Dinosaur
We started our meeting here today by showing you the opening of our next animated film,
"Dinosaur." This film is particularly significant for a number of reasons.
First of all, it further pushes the bounds of the animation artform. I have seen that piece of film as many times as there are dinosaurs in it -- and that's a lot -- and I am still amazed at both how startlingly realistic it is ... and how artistically magnificent it is.
Secondly, "Dinosaur" could be the big event movie for Memorial weekend, with major implications for our entire company.
Third, it further stretches the bounds of the Disney brand. The film has strong Disney themes about love and courage, but because it is such a breakthrough work of film, we anticipate that it will draw far beyond the traditional Disney audience.
Finally, this is entertainment that should effortlessly cross boundaries of culture, language and nationality. Everyone is fascinated by dinosaurs, whether they live in Chicago or Shanghai.
Mickey Mouse
Indeed, the international markets offer tremendous growth potential for our company, as
our company's new president and chief operating officer, Bob Iger, will be telling you.
After Bob, you'll be hearing from Steve Bornstein, chairman of GO.com. One reason the
Internet is so exciting to us is because it represents an exciting new way to make the
most of the worldwide popularity of such assets as the Disney name, the ESPN brand and, of
course ... Mickey Mouse.
Now, quite frankly, we really don't like talking about Mickey as an "asset." But, in fiscal terms, he does represent a major asset that was created in 1928. However, unlike just about anything else created back then -- whether cars, clothing or kerosene stoves -- Mickey is infinitely more valuable today than when he first came on the scene.
Our job, then, is to keep maximizing the value of an asset like Mickey Mouse in new and different ways.
If you were watching the Super Bowl pre-game show -- on ABC, the nation's number-one network, I might add -- you would have seen one of those ways.
During the next number of months you will see more celebrities muse about why they love Mickey. We believe this will help broaden and deepen his appeal, especially among teenagers and adults.
The campaign will be followed up with a range of Disney
initiatives celebrating Mickey. For example, Consumer Products will be unveiling a new
line of Mickey-themed merchandise; a "La Vida Mickey" album will be released by
Walt Disney Records; Lou Bega is featured in a 90-second Mickey-themed music video that
precedes "The Tigger Movie"; Mickey helps conductor James Levine introduce one
of the segments in "Fantasia 2000"; Disney Interactive is coming out with a
fantastic 3-D Mickey racecar game; MouseHouse, Jr. is a very popular site on Disney.com;
Mickey makes recurring appearances on Toon Disney; "MouseWorks" highlights
brand-new Mickey Mouse shorts on ABC's One Saturday Morning and, next January, a new show
called "House of Mouse" will premiere on Saturday mornings. This is a
company-wide effort to give people even more reasons to
"love the mouse."
Disney Consumer Products
Our Mickey Mouse campaign is just one step we're taking to strengthen Disney Consumer
Products. Let me tell you about a few others.
The first is that we've installed Andy Mooney as president. He comes to us from Nike, where he was chief marketing officer. Andy was smart enough to help transform Nike into a brand. In the last few weeks, he has easily hit the ground running with Disney, which already is such a strong brand.
In the area of licensing, we are bringing a new approach to our relationships with retailers. For example, Toys `R' Us has begun installing front-of-the-store Disney-themed spaces. And, for Target and Macy's, we are developing merchandise exclusives featuring our characters.
At the Disney Stores, we are implementing a broad array of initiatives, including new store designs that will incorporate these computer kiosks ... which will allow our guests to order directly from the Disney Store Online, thereby making it possible for the in-store and on-line shopping experiences to actually complement each other.
The Internet
Speaking of Online, as Steve Bornstein is going to demonstrate to you, the Internet is an
area where we're well-positioned to take full advantage of this extraordinary new
entertainment delivery system. With GO.com, I believe we are now the sleeping giant of the
Internet. Once the ability to stream video is commonplace, we will not only have an
unmatched library, but also the ability to create new programming expressly for this
medium.
Make no mistake about it, entertainment will be a major force shaping the Internet. Just as Jack Benny transformed radio, Milton Berle practically invented television and cable came of age with movies on HBO, the Internet will make its next quantum leap when content from Disney and others redefines it for consumers as a full entertainment medium.