During The Walt Disney Company's 2019 shareholder meeting today, CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney+, the company's upcoming streaming service, will carry "
the entire Disney motion picture library." This includes all of Disney's beloved animated classics, many of which are currently locked in The Vault.
The Vault is more of a state of being for Disney films. Following an animated film's initial home release run, Disney sends them to the Vault where they are only made again years later, usually for an anniversary. Disney believes this is a way to control the market and allow the films to remain fresh for new generations; however, an unintended side-effect of the Vault is that it creates artificial shortages. This turns these special anniversary editions into collectibles, driving up the price on the secondhand market and frustrating customers who are forced to pay exorbitant prices for films that aren't available at a given moment.
The Vault not only applies to the physical home release of animated classics but the digital versions as well. Many animated films are not available for streaming or digital purpose, including the animated version of
Aladdin, which will have a live-action adaptation released this summer. Disney most recently re-released
The Little Mermaid as part of the film's 30th-anniversary celebration.
Disney currently cycles 30-plus movies in and out of the vault, ranging from 1937's
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to 1994's
The Lion King. The Vault also includes direct-to-video sequels like
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and
Bambi II. But if you don't snag them for the limited time they are made available, you'll either have to wait until the next big milestone or pay a high price on the secondhand market.
This will all change with the introduction of Disney+. Here's what Bob Iger had to say about the upcoming streaming service effectively ending the Vault.
“The service, which I mentioned earlier is going to launch later in the year, is going to combine what we call library product, movies, and television, with a lot of original product as well, movies and television. And at some point fairly soon after launch it will house the entire Disney motion picture library, so the movies that you speak of that traditionally have been kept in a ‘vault’ and brought out basically every few years will be on the service. And then, of course, we’re producing a number of original movies and original television shows as well that will be Disney-branded,” Iger said during an investor meeting in St. Louis on Thursday. “It’s going to combine both the old and the new. All of the films that we’re releasing this year, [starting] with Captain Marvel, will also be on the service.”
In addition to animated classics, Disney+ will also include live-action reimaginings of
Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, and
The Sword in the Stone. Season 7 of
Star Wars: The Clone Wars will also premiere on the service. Marvel and Star Wars will also be prominently featured.
Disney has not yet revealed pricing details for Disney+, which is slated to launch later this year.