Key Points
- Higher Ground partnered with Disney Kids & Family on an animated series, "Journey."
- The Obamas ended their eight-year Netflix first-look deal in 2026 to go independent.
- "Journey" is created and executive produced by Matt Munn (Ice Age, Spies in Disguise).
- Higher Ground now has projects with Disney, HBO, Apple, Amazon, FX, and YouTube.
When Barack and Michelle Obama walked away from Netflix in April, ending the eight-year first-look deal that launched Higher Ground, the open question was what an independent version of the company would chase first. The answer is Disney. Higher Ground has signed on with Disney Kids & Family to develop "Journey," an original animated fantasy series — the first marquee output of its new free-agent era.
The deal
"Journey" follows a young heroine who ventures into forbidden lands searching for answers about her father's disappearance and discovers magic within herself. It is created and executive produced by Matt Munn, whose credits include Ice Age: Collision Course and Spies in Disguise. "Journey is an epic adventure anchored by a remarkable young heroine," said Disney Kids & Family president Ayo Davis, while Higher Ground TV head Jessie Dicovitsky framed it as "a true original that takes bold swings."
The independence bet
The Disney series is a statement about structure as much as content. Rather than re-up an exclusive deal with one buyer, Higher Ground — the company behind the Oscar-winning American Factory and the Oscar-nominated Rustin and American Symphony — is spreading projects across Disney, HBO, Apple, Amazon, FX, 20th Century Studios, and YouTube. It is the same logic any high-leverage creator eventually reaches: a single first-look deal trades reach for a check, and the Obamas have decided their name travels far enough to sell to everyone at once. Independence also lets Higher Ground match each project to the buyer that values it most — a prestige documentary to HBO or Apple, a four-quadrant family franchise to Disney — rather than routing everything through one platform's priorities. Landing at Disney — the studio coming off Toy Story 5's franchise-record opening — gives the new model a blue-chip anchor on day one.
Source: Black Enterprise, The Washington Times
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