Disney’s big boss happily looks to the future

BURBANK—When you hold the master key to the happiest place on earth, you have to be a man with galaxy-wide—or at least China-wide—imagination.

In a recent media briefing at The Walt Disney Company’s headquarters here, chair and chief executive Robert “Bob” Iger, who rose from the ranks after joining the company in 1996, spoke about what he considered Disney’s two greatest achievements over the past months.

“The acquisition of Lucasfilm and the re-launching of the Star Wars franchise have proven to be an incredible success,” he said.

The other big achievement was the opening of the massive Disneyland theme park in Shanghai, China.

“I worked on it for 18 years, 18 years since I first stepped on the ground in China,” he said, adding that particular theme park represented “Walt’s greatest ambitions” and “to build something great as viewed by the people of China.”

How massive was it? Shanghai Disneyland welcomed 11 million visitors in its inaugural year.

Shanghai Disneyland represents a big direction Disney is heading in as far as signature theme parks are concerned. Iger said “visitors are staying two hours longer per stay” and that “70 percent of the attractions in the park are original.” Additionally, he characterized those attractions as being “authentically Disney, distinctly Chinese.”

In the last 12 years, Iger noted he has held on to three priorities.

The first is making great content: “We make high quality, branded entertainment with global applications.” He noted Disney would be making fewer films, but these would be “tent-pole films.” Iger noted the different interests in different markets they had to remain vigilant about.

Second: Embrace new technology. “The new technology is getting us closer to the customer,” Iger said. “We have to deliver different products in new, compelling ways.”

This involves the continuing development of onscreen tech at companies like Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic.

During a separate event, Iger talked about the new streaming service Disney would be launching in 2019 where Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel content would migrate from services like Netflix.

Third: Global growth. “We see significant growth and expansion outside the United States,” he said, calling Disney “the most admired company in the world.” Disney has been establishing a localized presence all over the world, including Asia.

Iger talked about the responsibility of handling key brands Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel. “We’ve been executing really well, enabling them to thrive and grow.”

Disney also values accessible, new emerging properties. “We feel we have enough intellectual property to tell enough stories,” Iger said. “If we see one we want, we’d buy it.”

Yet, even at the top, Disney is all about the storytelling.

“A great story told anywhere is still a great story,” Iger said. “The world will get bigger for the storyteller. You have to present the story in a relevant way.”

Disney was still essentially Disney, he said.

“We have not changed our company values at all. We are a company with a universal appeal,” he concluded.