Disney in China: Schools to Learn English…with Mickey and the Little Mermaid! – cinema News

Between Disney and China, it’s been a very unhappy honeymoon in recent years. Like the entire American entertainment industry — we don’t know if we’re talking about the past now — it’s always had its eyes fixed on the Middle Kingdom, and rightly so. Because the Chinese market has become important to the majors over the years.

A big-eared company might seek to extol Chinese national pride by, for example, adapting the legend of Mulan with a Chinese cast, while the local public shunned the film. The Stations of the Cross did not stop. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, largely calibrated for the Chinese market, was torpedoed by Beijing by blocking its exit from the outside world. Same observation for Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness…

A more complicated situation for Disney, as Disney’s live-action remakes were never actually performed there. As an indication, the live version of Aladdin grossed $54.6 million. The live version of Dumbo only did 21.7 million. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil $47 million. The live version of The Lion King fared better with $122 million. But given the size of the market, it remains very modest.

Already subject to a strict quota policy, Hollywood films are now under political pressure in Xi Jinping’s country, who often favors films that extol nationalistic pride over consumerist creations. Made in USA. The Covid-19 pandemic, which has largely paralyzed Hollywood, has only reinforced this observation, and amplified it further.

A comment or opinion, a more or less direct reference to homophobia, deemed innocuous, has drawn the ire of Beijing authorities and been fueled by the sounding board provided by Chinese social networks such as Weibo. It’s okay to turn down some work.

The Little Mermaid is a Trojan horse in China

There was a time, not too long ago, when Disney implemented another format Soft power. And the general public knows very little. In October 2008, the project was set up Disney FranchiseIt aims to teach English to (but not limited to) Chinese children between the ages of 1 and 11.

First established in Shanghai, which will also be home to an amusement park in 2016, the structures have welcomed teachers from China, the United States and Europe. The goal, clearly understood, is to use Disney products, particularly the company’s animated films, as educational support; The strength of the house lies particularly in the storytelling of its stories.

As of July 2010, Disney already had 11 schools in two Chinese cities. Aims to welcome no fewer than 150,000 Chinese children by 2015 were more ambitious. Russell Hampton, president of Disney Publishing Worldwide, which is in charge of the program, wants to go from 11 to 148 schools in five years. “It’s a very likely possibility.” He said The New York Times; “This will allow us to generate an operating profit of over $100 million over the next five years”.

In a Chinese society that was witnessing the emergence of a new middle/upper class, with strong purchasing power, these Disney schools were a way to inject a little bit of the American dream. It had a significant cost.

Some parents can pay the equivalent of $2,200 a year for 96 hours a year of 2 hours of English lessons a week at Mickey Mouse and the Little Mermaid. “These schools allow Disney to connect with a new generation of consumers who may not be familiar with the company’s characters and history.” Commented Financial Times.

Immersed in the deep universe, Chinese children learned English based on an educational program developed with the support of Columbia and the University of Alabama, thanks to role-playing games, interactive games and, of course, screenings of house classics.

Numbers were also limited: no more than 12 children per class; A maximum of 15. Each class had its theme: Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell, The Lion King and even Winnie the Pooh… But before that the number was compared to the indestructible Xi Jinping, whose censorship services were more tense than ever. After a few years any mention will be banned…

Mickey on tech unemployment

Between initial announcements and final disconnection Disney Franchise, the balance sheet is not really popular. In June 2020, Disney announced the permanent closure of 25 of its schools located in 6 cities in China. That is, if we were far from the ambitions shown at the beginning…

Closed since January 2020 due to Covid-19, the pandemic has been fatal to the project even though Beijing authorities have taken strict measures to control the epidemic that started on its soil. While some traditional schools were later able to reopen, Disney schools were closed.

“Over the past few years, we’ve noticed a shift in consumer preferences toward online learning experiences, and this trend has been accelerated by the global pandemic as families hesitate to return to face-to-face learning classes.” Disney vice president of product marketing for the Asia-Pacific region, Mahesh Samad, commented. The New York Times.

However, Disney’s initiative is interesting and very clever. The program was launched at a time when Chinese government restrictions on Disney and other Hollywood studios distributing movies and TV shows in China made it difficult for foreign media. An American Trojan horse in the Middle Kingdom, known as Mickey, Peter Pan, or The Little Mermaid.