Revivals Galore
This is the kind of news that makes me smile.
Now, it’s a good headline, and yet, I of course have suggestions. Right now, per the article linked above, the Wonderful World of Disney is only back for four weeks, starting on May 20. (Normally, I would say that it’s weird to see the Wonderful World of Disney on a weeknight, but honestly, no day or night feels like a normal weekday or weekend day anymore, so whatever.)
Here are the films you can watch during this revival: Moana, Thor: The Dark World, Up and Big Hero 6. My old podcasting colleague Scott Renshaw suggested that the sore thumb of this group, the 2013 Marvel movie that most people either have forgotten or straight-up dislike (you know, a movie that inspired its star to plead for a wildly different third installment), is here because it’s shorter than a lot of other MCU movies and easy enough to fit into a traditional TV timeslot.
So, here’s what I would say in terms of what the Wonderful World of Disney revival should have moving on beyond these four weeks. We’re in the middle of a pandemic, so I will obviously not say “Make new stuff!” Outside of more singalong specials, there’s nothing new being created by Disney, I would imagine. But the Walt Disney anthology TV series has existed for over five decades, and there are no doubt plenty of older episodes that could be brought back.
That would, no doubt, require some kind of host — if you put up an episode like The Plausible Impossible on ABC without any context, people are going to be very confused. (And I realize that this animation-heavy episode likely wouldn’t be an old-school test subject. But go with me for the example.) I feel like a Disney-friendly actor such as one of the Frozen stars, or an MCU star, would do well for filming a quick introduction that explains what the audience is about to see.
I know this four-week revival is just a test, a band-aid to patch over the gaping wound of no new content on a major network. I get that. And if the ratings for the test suck, it may not return. But I hope it does. And I hope Disney does more than just air some recent movies if the test keeps up after the four weeks.