Disney Channel losing touch with its roots

[Bloodrain28]

I’m not going to rant and bad mouth the Disney channel. But I truly do miss the TRUE DISNEY channel. Its just not Disney anymore. Not that I have anything against a childrens network. But it just seems like nickelodeon with a Disney label slapped onto it these days. The way I see it… Our children growing up watching this channel have NO IDEA who any of the Disneyland characters are UNTIL they go to Disneyland. Even then, you have to explain who they are taking a picture with. Whatever happened to ducktales, tale-spin, rescue rangers, dark-wing duck, or even the ORIGINAL Disney cartoons with Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald… or the Goofy How-to cartoons? Its quite pitiful if you think about it. (speaking of which, anyone know where i can pick these up on DVD or Bluray?).

So, im going to sit down for a full day, and count each time I see an original Disney character on the disney channel. The Mickey head logo does not count. Its no wonder the children have no idea who mickey is until they meet him @ the park… Who wants to bet I dont see any on the channel?

[milojthatch]

I stopped watching Disney Channel years ago. I grew up in the 80's and 90's, and to me, that WAS the Disney Channel. The current version feel more like Disney's attempt to be more like MTV then "Disney."

[DisneyDork101]

I STILL wonder why the Disney channel logo has mickey mouse ears and he's NOT even on there...ok so Disney jr. block he is, but still!

[BlAcKoUt510]

I agree.

I for one, if nothing on, find myself watching Nick (iCarly, Vicorious,...)
Disney channel I haven't watched for a while, think last time I saw it was when Raven was running. All the shows on there are just too cheesy it irritates me.

[RiversOfAmerica]

I’m not going to rant and bad mouth the Disney channel. But I truly do miss the TRUE DISNEY channel.

I do too, but I think much of that is a product of today than anything else. If the Disney Channel had stayed the way it originally was, it would have closed up shop by now. It's the same reason MTV and VH1 are anything but music video channels, why few of the shows on the History Channel are about history, and why CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News have very few programs that are actualy news programs.

[milojthatch]

I do too, but I think much of that is a product of today than anything else. If the Disney Channel had stayed the way it originally was, it would have closed up shop by now. It's the same reason MTV and VH1 are anything but music video channels, why few of the shows on the History Channel are about history, and why CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News have very few programs that are actualy news programs.

Frankly, if that really was the only way Disney Channel could avoid this teen thing we see today, was to ultimately close up shop (I seriously don't buy into that by the way) then I rather it did. I feel that way about any number of brands I grew up with and have argued this point with many of those other brands. If they only way to keep an entertainment brand going in the modern day is too water or dumb it down, then please, let it die. Don't disgrace what was.

That said, I don't buy into that. It gives the kids of today no credit. I think the reason why these teens show do as well as they do in part is because that is what is feed to the kids. If Disney had been continuing to show Mickey Mouse cartoons, or DuckTales, or the kind of quality films they made in the 80's and 90's, then THAT is what the kids of today would like. I truly believe in the notion that much of what is deemed popular is controlled by the media. If all Disney is going to give us is garbage, then how would today's kids know any different?

[IzzyInWonderland]

Ahh I remember the Disney Channel of the 80's and 90's. Those were the glory days. And guess what, they still played older original Disney cartoons in there too like Silly Symphonies. I remember closer to the year 2000 I'd be so excited to catch a late night viewing of Vault Disney stuff like Walt Disney Presents or Mickey Mouse Club! And sometimes Silly Symphonies or cartoons with the fab four. Sheesh my kids will never grow up knowing the true Disney cartoons and shows unless I own them all on DVD!

[Club 33 Member]

it seems corporate Disney has certainly changed since I was a kid. It used to be about family and the concept of excellent customer service. Now it seems to be almost exclusively about the bottom line. I have certainly become extremely disillusioned with Disney in recent years. If you ever look back at old video about Disneyland, they had real stagecoach rides with real horses and real trail rides once again on top of real horses. Now it seems, if they can't get 10,000 people through a ride in a given day that ride might be very short-lived. While I feel sorry for my son, but at least I have the memories.

[sediment]

Go DVR Phineas and Ferb for a week or so. Well-written, tons of running gags and recurring one-scene characters.
I highly recommend it.

if you don't have a DVR, then get in a time machine and head toward the present.

