Let me start by admitting, I am not an activist of any sort. I’ll usually take a stand when I’ve heard intelligent, compelling arguments from all sides of an issue.
That’s why this whole Pixar/Disney breakup didn’t come as a surprise to me. Ok, it involves two equally stubborn CEO’s and lots of future revenue but I believe Chicago Sun-Times columnist Andy Ihnatko’s comparison between Walt Disney and Steve Jobs sums it up best:
I finally have to fall back on the one simple sound bite that teaches you everything you need to know: Steve Jobs is to technology what Walt Disney was to animation.
Please, I’m not trying to hook into some sort of doe-eyed mumbo-jumbo about magic and the power of imagination. I’m talking about how the man ran his business. Disney understood his product, and he understood how people used his product. And by embracing and promoting the right technologies, he pushed his entire industry into new and unexpected directions.
I won’t rehash the whole Pixar/Disney story, you can read all about here. But in the big picture, it’s just one more example of how I believe Disney has completely lost its “magic” (which, of course, with “wholesome, family entertainment” is its entire brand equity).
I urge you to visit SaveDisney.com. The site is run by Roy Disney, the 72-year-old son of Roy O. Disney and nephew to Walt. Roy recently resigned after being told by the Disney board that they would enforce the mandatory retirement age of 72. But he knew it was much more than his age that sealed his fate as a board member at Disney. Roy had most recently been a vocal opponent to CEO Michael Eisner and how Eisner’s management decisions “have dulled the creative edge of the entertainment giant”. Once Roy was forced to step down, he launched SaveDisney.com a grass-roots effort to rally the Disney faithful and urge shareholders to vote against Michael Eisner at the next board meeting.
Ironically, it was Roy who brought in Eisner and Frank Wells to help save Disney in the late 1980’s when the company was nearly sold off in pieces to corporate raiders. Eisner had the creative brilliance while Wells was the level-headed businessman. Eisner and Wells trusted one another and the synergy catapulted Disney back on top with one hit after another. Disney thrived through the mid-90’s until the untimely death of Frank Wells. When Eisner tried to become the “business guy”, that’s when the company began its downward spiral. Eisner’s creative genius squelched by feeling he could do both jobs equally well. Thus we continue to get sequels (straight to DVD, of course) for The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast or remakes like Freaky Friday. They’ve dug real deep and given us movies based on rides like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean (admittedly this did very well, but it was a Jerry Bruckheimer film without much influence, like much of Pixar’s movies, from Eisner or the studio).
“You hate to repeat yourself. I don’t like to make sequels to my pictures. I like to take a new thing and develop something. There’s really no secret about our approach. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We’re always exploring and experimenting.”
- Walt Disney
I’ve focused on Disney’s descent in the movies. Much can be said about its parks, merchandise, and television endeavors as well. Visit SaveDisney.com to find out more!
“We’re not out to make a fast dollar with gimmicks. We’re interested in doing things that are fun - in bringing pleasure and especially laughter to people…it’s proven it’s a good business policy. Give the public everything you can give them…”
- Walt Disney
Now back to our regularly scheduled ramblings…
The new iPod Mini is finally shipping. And I was thinking about how sweet the specifications are: 4Gb hard drive (not a Flash drive, but a bona fide Toshiba hard drive) in an anodized aluminum shell a half inch thick and no larger than a business card (about 2″ x 3.5″). With functionality almost identical to it’s larger sibling, a smaller but just as nice a display, and the same if not better battery life. When I found out about this device at MacWorld I was SO ready to sell off my PalmPilot Professional (circa 1996 with an internal upgrade to a Palm III a few years later) and this would make the ideal replacement for me. I could synch up my calendar, my to do list, have an amazing music jukebox in my pocket, all my class lesson plans and information and still cart along my User folder along with some client files.