are produced so then impact the profits. (Fig.17)
Fig.15

10. NEW METHODS OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION
• Disney have recently set up their own streaming site ‘Disney Life’. This
allows audiences to pay a subscription of £4.99 a month to have
access to “Unlimited Disney Magic. Movies, TV, Books and
Music.”(Disney, 2017). Therefore, access Disney content because no
other streaming sites contain it.
• The merchandise that Disney distribute appeals to children the most
because they have costumes so they can become their favourite
character, figurines and dolls and many more(Disney, 2017).The Disney
store is a huge profit maker for Disney because all parents will
purchase the most recent Disney character for their children.
• Use social media to display trailers to make audiences go to the
cinema(Walt Disney Studios, 2017). This indicates that Disney have
created themselves an online presence so they can appeal to online
users.
Fig.16
Fig.17
Fig.18

11. NEW METHODS OF PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION
• Releasing frozen at Christmas is a huge profit maker because it will
gain more money than normal as it is a Christmas film and so
families can enjoy it all together at the cinema. The negative impact
is that the DVD wasn’t released till after Christmas, however the
sales of the DVD passed 3 million and is very close to passing
Avatar(Fig.21) on the DVD/Blu-ray chart(Brown,2014).
• Production can be linked to technological innovations because it is
what is used to create the big films. It allows other conglomerates
to compete with Disney because without Disney other companies
would not have been able to produce the films they have, due to
this Disney purchase companies so they can’t copy anymore
(Garrahan and Fontanella-Khan, 2017).
• The cultivation theory describes aesensatisation(Williams, 2003)
where audiences know what will happen in a film. Therefore, a
negative impact as audiences are not accessing the films available.
Fig.19

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