The Fabulous Disney Babe
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Good News?
Finally, some good news on Disney's creative front - we hope. It looks like Michael Eisner has revived his interest in the creative aspects of the company, rather than the destructive focus on making the stockholders happy no matter what the cost creatively. IMDB.com reports that Michael's been spending quite a lot of time with the motion picture division since Peter Schneider left last June. He's also, it appears, willing to turn over a new leaf from his near-famous fondness for toilet jokes, telling the Wall Street Journal Wednesday "I want to understand why comedies have to be gross...I don't get why comedies have to go that extra inch." where was Michael when My Favorite Martian was running? Is this the same man who insisted, after seeing Universal's Cat in the Hat attraction, that the Imagination redo had to have a working toilet in it as well?
Fortunately, Michael seems to be wanting to work toward creative quality, putting on a hat that he hasn't worn, sadly, in years. The Michael Eisner that wanted the best animation, the best theme parks, the best and most creative of everything for Disney has been sorely missed. If he's getting as interested in the creative side as execs in Burbank are saying, we may see the next Golden Age of Disney before the end of the decade. (And I thought it would take having grandchildren to do that for him.) The Wall Street Journal article also quotes Nina Jacobson, President, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group as saying: "I went into the arrangement with some anxiety because I didn't know how Michael's input would affect my business...but creatively, it's actually been a surprisingly good ride so far." My opinion? If this happens, DreamWorks should DUCK. Michael at his best is a wonder; so much so that anything less gets Disney fans loud and angry.
Disney put out some of its best work with Michael, Frank and Jeffrey overseeing every nut and bolt of the Disney company. With the forays into sports and television networks, that strength of vision, that drive to be the best, quality-wise, was overrun by the massive growth that hit the company, like a plant that puts out so many runners that it ends up starving itself to death. There were hits and misses with the company, as had been the case since the company began; with the loss of Frank Wells, Imagineering's cheerleader and visionary head, if not literal head, sounded a death knell to the inventive theme park arm of the company. Michael had a bypass, and re-examined his life; from the outside, it appears that he decided to ensure his family's economic stability for the future by turning his back on the magic and wonder departments of Disney and focusing on the bottom line. The fact is, I'm not inside his head, so I'll never know unless he decides to tell me, and I'd call that a long shot. If his direction is changed back to the pixie dust end of the company, why? My first answer: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. A second guess comes from a man who was Michael's consultant in the early nineties: it might be the September 11 attacks, actually not the attacks themselves, but the way humanity embraced patriotism, family, kindness and generosity, pulling together as a people instead of the petty bickering we'd been taking part in for years.
People are looking to the entertainment community for just that: entertainment. Shoot-em-up films are sinking like a stone, and the two biggest releases for the holiday season are Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Lord of the Rings. Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. broke at least three box office records that I know of: opening for an Animated Film, opening for a Disney Film, opening for that weekend. That's something! In a wartime economy, which is what some people are calling it (not myself; I don't think things are quite *that* bad) people tend not to spend their money. If they do, however, have disposable income, it usually goes to escapist entertainment. Don't believe me? Look at the box office numbers from the Great Depression of the 1920s and of World War 2. Michael could be sitting in the plum spot of all time, ready to take over the entertainment world again, if he plays his cards right. Now is the time for dreams, and no one does dreams better than Disney.
-- Fab
Discuss It
-- Michelle Smith
Michelle Smith can be reached using the Talkback form below or by emailing her at [email protected].
The Fabulous Disney Babe's column is posted every Friday and when ever else she has something to say. For more on Michelle's background, see her first column. She also offers The Fabulous Tour: Disneyland Secrets and Stories. Click here for more information.
The opinions expressed by our Michelle Smith, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted November 9, 2001