Jim Hill
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For example: What's the connection between last winter's Mel Gibson hit comedy, "What Women Want," and this summer's Jackie Chan blockbuster, "Rush Hour 2"? Both of these films were originally developed by the Walt Disney Company, but the Mouse opted not to put both of these movies into production. Why for? Because studio executives -- rather than take a chance on these two somewhat risky projects -- opted instead to go with safer, cheaper fare.

The executives in charge of Disney's feature animation department have also had trouble greenlighting projects that they considered to be somewhat risky. Which is why -- earlier this year -- they opted not to put into production a satirical take on "The Frog Prince" that veteran Disney animator Eric Goldberg had wanted to do. After all, there couldn't really be an audience out there that was eager to see a full length animated film that made fun of fairy tales, now could there?

Of course, following in the wake of "Shrek" (Which -- as this Dreamworks / PDI production approaches a domestic gross of $265 million -- means that this summer blockbuster is now the second most popular feature length animated film in Hollywood history, second only to Disney's 1994 mega-hit, "The Lion King"), now Disney's suddenly hot for the idea of doing a full length animated film that makes fun of fairy tales. It's just too bad that Eric Goldberg opted to leave the Mouse's employ on August 1st. He's now under contract at Universal, where he'll soon begin work on an CGI version of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are."

Still, the Mouse is very anxious to get its own feature length toon that makes fun of fairy tales up on the big screen. Which is why -- late last month -- Disney studio heads gave producer Randy Fullmer and director Mark Dindal (the guys who rode herd on Disney's wildly funny Christmas 2000 release, "The Emperor's New Groove") permission to begin production on a satirical version of Chicken Little. And -- just like "Shrek" -- this animated feature will also be done in CGI.

Do you remember the first line of the "Mickey Mouse March"? Sure you do. It's "Who's the leader of the club that's made for you & me?" That's what the Walt Disney Company used to be. The leader of the entertainment industry. The one who was always out in front of the rest of the pack, always breaking new ground.

That's why it's so startling to suddenly see Disney decide to forego its leadership position and opt to be a follower instead. Sure, it's risky -- and expensive -- to be a leader all the time. Which is why -- in order to save a few bucks -- Mickey's decided to hang back & let someone else take the lead for a while.

This attitude is particularly prevalent on the television side of things, where the Mouse seems perfectly happy to "borrow" ideas from all of its competitor's hit shows. EX: When the Cartoon Network had a break-out hit with "The Powerpuff Girls," Mickey came up with some pint-sized superheroes of its own. Borrowing heavily from "Powerpuff" 's distinctive look as well as the show's tongue-in-cheek writing style, Disney's "Team Supremo" is due to roll out early next year -- hopefully to be embraced by every little girl who already loves Bubbles, Blossom &Buttercup.

And -- over at ABC Daytime -- where the network's soaps continue to lose significant market share to NBC's kooky occult-based sudser, "Passions," the dead were walking all over the place this past summer in Port Charles, Llanview and Pine Valley. Borrowing liberally from the Peacock Network's book of magical spells, there were vampires on the loose on "Port Charles," a ghostly bride who was desperate to communicate with her distraught still-living husband on "All My Children" and villains who had seemingly risen from the grave on both "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital."

Is it wrong for Disney to so blatantly "borrow" ideas from its competition? Not anymore.

Which -- I guess -- explains why that SlingShot attraction is being put into Downtown Disney. It may not be original. Or particularly attractive. But at least it's affordable. More to the point, this is exactly the sort of attraction that you'd find at a Six Flags theme park. Which means Disney execs will think that this SlingShot attraction should work just fine at Lake Buena Vista.

One question, though: If Disney's now only going to build rides and shows for its theme parks that are the equivalent of those found in the Six Flags theme parks, what's the point of flying all the way to Orlando for a family vacation? Wouldn't it just be easier -- and cheaper -- for most tourists just to vacation closer to home and visit their local Six Flags?

A crazy notion? Think again, kids. Stats that have just been released for the amusement park industry show that the Summer 2001 season was one of the best ever for the local area, smaller sized parks. Attendance was up 2 - 3 % across the board.

So how was attendance this summer at Disneyland? Even with California Adventure up and running, attendance was still supposedly off by as much as 8% from last year's level. Down at Walt Disney World? The attendance drop-off was said to be closer to 10% in comparison to 2000 levels.

You'd think that this obvious drop-off in attendance levels would be a warning sign to Disney Company executives. That they'd come to see that embracing this "If It's Good Enough for Six Flags" philosophy poses a real danger to their corporation's future. That it's time for Mickey to stop following and to turn back into "the leader of the band" again.

At the very least, you'd think that they'd realize what a lame brained idea it was to install this SlingShot attraction at WDW's Downtown Disney.

You'd think that, wouldn't you? Well, you'd be wrong. By a longshot.

Discuss It

-- Jim Hill

-- Posted September 11, 2001