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The Mouse That Roared

The news that Disney is buying Marvel for $4 billion has taken the entertainment world by storm. Although the deal itself came out of nowhere, it certainly makes sense. Each company possesses a wealth of content (70 years of characters and stories) and more importantly, licensing opportunities. As DVD sales sink, Hollywood has been scrambling for new sources of revenue. This just might be the shot in the arm Disney needs.

While Disney has traditionally been known for its wholesome family creations, the purchase of Marvel adds an edgier, more violent element. By marrying Spiderman, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk with Mickey Mouse, Wall-E and High School Musical, the combined company will be able to exploit a universe of characters across everything from t-shirts and product tie-ins to movies and theme parks.

While merging the Marvel superheroes into Disney’s fairy-tale cast of characters may seem like a storytelling leap, the entertainment giant has pulled off the feat before. Through the years, Disney has acquired properties (the Muppets, Winnie the Pooh), created shows, rides and attractions with third parties (Star Wars, Indiana Jones) and incorporated

The big winners in this merger are movie theaters and boys. At a time when original plot ideas are difficult to come by, this acquisition could mean a surplus of scripts based solely on the team-ups, battles and other crossovers between the Disney and Marvel worlds. The box office numbers speak for themselves… of the 25 highest-grossing films of all time, four are recent Marvel adaptations.

This move will also help Disney broaden its appeal to boys. Mickey Mouse and other classic Disney characters appeal strongly to young children while shows such as Hannah Montana are hit with girls.

The one fly in the ointment is that Marvel’s sale won’t affect any existing licensing details. For the moment, Disney are still blocked from capitalizing on many of Marvel’s most prominent names such as the X-Men and Fantastic Four (movie rights owned by Fox), Spiderman (movie rights owned by Sony) and Iron Man (distribution rights owned by Paramount). Once these deals expire, Disney will be sure to jump in and may well want to take over distribution as well.