Disney?

[Flanger-Hanger]

So in conclusion, the I <3 Iger comments are getting really, really old.

Iger's biggest claim to fame was buying Pixar. Will people 20 years from now think much about him? Eisner at least had guts and a vision at one point.

Iger in all probability likes the company, but I think it's wrong for a business only guy to run a creative company. History has shown that the company works best with two individuals, one creative and one business (Walt and Roy) or at least one creative with one second opinion (Eisner and Wells).

Iger no doubt knows how to make money, but the insistence on cramming a richly diverse catalog of offerings into neatly defined brands may cause a kind of loss in brand trust in the long run, along with potential money lost from not exploiting certain properties or taking chances on new ideas. Both can be done, but I don't see an effort begin made.

[BK]

The people who claim that Iger is a saint, while Eisner is a monster are ignorant. Sure Eisner has made A LOT of mistakes, but if you believe Iger can do no wrong then... wow, just wow. He's turning the Disney Co. into a flippin' toy company, he doesn't give a damn about the Disney brand, he cares about money - just like all the CEO's from all the media conglomerates. If he cared about Disney he would call the upcoming WDFA film Rapunzel, he would not abandon hand-drawn animation after one mediocre performance, he would not endanger box-office profits of big-budget features, he would not let the marketing department screw up the release dates of their most important releases, he would not shift the ABC shows from their regular schedules over and over again up until the point where people just can't track down 'their' show, and lastly he would not let the "adult brands" die out, or become shallow distribution labels.

So in conclusion, the I <3 Iger comments are getting really, really old.

Last post syndrome and I agree wholeheartedly.
Iger is just a hackjob trying to make as much money before someone forces him out, it's a pity the studio is Disney and we'll have to endure it's run down once again.

Now that Roy has passed on, bless him, correct me if I'm wrong, there are no more obstacles for greedy, visionless bastards like Iger to run amuck until he makes one too many bad decisions and by then, well, we'd have suffered a lot.

One can only hope someone at least values creativity somewhere and still tries to put out good product that happens to fall into Iger's 'vision'.

F*cking Iger.

[Flanger-Hanger]

One can only hope someone at least values creativity somewhere and still tries to put out good product that happens to fall into Iger's 'vision'.

I believe the man's name is John Lasseter. You know, the one whose actually begin compared to Walt.

[BK]

One can only hope someone at least values creativity somewhere and still tries to put out good product that happens to fall into Iger's 'vision'.

I believe the man's name is John Lasseter. You know, the one whose actually begin compared to Walt.

John has no control over live action and with Pixar's recent slate of Toy Story 3-Cars 2-Monsters 2 I'm not so sure he isn't being forced by IGER to make movies IGER wants out.

And what about Tangled? John was probably forced into making the change, not to Tangled specifically but to change the name.

[Flanger-Hanger]

John has no control over live action and with Pixar's recent slate of Toy Story 3-Cars 2-Monsters 2 I'm not so sure he isn't being forced by IGER to make movies IGER wants out.

And what about Tangled? John was probably forced into making the change, not to Tangled specifically but to change the name.

I was thinking more along the lines with what he's supposedly pushed for the Theme Park segment of the company.

And considering John's love of Cars, I'm sure he's not really disappointed with a sequel to that.

I don't see how Tangled's name is the terrible thing people make it out to be. Maybe John's actually confident/content with the movie itself or is agreeing that some experimentation with the title in the domestic market is not such a bad thing? A title is an easy thing to change.

[ajmrowland]

The "I <3 Iger" and "I Hate Iger" posts are both about as informed as one another. We know what he's capable of, but we dont know what effect he'll have in the end. I trust him, because he made a couple of potentially good decisions. I just think there's more to it than we've been exposed to.

[WDWLocal]

...he doesn't give a damn about the Disney brand, he cares about money - just like all the CEO's from all the media conglomerates. If he cared about Disney he would call the upcoming WDFA film Rapunzel, he would not abandon hand-drawn animation after one mediocre performance, he would not endanger box-office profits of big-budget features, he would not let the marketing department screw up the release dates of their most important releases, he would not shift the ABC shows from their regular schedules over and over again up until the point where people just can't track down 'their' show, and lastly he would not let the "adult brands" die out, or become shallow distribution labels.

So in conclusion, the I <3 Iger comments are getting really, really old.

Sorry, buddy, but I'm still going to have to disagree with both you and BK Broiler.

I stand by my belief that Iger IS better than Eisner overall. He's not perfect, of course, but I would take him over Eisner the Miser any day.

And, once again, not everything that occurs in a company is the CEO's fault!

And we DO have a Walt/Roy-type team heading Disney right now--Lassetter & Iger.

The "I <3 Iger" and "I Hate Iger" posts are both about as informed as one another. We know what he's capable of, but we dont know what effect he'll have in the end. I trust him, because he made a couple of potentially good decisions. I just think there's more to it than we've been exposed to.

Precisely.

More people need to give Iger the benefit of the doubt. He's been CEO for only a few short years already. And the current economic recession has certainly made things MUCH harder for him as well as for everyone else.

Perhaps he'll be even more able to work real wonders once the economy heals.

[Elladorine]

Perhaps I don't know enough about the politics of the company, but . . .



*clears throat*

I just hope things get better soon. All the recent news about canceled projects is getting disconcerting.