[Flickering Bulb]

i used to LOVE the old Disney Channel. it was heaven for a kid. Nickelodeon and Disney Channel were the 2 channels to watch. one of my favorite shows was Lunch Box. it was all sorts of animated shorts like Spot the dog and another about some goose.

it's gross what the channel has become, all sugary and peppy. it's so fake and it makes me cringe. i would hate for my kids to watch a show where every character either acts like a ditzy valley girl or a surfer with a limited vocabulary. there's no substance.

[lazyboy97O]

Nickelodeon has recently discovered the value of just its old content with the introduction of its The 90s are All That segment on TeenNick. While I would not want to see the Disney Channel as derivative of older content, I do doubt the supposed lack of viability in utilizing the vast Disney library and more family oriented shows such as Phineas and Ferb.

Many kids today do not know the older Disney titles because they lack exposure. The Disney Channel could very well double as a means of introducing the Disney library to a new audience, which would then go on to possibly purchase said library items and/or related merchandise. Just as Disney rereleased financial under-performers as classics so too does presentation count today. Nothing happened in the past decade that fundamentally changed kids that they will no longer have any ability to enjoy stories they were until a few years ago were enjoyed by generations. Reintroduction of the Disney library also coincided greatly with Disney's moves into greater and more varied content distribution.

[flynnibus]

disney channel does show the shorts from the 30s-50s as fillers between programs (just like the old channel did). The also promote the parks between shows (just like the old channel did) with segments like Disney 365.

What is mostly different is the lack of cartoon blocks as the main programming and new original animated series based on classic characters except those aimed at the preschool set. Disney has had several big hit animated shows of late. I think the biggest change is how Disney has integrated it's radio/music/film/tv efforts in how they develop talent. That leads to heavy emphasis on performers rather than more animated shows.

Disney channel for the longest time just recycled and repackaged content. It took a long time before they started Besides Ducktales and Darkwing duck, most of the other animated series did nothing for me..

The irony is some of the bigger hits from the era... are the same child musical performances that people are so down on now as not what the disney channel is about

Just hope there is a VaultDisney channel some day in the future.. so things like Zorro, Scarecrow, and the other recycled shows that supported the disney channel in the beginning can see the light of day again.

But you don't really see Andy Griffin, Leave it to Beaver, I love lucy, etc in popular syndication anymore either..

[SnorkletsMom]

Sadly, Phineas & Ferb is the exception. The rest of the Disney Channel's shows really are horrendous...nauseatingly loud canned laughter, recycled bad jokes and an interchangeable roster of basically lackluster star wannabes.
I'd love a Vault Disney network, and I'd pay for it. But as much as I dislike the current programming, Disney is doing what a large for-profit corporation does, tailoring their programming to what they perceive as their audience. And it works, ratings prove that.
Sometimes people's viewing choices are baffling...give them 300 channels and they'll still watch the Kardashians.

[lazyboy97O]

Disney channel for the longest time just recycled and repackaged content. It took a long time before they started Besides Ducktales and Darkwing duck, most of the other animated series did nothing for me..

Ducktales, Darkwing Duck, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin and all of those other television shows were created for The Disney Afternoon, which was a syndicated block available to broadcast stations. The shows only ran on The Disney Channel in reruns.

But I do agree, the Disney Channel should not just be a place to rerun already created content.

[gallandro]

Yeah it definitely has changed dramatically... even over the last few years. I remember the good 'ol days when they showed the original Mickey Mouse Club, Zorro and cartoons and shorts from the 30s-50s (some of my favorites being the Jimney Cricket "I'm No Fool" shorts). Over time that formula changed in the early 90s with Disney producing daytime cartoons that were recycled and shown on Disney. It was all good as the Disney Channel always paid homage to Walt and Mickey, never forgetting it's roots.

Even when "Even Stevens" began to air (a show both my kids loved), there was still just enough old time material or specials about the parks or the studio to keep me watching. However, all of that changed with the emergence of Hannah Montana and the series that followed. The channel seemed to cater more toward female tweenies than a general audience.

I really cannot even remember the last time I've watched Disney Channel.


Yancy