With its streaming business in the green for the first time since its launch in 2019, "Disney has successfully made the digital transition" has become one of the final takeaways about the company and its future amid a, all things considered, pretty good year for Disney.

While Hollywood fell into a post 2023 writer's strike slump, The Mouse took the opportunity to hit a few box office sluggers with Deadpool & Wolverine, Inside Out 2, Moana 2, and a handful of other franchise flicks. By all accounts Disney is winding down 2024 in a good spot.

So why am I still bothered by a weird media play the company did in January of this year?

Remember this?

It was a weird moment that turned into a multi-month slow drip of videos and write ups from influencers and journalists alike, all sharing their experience with a prototype piece of technology that is nowhere near consumers' feet yet. So, again, why?

This isn't an insider newsletter where I can get an off the record confirmation on what Disney's goals were releasing essentially a product demo for something that's not a product. If we want to be conservative with our theories there are dozens of plausible ones we could sell. Teasing its parks customers with new experiences that are on the horizon. Experimenting with its influencer relations as Disney explores bringing social content to Disney+. Or maybe, simply, it was an easy internet win and media narrative that wasn't layoffs or speculation about superhero fatigue at the box office.

I'm sure we can safely say all the above might be true, and there still might be more to it.