Disney in China: Schools to learn English… with Mickey and the Little Mermaid!

Between Disney and China, in recent years, it has become a very popular honeymoon destination. Like the entire entertainment industry in the United States, which – we don’t know if we should be talking about the past – has always gravitated toward the Middle Kingdom, and rightly so. Because the Chinese market has become crucial for the majors for several years.

A major company may try to flatter China’s national pride, for example by adapting the legend of Mulan with Chinese actors, the country’s public avoided the film, not a little. The Stations of the Cross did not stop. Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, which is also largely calibrated for the Chinese market, has been torpedoed by Beijing by blocking access to its territory. Same observation for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness…

A situation that’s all the more problematic for Disney because its live-action remakes haven’t really taken off there. For reference, the live version of Aladdin brought in $54.6 million. The live version of Dumbo barely 21.7 million. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil $47 million. The live-action version of The Lion King was $122 million better. But, given the size of the market, this remains very modest.

Already subject to draconian quota policies, Hollywood films are now more subject to political pressure in Xi Jinping’s country, which largely favors films that flatter nationalistic pride over consumerist productions. Made in the USA. And the Covid-19 pandemic, which has largely paralyzed Hollywood, has only reinforced this observation, and even strengthened it.

A questionable background, a more or less direct reference to homosexuality, a remark or opinion, even an innocuous one, that infuriates the Beijing authorities and largely accounts for the sounding board offered by Chinese social networks such as Weibo. everything is good. Some work on the way.

The Little Mermaid, the Trojan Horse in China

There was a time, not too long ago, when Disney used a different form of practice soft power. and much less known to the general public. In October 2008, the program was created Disney Françaiswhich aimed to teach English to Chinese children (but not only) from 1 to 11 years old.

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

In July 2010, Disney already had 11 schools in two Chinese cities. At the time, the goals were very ambitious: to receive 150,000 Chinese children by 2015. Russell Hampton, head of Disney Publishing Worldwide, which is in charge of the program, wanted to go from 11 to 148 schools in five years. “This is a very real possibility” he told her New York Times; “Which will allow us to generate an operating profit of more than $100 million over the next five years.”

In a Chinese society that was seeing the emergence of a new middle/upper social class with strong purchasing power, these Disney schools were also a way to pursue a little bit of the American dream. which had significant value.

Few parents can pay the equivalent of $2,200 a year for 2 hours of English a week, 96 hours in the company of Mickey Mouse and the Little Mermaid, among others. “These schools also 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 an immersive world, Chinese children learned English through role-playing, interactive games and, of course, screenings of home classics in an educational project supported by Columbia and the University of Alabama.

The number was also limited: no more than 12 children in a class; A maximum of 15. Each class had its own theme: Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Tinkerbell, The Lion King and even Winnie the Pooh… but that was before the figure was compared to the incomparable Xi Jinping, whose censorship services are tighter than ever, banning any Reference after a few years…

Mickey on technical unemployment

between initial statements and final disconnection Disney Français, the balance is not really known. In June 2020, Disney announced the permanent closure of 25 of its schools in China, located in 6 cities. In other words, we would be far from the ambitions shown at the beginning…

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

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

Still, Disney’s initiative was interesting and quite clever. The project began at a time when Chinese government restrictions on foreign media made it difficult for Disney and other Hollywood studios to distribute movies and TV shows in China. An American Trojan horse in the Middle Kingdom called Mickey, Peter Pan, or The Little Mermaid.