My favorite moment in all of Disney animation is by most measures a rather odd choice. Where many people would single out some iconic scene or sequence, such as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice from “Fantasia�? or Circle of Life from “The Lion King�? or Cinderella’s transformation from rags to a ball gown and glass slippers, truly my favorite moment is less flashy, but ten times as dramatic. The scene is very still, filled with tension and drama underscored by nothing more than a ticking clock backlit with flashes of a storm brewing outside a small curtained window. The masterfully cut shots that move from face to face and hand to paw in the scene in “101 Dalmatians�? when Roger massages back to life the still-born Lucky as Pongo watches on, well it’s got everything great stories turn on – character specificity, unrelenting tension and suspense, pathos, redemption and ultimately elation. Not a word is spoken, just a steady hand, a hope filled face focused on what matters most, and finally – life.

Robert Iger, my Roger Radcliff of the hour. That may seem too glib, as Robert Iger is so much more than simply a cartoon protagonist come to life. But in any world, real or imagined, he is truly a hero today. For all the well deserved praise that is heaped upon Pixar, the “lucky catch�? for the lonely little Mouse House, there is something about all of this that only Disney could pull off, no matter who was being wooed. The old, home grown, common sense hand of Disney, too long relegated to the kitchen while the sweet young bride struggles with giving birth to a litter of critical delights. There sits the patriarch, supportive, a bit awkward, but still as patient and reliable as ever, and capable of stepping in with a firm but gentle hand when all seems lost. Bob Iger proved to have that magical touch that has otherwise been absent from Burbank for a long, long time.

As soon as the news of Disney’s acquisition of Pixar broke, MSNBC correspondent Jim Goldman stood outside of Pixar’s gates and begged the question of Steve Jobs, who was appropriately seated at the right hand of Robet Iger. Goldman said that his sense was

Jobs was quick to respond with a correction that, hopefully, the press will take note of, saying

What little flashes we’ve seen of that vision include the wisdom and the vision to recognize the value in Pixar Animation’s culture, and their management structure. It isn’t as progressive or “new�? as some people think. In fact, it’s not too far afield from a model Disney had in place at the very start. It wasn’t planned, so much as it was organic. There was no textbook model for what Walt and Roy had, but it worked. Therein may be the biggest “hallelujah�? of this acquisition, in that Disney is finally embracing a model for animation that clearly rejects the too often championed Anderson School and Harvard MBA approach that has strangled creative ingenuity in Hollywood for decades. If you could reduce it to something a professor could download from the lecturn then it would be that Ed Catmull is the President of Pixar, and as such he is responsible for helming a ship that runs on talent and vision. He supports that vision with an eye on technological advancement and the sound fiscal health of the company. John Lasseter is Sr. Vice President of Creative, on whose shoulders the burden of the creative decision making falls. He has to define that vision, defend it, and implement it as part of his reporting responsibilities to Catmull. Suffice it to say it works. The more simplified analogy is that of a regional theatre where there is a managing director and an artistic director. Whether by understanding what was at the core of what Walt and Roy invented, or by analysis of what Catmull and Lasseter worked out, it’s obvious that Bob Iger paid very close attention, and I’d wager my own stock that he latched on to that similarity some time back. Where some people would feel like they were losing face to course correct using someone else’s charts, not Iger. He opened the doors and let in the fresh air of someone who has, for a while, been out-Disneying Disney. That’s really the point: Pixar didn’t invent this model, Disney did. Iger quite simply has the humility and the savvy to bring the company back to its roots. Hopefully pundits and critics will see this, and any speculation that Jobs is about to run roughshod over the Disney Board, or that Disney is about to gobble up everything good about Pixar will be dispelled quickly.