Disney just announced that in late 2026 Disney+ subscribers will be able to create their own short videos, images, and comics using official characters from Frozen, Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and the rest of the vault.
It’s not an open playground. Everything stays inside strict guardrails: you pick a franchise, choose from pre-approved scenes, outfits, voices, and backgrounds, and the AI assembles a short clip or comic for you. Think of it as a super-fancy sticker book with real voices and animation, but powered by generative AI.
The backlash was instant and loud.
Dana Terrace (creator of The Owl House) told her 600k+ followers to cancel Disney+ and just pirate her show instead.
Thousands of artists, animators, and longtime fans immediately jumped on the #BoycottDisney train, calling the feature everything from “soulless” to “the final nail in the coffin of real creativity.”
Yet Disney is pushing ahead anyway, and there are actually a few very rational reasons why:
1. Defense is the best offense
Right now the internet is flooded with unauthorized AI videos of Elsa doing things Disney would rather you never see. By giving fans an official, controlled way to play with the characters, Disney keeps the chaos inside its own walls and protects the brand.
2. Kids and teens already live on YouTube and TikTok
Traditional 22-minute cartoons are losing ground to 15-second fan edits and AI memes. If Disney+ doesn’t offer something interactive and shareable, the next generation simply won’t show up.
3. Bob Iger’s retirement clock is ticking
Iger turns 75 in February 2026 and has repeatedly said “this time I’m really leaving.” The current leadership team (and the presumed successors) want to prove they can still grow the streaming business before the baton is passed. Throwing “AI” into every earnings call keeps the stock exciting for investors who only hear the magic buzzword.
4. It might actually be pretty cool
Imagine your kid making a 30-second clip of Grogu and Baby Yoda having a lightsaber snowball fight in Arendelle, with the real voices, and sharing it directly from the app. For a lot of families that sounds genuinely fun, not dystopian.
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Disney isn’t becoming an “AI company” overnight. It’s just trying to survive the same tidal wave every legacy media giant is facing. The only difference is that when Mickey Mouse starts talking about generative models, people lose their minds in a way they don’t when Netflix or Spotify do the exact same thing.
Love it or hate it, the feature is coming. The only question left is whether the boycott crowd will still be mad in 2027 when their little cousin is begging them to come watch the custom Star Wars birthday video Disney+ just made for her.
