The adventures of Mickey and Luke

Today Disney bought LucasFilm in a $4B deal that set the social world afire with comments and comedy, even spawning a Twitter account named, “@DepressedDarth” who tweeted, “…there is no way I am wearing Mickey Mouse ears.” Just the thought of the über-villain Vader sharing the spotlight with Pocahontas and Princess Ariel is just good stuff. It can go on forever…

But all jokes aside, it is a strange day when our childhood’s distinct memories all come together in one studio theme park. Is this the ultimate homogenization of our culture or is it just another way to bring more products to market faster? Disney has already announced Star Wars VII for 2015 and, “…a new Star Wars feature film every two to three years.” I don’t know how I feel about that.

Ewoks

Or we can look to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (way back in 1983) and realize that Star Wars went ‘Disney’ the moment they cast muppet characters in the form of ewoks from the planet Endor. That was a tough one to swallow back then and should have prepared us for today’s announcement.

This could go a few ways…can Disney’s happy family coexist with the Empire and galactic domination? Or will this pull Mickey to the dark side? What would we pay to hear see Snow White battle it out with Winnie the Pooh using light sabers? Who would win, Chewbacca or the Beauty’s Beast?

Regardless of how this makes our childhood worlds collide…and it does, Disney has certainly staked its claim to ‘empire’ status.