Dana Walden talks future of Disney
Dana Walden is opening up on new programming and what lies ahead for Disney in a new interview with "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts.
Walden, who was named president and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Company earlier this year, spoke to Roberts in an interview airing Wednesday on "GMA," hours after the Disney Upfronts displayed new content offerings for the company on Tuesday afternoon.
"The Walt Disney Company has always been known for high-quality, incredibly emotional storytelling," Walden, who oversees Disney's portfolio of film, television, gaming and streaming services, told Roberts.
Walden discussed the prior success of Disney's entertainment media, news and content businesses, including its streaming service.
Under Walden's guidance, Disney has won over 400 Emmy Awards.
"When you talk about the awards, the first thing I think about is those are awards that were won and achieved by our partners," Walden said. "I think what I've done particularly well and what our teams do especially well is pick those great partners, help them to tell the best, biggest, most specific version of those stories, and then surround them with people who can bring those stories to life."
Walden said her time at Disney has allowed for several "pinch-me" moments, including unveiling current and future highly-anticipated films, "The Devil Wears Prada 2," "The Mandalorian and Grogu" and "Toy Story 5."
Walden also touted Disney's streaming services in their ability to extend the lives of Disney original works.
"We're about to launch the final season of 'The Bear'... While it is the final season, what's beautiful about Disney+ and Hulu, our streaming services, is that those great stories all end up there to be watched and discovered by so many people in the future," she said.
Walden also highlighted the live event programming coming Disney's way in the next 12 months, including the College Football championship, the Super Bowl, the Grammys, the Oscars and more.
"This is a year where we're gonna celebrate giant live events, bring them to life," she said. "We're gonna do all of them in a very big way," she said.
Finally, Walden touched on the upcoming Disney news for the younger Disney fans, including a Bluey feature coming to Disneyland, based on the hit animated series available on Disney+.
"What we've discovered is great IP, amazing characters, stories that touch you in a deep way are with you forever. And the ways that we can activate them in this day and age is sort of extraordinary," Walden said.
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News.
