On Thursday, November 13th, during Disney’s 4th Quarter Earnings Conference, several major announcements were made teasing big changes to Disney+, the company’s subscription-based streaming service. During the conference call, Disney announced that it was exploring various partnership opportunities with artificial intelligence companies to “give us the ability to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaging experience,” according to Disney CEO, Bob Iger. Iger also teased plans to add these additional features to one Disney app, stating that, “These things are obviously all designed to create a one app experience… as a portal to all things Disney.”
Earlier in July of 2025, Animaj, a media company that uses AI-assisted production tools to create the production of children’s animations, announced that it would be one of four companies selected to join the 2025 Disney Accelerator program. Sixte de Vauplane, Co-Founder and CEO of Animaj, stated that, “We are honored to join the Disney Accelerator,” Later on in the announcement, the CEO also mentioned that, “Disney has always stood at the intersection of imagination and technology — a place we know well. We believe AI and creativity can work hand in hand to rethink how children’s brands are built, distributed, and experienced in a digital-native world.”
During Disney’s conference call in early November, when asked about the future implementation of AI within Disney’s user platforms, Iger stated that, “There’s phenomenal opportunities to deploy AI across our direct to consumer platform. Both to provide tools that make the platforms more dynamic and more sticky with consumers but also to create on our platforms.” According to Forbes writer, Dani Di Placido, Disney is also planning on releasing game experiences to Disney+, “as part of the company’s partnership with Epic Games, which previously resulted in collaborations with Fortnite, with The Simpsons and Star Wars characters appearing in-game.”
After the conference call with Disney, many people took to the internet to express their outrage, including a Disney animator who called on users to boycott Disney’s streaming services after the Disney CEO teased the plans of their AI-generated content. Former Disney animator, Dana Terrace, the creator of the Disney Channel animated series The Owl House, expressed her irritation with Disney after the announcement. She urged fans to stop supporting Disney and watching The Owl House, even suggesting that fans pirate her show and watch it illegally. Many Twitter users are stating that it is heartbreaking to witness Disney turn to AI. Disney viewers on Twitter are also expressing their beliefs that AI isn’t art.
Unfortunately, a loss in popularity for Disney could hinder the turnout of audiences in future Disney films, such as the rumored remake of Sleeping Beauty. According to an article from Daily Mail, there is speculation online for a potential live-action adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. Daniel Richtman, an entertainment reporter, also noted on his Patreon site that the new film would be called Aurora. Aurora would also feature several differences in comparison to the original film, such as being set in Mexico instead of France. Disney has yet to comment on any of these rumors publicly.
Although Disney’s 4th Quarter Conference call revealed several future opportunities for Disney, seemingly with the intention to spark both positivity and anticipation for what’s to come, these announcements have sparked an unexpected outrage online that could lead to a severe downfall in Disney’s popularity.
