The Disney+ (plus), logo seen displayed on a smartphone with an Artificial intelligence (AI) chip and symbol in the background. (Photo Illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Disney CEO Bob Iger sparked backlash after saying that the company was going to allow AI-generated content to appear on Disney+.
The streaming service contains a library of Disney’s hand-drawn animated classics, but it seems that no digital space is safe from the ever-growing tendrils of generative AI—even the home of animation icon Mickey Mouse.
Artists, animators and Disney fans didn’t take the news well.
What Did Disney CEO Bob Iger Say About AI?
During an earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Disney+ was about to expand, allowing subscribers to generate and share AI-generated content.
“The other thing that we’re really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience,” said Iger. “Including the ability for them to create user-generated content and to consume user-generated content—mostly short-form—from others.”
Iger also revealed that game experiences would soon arrive 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.
Fortnite’s Star Wars season suffered a high-profile mishap after introducing a Darth Vader NPC voiced by generative AI, which gamers managed to prompt into saying swear words and slurs, resulting in a hasty update for the foul-mouthed Vader.
How Did The Internet React?
After the news broke that generative AI was making its way to Disney+, the online backlash was swift.
Commentators were deeply disappointed that Disney, the legendary animation studio that grew into a sprawling media empire, would embrace the automation of art.
Artists and animators viewed the arrival of AI to Disney+ as another grim omen, fearing that the spread of generative AI would result in more job losses, and a deluge of low-quality content on the streaming platform.
One X (Twitter) commentator described Disney’s pivot as “a disgrace to the entire animation industry,” and others called for a boycott, urging Disney+ subscribers to cancel their subscription.
Many predicted that the embrace of AI would work out very badly for Disney down the line.
Some noted that other major animation studios, such as Illumination and Dreamworks, have firmly denounced the use of generative AI.
The intricate, hand-drawn animation that defined the golden age of Disney couldn’t be further removed from the AI-generated “slop” currently flooding social media.
Workers across the creative industries and beyond fear that the proliferation of generative AI will result in a lowering of artistic standards and wages, as AI can produce content quickly and cheaply, even if the tech is notorious for inconsistencies and uncanny vibes.
Dana Terrace, creator of the Disney animated series The Owl House, came out strongly against the AI invasion, telling her followers to unsubscribe from Disney+ and pirate her show.
Terrace followed up the tweet by posting, “PICK UP A PENCIL OR DIE,” referring to an anti-AI art meme which challenges AI prompters to pick up a pencil and develop their own skills, rather than outsourcing their creativity to a soulless machine.
Others posted their own artwork in defiance, featuring Disney characters clutching pencils and paintbrushes.
The backlash against Disney echoed the recent controversy sparked by Coca-Cola’s use of generative AI to create Christmas ads.
Many social media users are unhappy with the amount of AI-generated garbage spilling onto their timelines—inviting AI content into a curated streaming service seems like a great way to lose subscribers.
MORE FROM FORBES
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/11/16/disney-is-about-to-embrace-generative-ai-and-the-internet-is-furious/
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