Lead Motion Editor

Jeffrey Katzenberg says Hollywood must build in AI 'with the storytellers. Not on top of them.' September 24, 2026 Former Walt Disney Studio Chair and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg - who now heads up Silicon Valley venture firm WndrCo - has posted 2,300-plus-word essay to X advocating that his Hollywood colleagues stop fighting the generative AI tide. Titled "The World Is Changing: AI for Creativity," the piece compares GenAI to other technologies which revolutionized animation and cinema in general, even if they did in fact make some creative jobs obsolete. "There is growing fear and resistance surrounding AI within the creative community. I deeply understand it, because I've spent countless hours walking through animation studios watching gifted artists bent over their desks, rebuilding a single second of film for the tenth time because the ninth version wasn't quite right. I've sat in screening rooms where four years of people's labor played out in minutes, and I knew the name of every person that had spent countless hours bringing those images to life. The creative process is a calling, there's really no other way to describe it. From the outside some see resistance. From the inside, it is love." Katzenberg reflects on the upheaval that synchronized recorded sound inflicted on the movie industry back in the 1920s - an innovation jumped on by Walt Disney himself, whom the former animation exec describes as "famous for being a technologist, forever hunting for state-of-the-art tools, often inventing them himself" in the essay. Walt's philosophy of defining animation by its story, emotion and character rather than a specific toolkit was recalled when Disney Animation and Pixar developed the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), Katzenberg explains, which replaced hand-painted cels with CG as seen in Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. Some 10 years later, Pixar released the first fully 3D CG animated feature, Toy Story, and during Katzenberg's tenure at DreamWorks, the studio opted to shut down its hand-drawn animation altogether. "The right path forward includes [artists] by design, with credit, with consent, and with compensation. Build this with the storytellers. Not on top of them. Taste is not something that can be synthesized, it is uniquely human," Katzenberg writes. "... The artists who learn to wield these new [AI] instruments will do things the engineers never dreamed of. They always have." WndrCo, which Katzenberg co-founded with former Dropbox exec Sujay Jaswa, recently invested in a real-time GenAI video startup called Reactor. Variety notes the former Disney and DreamWorks leader had also reportedly been in talks to create a new AI video startup with the former head of OpenAI's Sora text to video model, which was shut down in April and officially discontinued the API this week.

Disney+ price increase: ad-free subscription in the U.S. Now 13 percent more expensive. Philipp Briel 24. September 2026 · 3 min. read Disney is raising prices again: As of September 23, 2026, the ad-free Disney+ subscription in the U.S. will cost $21.49 per month - a 13 percent increase from the previous price. This is already the fourth price increase in just a few years, and industry observers see the move as a signal for similar adjustments in Europe. The new Disney+ prices at a glance. Both the standalone subscription and the bundle with Hulu are affected. Existing customers will automatically be charged the new rates with their next monthly bill, while new customers will be charged the new rates immediately. Here are the details of the increase: | Subscription | Previous Price | New Price | | Disney+ Premium (ad-free) | $18.99 | $21.49 (+13%) | | Disney+ with ads | $11.99 | $12.49 | | Disney+/Hulu Bundle (ad-free) | $19.99 | $21.99 | | Disney+/Hulu Bundle (with ads) | $12.99 | $12.99 (unchanged) | For comparison: Netflix currently charges $26.99 per month for its ad-free 4K subscription in the U.S. Despite the price increase, Disney+ remains cheaper than its biggest streaming competitor, though the gap has narrowed noticeably. Why Disney is raising prices now. The timing is no coincidence: Disney's streaming division's operating profit rose from $329 million to $712 million in the most recent quarter. Rather than focusing on new subscribers, the company apparently wants to prioritize increasing revenue per existing user - a strategy that the entire streaming industry is now pursuing. Price increases every 12 to 18 months are now considered the norm, rather than the exception. What this means for subscribers in Germany. The current price increase initially affects only the U.S. market. In Germany, Disney+ currently costs 10.99 euros per month for the Standard plan and 15.99 euros for Premium, plus an ad-supported entry-level plan for 6.99 euros. No specific date has yet been announced for a price adjustment in Germany. However, since Disney traditionally adjusts its prices in Europe with a time lag relative to U.S. increases, a price hike is also considered likely here - similar to what has recently been observed with other providers. We have already reported on political efforts to introduce a streaming tax; the Consumer Protection Agency has taken a clear stance against it. Additional frustration: disabled features in Europe. In addition to pricing, Disney+ is currently causing technical frustration in Europe. Users in Germany and the Netherlands have been reporting for weeks that premium features such as Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and, in some cases, 4K playback have been disabled. Chromecast support has also been disabled, and restrictions on Apple's AirPlay are being reported as well. The reason is said to be patent disputes with companies including InterDigital and Sony, which Disney appears to be mitigating through new terms of service. Those who pay for a premium subscription but cannot enjoy full picture quality are likely to view an upcoming price increase with skepticism. Conclusion. With the price increase in the U.S., Disney is confirming the industry trend toward regularly rising subscription costs. There is no immediate need for German users to take action, but in the long term, they should prepare for higher prices - especially since Disney+ in Germany currently isn't delivering the full technical performance that subscribers are actually paying for.

Disney, Danielle DiFerdinando debut handbag line. 2026-09-24 Disney collaborated with designer Danielle DiFerdinando to create a handbag line inspired by classic animated films including "Beauty and the Beast," "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland" and "Winnie the Pooh." DiFerdinando approached the collaboration with a fashion-driven perspective. Instead of literal character depictions, the collection translates each story's world and personality into the handbags' silhouettes, materials, embroidery and detailing. The line will be released in drops starting Oct. 6 online and at retailers including Macy's, Hot Topic and HSN. Full story: NRF SmartBrief News and trends about the U.S. Retail industry Designed specifically for retail professionals, NRF SmartBrief is a free, daily email newsletter. It provides the latest need-to-know news and industry information that maximizes your time, giving you an edge over your competition.