Why? Because for far too many years, Disney has capitalized on the residual good will generated by its early, family-oriented animated classics. The company has meanwhile targeted "the family" with a vengeance, and expanded into a corporate behemoth involved in all manner of highly profitable, unmistakably grown-up enterprises. There's nothing wrong with growth, of course, but Disney's ongoing claim to stewardship of "family values" is one of the more cynical (albeit successful and long-lived) marketing ploys around. The company recycles its offerings relentlessly; the product—whether movie or Web site—is almost all formula these days. And the formula is wearing very thin: there seems to be less between the mouse ears with every iteration.

Even so, "Disney's Daily Blast" must set some sort of record for single-minded repurposing. Content which once lived in movie theaters or between the covers of a children's book has been reduced to the absolute, ActiveX-driven minimum. Cartoons rule here, and they seem even more crazed and manic than on Saturday morning television.

In part, this is due to the technology employed. Everything moves and/or makes noise whenever possible (though perhaps fortunately, it is sometimes not possible). The site is Windows 95-only, and demands a fairly powerful PC. It also demands that you download 2-3 Mb worth of multimedia plug-ins before you can log on; once you do access the site, using the member name and password you've selected during the registration (and prepayment) process, you'll find you need to set your browser to full-screen size—if you don't, you won't be able to see the frames-based navigation. This is assuming you even get that far: although "Disney's Daily Blast" is supposed to be optimized for Internet Explorer, we crashed every time we arrived at the site's front door. We eventually settled on Netscape instead, but continued to encounter random crashes and system freezes: ActiveX, Java and Shockwave simply don't mix very well, at least not in this implementation.

Perhaps recognizing that this content may not suffice to pry $4.95 a month ($39.95 per year, if paid in advance) from parents, Disney is bundling the site with Family.com, another product from its wide-ranging portfolio. The idea here is that parents will reference the site to discover what meals to prepare, what trips to take, and what activities to engage in with their children.

Still not convinced this is the best value for your kids? Then Microsoft will make you an even better offer: join MSN, and get both Disney sites for free!

(Reviewed April 26, 1997)