The Success Of Failure...

I've heard all the chatter. I've listened to the rumors. I've ease-dropped on the comments people have made about it.

What am I talking about?

The people on various sites that seem to talk about "sources" at the Walt Disney Company that are just waiting for Pixar to fall flat on it's face. These people that are quoted seem to relish the day the little company in Emeryville turns out a dud. They wait, rubbing their hands, fingers crossed and eyes darting around wondering if this is the time they can say "See, John Lasseter isn't perfect"... Sigh...

No one has ever said he's perfect. I don't even believe he can walk on water. But certain people seem intent on proving that the man has flaws and Pixar's not perfect. It shows how no success in Hollywood goes without the punishment. Some of these people are the Suits in middle management. Some are the Executives left over from the Eisner Era that want to wash their hands of any blame for the mediocrity that's been churned out over the past decade. Some happen to be the wonderful Bean Counters that Lasseter told have no business being in the animation building because they can't draw. Then of course there are the views of some people on the internet that report the box office numbers that don't match up to the last film. As if every film HAS to make more than the last.

You get my point?

The focus of this post is mainly on the ones who work for Disney. Most of these people are suffering from a severe case of the "Envies". Quite a few are by my definition "Deadweight" and will hopefully be sending out job resumes to other film companies by the end of the year. But that's only a semi-hope. I don't expect Iger, Catmull and Lasseter will have excised themselves of all the negative nabobs by the end of this year... or ever for that matter. All companies have their bad apples. But I think that these people should reflect on the fact that they work for a company that happens to thrive upon the success of it's Creatives. If they fail... somewhere down the line, maybe not now, but at a point in time it'll come back and haunt them. It may even cost them THEIR jobs. These people wishing for John Lasseter to fail is akin to a member of your family wanting one of their siblings to fail because of the success he's had and they have not. Some of these groups will point to the box office or merchandise sells or the favorite beaten to death story of Pixar's purchase price. None look at this from a long perspective and most don't have any perspective to work with in the first place.

Take for example how everyone was so disappointed with "Cars" when it didn't do as well as the last Pixar film. Even though it made close to half a billion world wide. The letdown was tempered by the fact that "Cars" merchandise sold so much better than was expected. Now as we've reported earlier, "Cars" is on track to make two billion dollars in merchandising this year and that's without a film to back it up. I'd say that the majority of executives over at Team Disney are pretty happy with the situation. I sure know the ones in Disney Consumer Products are. There's supposed to be a new cars short that is working it's way down the production process which will only add to the credibility of these characters. And I'm not saying this because "Cars" is a favorite of mine. If you remember my review of "Ratatouille" I placed it almost last in my opinion of Pixar movies. Still there are those that always see a dark lining in every silver cloud and refuse to think about anything further than the next fiscal quarter.

I'm certainly glad the founder of this company never thought like this. Most people forget that "Snow White" was a tremendous success, but most of Walt's other animated films up until after World War II were considered failures or disappointments at the box office. What would we think of someone criticizing Disney for it's decision to make these films that are now considered classics? History has forgotten that these films were initially disappointments...over the passage of time we've come to realize them for their value and the company has more importantly profited greatly from them. It's my belief that the films released by Pixar will be properties that can be mined well into the future. The hand-ringing certain people on Wall Street and other members of the web community have been doing will be forgotten. The films will not. The stories won't be forgotten. The ideas will remain and the profits that the nay-sayers wonder about will drown out their cries. Hopefully, the people that wish for part of their own company to fail will have moved on to bankrupt and ruin some other company. Maybe the Suits that helped lead Walt Disney Feature Animation to this point can move over to the Weinstein Company and help them with the brilliant animation decisions they've made.

The company is now being led by people who realize that the business community takes an instant gratification view toward profitability. But Bob Iger, Steve Jobs, Dick Cook, Ed Catmull and Uncle John are thinking about long term. Not next year or five years, but what will the company look like in a decade or more. I realize that changes to these plans will be made. Changes always happen... they must and will happen because life throws problems at you. But the Walt Disney Company now has the vision and direction, which tempered with its current leadership has the courage to follow through with its plan and to weather the storm of negativity that comes its way. Am I saying that they are perfect? Am I saying that there are no flaws to this plan? No to both. WDC is being run by people and people make mistakes. But I believe Iger and his crew have the unique prism of Eisner's reign to guide it clear of most of the difficulties that are ahead. My one worry is the direction that Jay Rasulo is taking with his "Disney Parks" strategy. His direction has the potential to turn certain aspects of the resorts into "McDisney" destinations. Luckily, we have Lasseter's sway with Iger to temper his strategy and as Lasseter's power grows he seems to be a correcting compass for some of Jay's plans for the resort... not all of them, but a good deal of them. Were Matt Ouimet to take control of the Parks and Resorts I'd consider this to be Disney's strongest leadership since Walt Disney ran the company.

