Disney did their customers and themselves bad on the Mulan launch.
Somehow missed tuning into these disturbing details sooner, but feeling glad we didn’t pull out the plastic on the release day. Those unfortunate Disney+ subscribers who paid the $30 out of the gate through Disney+ for Mulan are angry to learn others who aren’t Disney+ subscribers can pay the same $30 through various PVOD streamers (Amazon, Vudo, Google Pay, etc) and own the movie without any need to maintain a Disney+ subscription to access Mulan. They also received extras and bonus content and the movie in 4K which is not currently available on the Disney+ Mulan version as of this writing.
A very different and better deal, as illustrated by the graphic above from John Campea’s Show (see below for Campea’s impassioned video).
We could have been burned too, though, had we been interested enough in watching Mulan. I was most interested in seeing that in theaters first, just like Soul (see: Disney Diss? Rips Soul From Theaters To Be Disney+ Exclusive), which also won’t be happening.
We just weren’t that interested in the movie to pay $30 as a VOD release. We’re now waiting until it’s included on Disney+ (December 4, 2020, I believe is the date).
But one thing is for sure, all the people who put down $30 (on top of their normal Disney Plus monthly fee) for the pleasure of accessing Mulan on Disney’s streaming service are probably feeling pretty burned right now. After all, if those people leave Disney Plus, they lose their access to Mulan. Whereas anyone who buys Mulan for $30 today on iTunes or Google Play gets to keep and watch the film forever—no Disney Plus subscription required.
Sorry, Disney Plus subscribers, now anyone can buy ‘Mulan’ for the sam
John Campea goes postal, complete with f-bombs that are rare for his show in the video below. He’s right to be angry. It was a total bush league move by Disney. The graphic he made outlines how those who are buying it now for $30 don’t even have to be Disney+ customers and they continue to access the movie any time they want.
Of course there is some bit of screwing someday in the future when you buy anything digital. I’ve complained before that the biggest problem with buying digital anything is what happens if the service goes out of business? Essentially all digital purchases are rentals, you don’t really “own” them.
At least with physical media as long as you have the media, take care of it, and have something to play it, you’ll have it for a long time. The challenges with physical media are, once your collection grows, physical space. You trade convenience for logistics. If you own a few Blu-rays or DVDS, it’s not a big hassle putting the disc in a player and queuing up. Wait until you have hundreds. We were there. The logistics are challenging. There’s the cleaning aspect, too.
Whatever the case, Disney, didn’t do right by their Disney+ subscribers here. Hopefully, they will make it up by adding the bonus and extra content to Disney+ for Mulan ASAP. Preferably before the free launch in December.
Movies, Movies, Movies 
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