Here’s my take on the top 5 benefits of a Disney-Marvel combination:

1) Access to capital. In today’s strained economic times, Marvel was being forced to self-fund a chunk of its movie slate, leaving it with less cash to develop its products on other platforms. Disney is cash-rich.

2) Merchandising. Disney is the entertainment industry’s best merchandiser. Marvel’s characters are made to merchandise.

3) Spinoffs. The possibilities for spinning off Marvel characters on other platforms — games, Internet, theme parks, mobile phones — is endless.

4) Boys. Disney’s much better known with girls. This gives the Mouse House greater strength in its core demographic.

5) Untapped characters. Thor, Captain America and the Sub-Mariner and other Marvel staples haven’t been exploited for TV, movies and games — at least not in the 21st Century.

Posted under Michael's Blog

Hard to believe that 10 years or so ago, Marvel was a mess. Spider-Man was caught in a web of lawsuits, and seemed destined for the scrap heap. Stan Lee, his inventor, was frustrated and isolated. Marvel’s few ventures onto the movie screen were less than successful.

Now Disney’s willing to pay $4 billion for the assets — “a full price but a fair price”, according to CEO Bob Iger.

Now, the question is whether Disney knows how to manage its acquisition. A big measure will be how much independence it gives Marvel. The charm of its characters has always been their idiosyncracies. When you think of Disney’s home-grown characters in recent years, the first word that comes to mind is “bland”.

Posted under Michael's Blog