You remember how people critiqued Walt in his decisions? How "Snow White" was being talked about in Hollywood as "Disney's Folly"? How "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" was going to bankrupt the company. That anyone investing in that carnival Disney was building down in Anaheim was crazy. Many times Walt Disney showed everyone just how wrong they were about him. Iger and crew are not Walt, but I have a feeling they too will show the critics how wrong they are. It's easy to think negative. It's hard to succeed, otherwise everyone would already be a success. The only success these people have is in failure. What a horrible way to see Disney... to view the world... to live your life. They wish to have Lasseter and Disney fail, but it's their own failure they seem to be most afraid of. For Lasseter to fail helps them validate their worth and erase the bitter sting of the bad decisions they made.

I don't envy them...

Forgotten Mouse Tales 4...

And yet another in our series of articles on scripts/pitches the Mouse had thought would be great films so they paid unbelievably large amounts of money for them and then let them float off into that never, neverland know as development hell.

Crusader 

Walt Disney Pictures bought this script by Jonathan Hales(Star Wars: Attack of the Clones) which was an epic science fiction story set in the future on an alien planet, in which two brothers battle each other for control of a kingdom. Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson were to produce.


Affirmative Action 

This drama written by Billy Ray was bought for Touchstone Pictures centered around a cultural collision between an African American FBI agent and white New Orleans cop brought together on a case.  The story was based on an idea by Affleck and was to star him and Will Smith. Jerry Bruckheimer would have produced.


The Napoleon Of Crime 

No, this was not about the Great Detective's nemesis: Moriarty. This script, also by Billy Ray, told the story of 19th century thief Adam Worth (to be played by Robert Reford) who, after robbing every worthwhile bank vault and train, moved on to London with his partner, Piano Charley Bullard. There, the two became intangled in a love triangle with an Irish barmaid named Kitty Flynn.  Again, Jerry Bruckheimer was to produce and Jeb Stuart and Terry George were doing a rewrite.


Peter Westbrook Life Story

Walt Disney Pictures purchased this pitch about the true life story of Peter Westbrook, who escaped the New Jersey housing projects by taking up the sport of fencing and went on to become and Olympic champ. Later, he created the Peter Westbrook Foundation, a fencing school in Harlem that has trained thousands of inner-city children, including three who represented the United States at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The film was to be produced by Debra Martin Chase and writers Keith Mitchell and Allie Dvorian. Allie Dvorian was to write the script based on the pitch.


Signature

This pitch was purchased for a high six figures to be writen by Cormac Wibberly and Marianne Wibberly(The 6th Day). The science fiction thriller was the story was about the way violent criminals were rehabilitated in the future. Jerry Bruckheimer was to produce.


Illusion 

This action thriller was bought for a low six figures by Walt Disney Pictures. Written by William Brent Bell and Matthew Peterman this was the story of an illustionist falsely accused of a crime that then used his illustion skills to clear his name. Jonathan Frakes was to direct and produce with Lisa Olin.


The Sword In The Stone 

Walt Disney Pictures was planning to make this film based on the novel by T.H. White, published in 1958 known as "The Once And Future King", this live action version of the story that Disney animated earlier was to tell the story of a young boy named Arthur who comes of age and is taught the ways of the world by a wizard named Merlin. Stop me if you've heard this before... Jay Wolpert(The Count Of Monte Cristo) was to pen the screenplay.


The Forger 

This thriller penned by David Auburn was the story is about an American student who arrives in Paris in 1939 and is swept up in a plot to replace French masterpieces with forgeries before the Nazis confiscate them. Miramax bought the rights to the book by Paul Watkins. Laura Ziskin was to produce.


