Criticism of The Walt Disney Company Some critics disapprove of the marketing strategy made by Anne Sweeney, the former President of the Disney-ABC Television Group from 2004 to 2014 (1996-2014 as the President of Disney Channel), in which Disney Channel's programming has pulled away from the characters of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, that the company founded itself upon, and now mostly consists of programming geared mainly towards preteens and teenagers.. Longtime fans condemned the company for removing almost all Walt-era and pre-1990s material from the channel in 2002 with the removal of the late-night "Vault Disney" block devoted to this material, which used to
The Walt Disney Company studios, particularly the works of Don Bluth, who defected from Disney in 1979. By the early 1980s, the parks were generating 70% of Disney's income. In 1984, financier Saul Steinberg's Reliance Group Holdings launched a hostile takeover bid for Walt Disney Productions, with the intent of selling off some of its operations. Disney bought out Reliance's 11.1% stake in the company. However, another shareholder filed suit claiming the deal devaluated Disney's stock and for Disney management to retain their positions. The shareholder lawsuit was settled in 1989 for a total of $45 million from Disney and Reliance. With the Sid