De-Fense

This script purchased by Walt Disney Pictures was about a comedy about a suspended NFL player(Ice Cube) sentenced by the league to return to his hometown of Los Angeles to coach a high school football team. While dealing with the teens and the sport, he finds the love of the game within himself again. Ice Cube's company, Cube Vision was to produce for Disney along with Gunn Films.

How Much Does Pooh Cost?

Funny way to begin my first article back, huh?

I thought with all the talk of new rides that the resorts could be getting we could get a little perspective by focusing on some of the rides that the Imagineers have done over the past decade and how much they've cost in comparison to each other.

Everyone's been talking about the new "Finding Nemo Sub Ride" and how it cost a large amount. I've even seen some people say that it cost $170 million dollars. Now, I don't have the exact number... but it's not nearly that much. Let's just say it's more than a $100 million but less than that figure. This is a large amount, but is it the most Disney's paid for a ride?

No.

Some of my contacts have mentioned that "Mission: Space" would take that prize. Imagineers blew through a good amount of cash to bring that thing to life. The numbers I've seen approached a cool quarter of a billion dollars for that ride. Some people don't think the Mouse got his money's worth.

Then there's DAK's own "Expedition Everest" which was about fifty million behind the "M:Space" price tag. And if you've ever been to Animal Kingdom you'll see why it cost so much. It's a stunning addition to the park.

One way that WDI has generated a lot of money for itself is by building the rides for our friends over in Tokyo. Yes, the Oriental Land Company has forked out a lot of moolah for the attractions it puts in both parks for their guest. The one that is a true wonder is the ride that opened up in September of 2000 in Tokyo Disneyland.

"Pooh's Honey Hunt".

This is Tokyo Disneyland's most popular attraction. And if you've ever had the chance to ride it you'd probably agree... especially if you had ridden the one in WDW or Disneyland first. Cause if you had done that you would know how royally shafted certain Disney feel after riding it. Now while the Pooh ride we have here in Disneyland, and to a lesser degree in WDW is a cute, little children's ride, it's a world away(literally and figuratively) from the one in Tokyo Disneyland.

There are no static statues with minimal theming there. Everything is alive and totally believable. It feels as if you've fallen into the 100 acre woods and everything is just beautiful eye candy. The rickety track system we have here is nothing like what carries you through your journey in Honey Hunt. You travel in GPS controlled Honey Pots that move independently with no track to be found. The entire experience is truly enchanting and state of the art. It's no wonder that this ride usually has at least a two hour wait to get on it. And this is over six years after it opened.

So what did something this marvelous cost? Even more interesting... what did ours cost in comparison? Well the Winnie The Pooh ride at Disneyland was around 30 million. WDW was done for a comparable price... but Tokyo's Pooh? Would you believe close to 200 million? The actual price that the Oriental Land Company quotes is a little over a hundred million. But this cost is deceiving because it doesn't disclose the development cost that OLC was charged by WDI. The final total was quite close to double the price they said it was.

This is not an uncommon thing for Tokyo Disney Resort. Our very own "Monster's Inc." ride cost around $30 million. And the way it was able to come in at that figure was the reuse of several characters from "Superstar Limo" and following the same track as the old ride. Now while this may sound like a good deal of money, a majority of that money was eaten up in expenses that didn't wind up making it into the ride. As wonderful as WDI is, they've been incredibly quick to burn through the cash on several rides. Tokyo's "Monster's Inc." ride will be much closer to DCA's own "Midway Mania" and will cost $90 million.

Now does this mean we hear in America are continually getting the shaft? Not really. It just highlights the difference in management a decade ago compared with the relatively new management under Uncle John. Under the guidance of Pressler during the late 90's there was a mentality of not only controlling budgets, but controlling the creativity. The Oriental Land Company has always paid top dollar for it's attractions and remember that they are THEIR attractions. Disney doesn't own the parks or land there. They simply get a percentage of the parks revenue and merchandising sales. The Imagineers at WDI were allowed, even encouraged to go all out on TDR rides since it wasn't paying for them and Eisner could have them charge extremely high fees. The great thing that this did for the Imagineers is that it presented a great laboratory for developing technologies for future rides whereby OLC payed for the research.

The good news now is that under Uncle John's leadership, WDI is now embarking on the process of taking this research that OLC paid for and applying it to the new rides that will be coming stateside over the next decade. WDW and DL will get several examples of this although DCA will get the lion's share of these attractions. With the reorganization of WDI almost settled it appears that the days of modest, little rides with very little attention to detail has ended. The new rides that are being proposed are not in the $30 million dollar range. There are several "C" and "D" tickets within this price structure, but most of the "E" tickets that have been proposed are much closer in scope to OLC's attractions... in design, theming and budget. It looks like Lasseter's first statement made in Glendale wasn't just hollow words:

"We won't be designing anymore mediocre rides..."

Even better news for us Disney fans...

We won't be riding anymore mediocre rides.

It's going to be a great time to be a Disney fan.

Giant Evil Robots Eat Remy's Ratatouille...

To no ones surprise "Transformers" was number one at the box office this weekend with $155 million domestically and $96 million internationally for a total of $252 million. Pixar's "Ratatouille" held at a solid second place with a domestic take of $109 million and just under $6 million internationally for $115 million. Which may not sound too great but this Brad Bird film is just opening up in international territories unlike "Transformers" which has almost a world wide opening on July 3rd. Pixar's latest film is off to a very good start and will get it's next test with a certain wizard working his magic this week. This will be the last challenge for "Ratatouille" since practically no other family film will be competing with it for the remaining summer months. We'll keep a watch on this weekends numbers.

Disney's other summer film. "Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End" ended the week with $925 million. It may not quite reach "Dead Man's Chest" but it's going to make a respectable showing in comparison. By the end of the summer "Transformers" will likely reign at the box office... I've seen it and though it's not a perfect movie, it is a perfect summer movie and will make mounds of cash for Paramount, Dreamworks, Spielberg and Bay. And speaking of Bay, when will Bruckheimer announce that Bay is officially directing "Prince Of Persia"? It's going to have to be soon... casting will have to be announced soon as well. The clock is ticking and summer 2009 in right around the corner.

Proverbially speaking, of course...

Mickey's Unseen Hand...

On this day in 1971, Ub Iwerks passes away in Burbank, California. Other than Walt Disney, he was the one most responsible for the creation of Mickey Mouse. He was a legendary animation pioneer and helped Walt turn the animation medium into the art form it is today. Animation fans the world over truly owe this great man a world of thanks.

Steamboat Willie toots his horn for you, Ub...

Disney Takes Second Try At "First Ascent"...

Walt Disney Pictures has hired Screenwriter Andrew Cosby and Johanna Stokes to rewrite the studio's "First Ascent". The supernatural adventure story of a group of climbers ascending mount Bhutan when they are attacked by a mythical beast. Cosby is the creator of the TV series "Eureka" and Stokes is a comic book writer for Boom! Studios.

I know what it sounds like but no, this has nothing to do with "Expedition Everest"...

Disney Finds A Doctor...

Walt Disney Animation Studios announced that Keith David has been cast as the voice of the villain in "The Princess and the Frog".

David will play Dr. Facilier, a character originally known as Dr. Duvalier. The character was described as African-American, mid-thirties, probably Creole with a smooth charisma and sinister personality. No word yet if anything other than the name has changed. Sounds like David's distinctive voice will be a very good fit for the Witch Doctor/Voodoo Magician. I'm a particular fan of his voice-work in the "Spawn" animated series.

This is the third name change known for Disney's 2009 release. First was the title: "The Frog Princess" which became "The Princess and the Frog" because some felt it would offend the French(is this really a problem?). Then the lead character Maddy was changed to Tiana because the name sounded too close to Mammy, a derogatory. racist term(uhm... a little too PC here?). It's not known if Tiana's character has been changed from a chamber maid... afterall, we wouldn't want to offend anyone else. Would we?

One hopes that the wish not to offend doesn't handicap the story. I trust Lasseter on these matters but I find it troubling when they've become so sensitive to complaints that they change the American name of the film simply because it "might, possibly, maybe, conceivably" offend French people? If this is truly a problem for them, then how about they change the foriengn release of the film in... uhm, I don't know... France? I have faith in Uncle John, but none what-so-ever in political correctness. It's wrong, it's fascistic and un-American...

Still, I greatly look forward to this film as the return of classic animation. May it herald a new 2D rebirth. After the 2010 release "Rapunzel" the emphasis will go back on Disney being a hand drawn animation company. This will not be mandated. We know that John Lasseter believes the studio should be "director driven", but I beleive that it will be strongly encouraged so as to differentiate the Disney brand from everything else out there.