[Duckburger]

Though you're kind off putting words in my mouth, I've never said that Eisner was better than Iger. Nor is that the case, they can't even be compared since this is, what, Iger's fifth year as leader of the company. My comment was not an "I hate Iger" comment, it was merely to show that even a so-called perfect CEO can make mistakes or have trouble making decisions. Granted some of the things I mentioned are probably not his fault, though I stand by my opinion that he's too brand focused which leads to the company becoming more based on merchandise than the films themselves hence the toy factory.

I know Iger regained the respect of Lasseter, and bought Pixar and Marvel, but somewhat the same can be said of the early Eisner years. He introduced tv animation, which helped the company at a critical time, followed by the major success of the '90s films, the purchase of ABC/ESPN, and the purchase of the highly acclaimed Miramax label. Though I must say the mistakes he made in the later half of his reign really cancel out the good things he's done for the company.

[estefan]

I know Iger regained the respect of Lasseter, and bought Pixar and Marvel, but somewhat the same can be said of the early Eisner years. He introduced tv animation, which helped the company at a critical time, followed by the major success of the '90s films, the purchase of ABC/ESPN, and the purchase of the highly acclaimed Miramax label. Though I must say the mistakes he made in the later half of his reign really cancel out the good things he's done for the company.

Not to disprove your very strong points, but I thought most of those doings were by Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

[Duckburger]

Not to disprove your very strong points, but I thought most of those doings were by Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Yeah, I think you're right.

*goes to check*

All three of them were responsible for the "fab four" films, but Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash in 1994 (after The Lion King), followed by Jeffrey Katzenberg almost immediately leaving to form Dreamworks with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. Miramax and ABC/Capital Cities were purchased after those events. So only the "fab four" is credited to all three of them, the rest was all Eisner.

[IagoZazu]

I think the reason why everyone hates Eisner is because they view him as a traitor. He saved Disney at first, but twenty years later he began to get too powerful and he thought the company was his. He was also the one that started all of this teen bop junk.

Even though Iger has contiued to do some of Eisner's policies as far as Hannah Montana and Jonas shows, I would still rather have him than Eisner. Do some of you think Eisner is some kind of hero? Do you think he would have made TPatF a success? Do you think he would have handled Tangled better? Do you think you would want DTVs again? Most importantly, do you think he would be a better CEO? He did bring about a golden age, but he also made a dark age years later that's still around today.

[Duckburger]

I think the reason why everyone hates Eisner is because they view him as a traitor. He saved Disney at first, but twenty years later he began to get too powerful and he thought the company was his. He was also the one that started all of this teen bop junk.

Even though Iger has contiued to do some of Eisner's policies as far as Hannah Montana and Jonas shows, I would still rather have him than Eisner. Do some of you think Eisner is some kind of hero? Do you think he would have made TPatF a success? Do you think he would have handled Tangled better? Do you think you would want DTVs again? Most importantly, do you think he would be a better CEO? He did bring about a golden age, but he also made a dark age years later that's still around today.

I agree with you. Definitely. I don't think anybody here would really want Eisner back, nor would he have handled all those things you mentioned better than Iger. But this discussion mainly started because of some here who state that Iger can't do wrong, so I think this wasn't to defend Eisner but mainly to show that Iger has also made some decisions that are questionable, or at least are probably going to be questionable in the near future. At least that's my opinion. And again, there's no way in hell that I'd want Eisner back, I just don't care for some of the things that Iger is pushing at the moment. Comparing Iger and Eisner is also not really a good comparison, since this is only Iger's fifth year as a CEO - the first five years of Eisner being the CEO were also near perfection.

I know your comment wasn't directed specifically at me, just wanted to clarify my opinion a little further with the help of your comment.

[BK]

Are you Iger defenders daft?

Does it mean that if I hate horse shit I like cow shit?

If I bash Iger does it mean Eisner is better?

Way to go.

[KennethE]

I think it is still too early to tell if Iger is better than Eisner. Bob Iger made several really good choices, as mentioned already. But so did Mike Eisner at the start. The real question is: will Iger's company gamble be good for the company several DECADES from now? In other words, will his choices leave the company prosperous for the future? I'm afraid we will just have to wait on this one.

Personally, I don't think Iger is doing a bad job necessarily, even though there have been some questionable things going on within the film department (live action and animation) which gives me strong Eisner deja vu feelings.

[blackcauldron85]

2010 Shareholder Meeting Update #24 - Q&A, Disney library home release
http://www.laughingplace.com/Latest.asp?I1=ID&I2=73700

[Sotiris]

What's Wrong with Disney Feature Animation?

Part 1:
http://www.toonzone.net/blog/blogs/185/ ... ---part-1/

Part 2:
http://www.toonzone.net/blog/blogs/188/ ... ---part-2/

[Disney Duster]

That was a very good, interesting fin sotiris.

But the article does not make good for Disney fairy tales.

It suggests things like maybe the next "Disney Princess movie" should be direct to video to sell well, or the next "Disney Princess movie" should be like Enchanted and not be like a typicial classic Disney fairy tale.

Since that is a general animation site, that author probably doesn't care about Disney making the kinds of movies Walt would, or the kinds of movies that Disney is most known and loved for, you know, fairy tales, like the one that was the first animated film to get nominated for Best Picture?

So the article also seemed to miss that one of the possible reasons why Disne's latest films haven't done as well as hoped is that they are not very classic Disney, and that's what people want from Disney.

But also, those films aren't stellar, either. They are reasonably good films, so they did reasonably well, not exceptionally well like they wished!

[ajmrowland]

Nice Find!

I think he's on to something when talking about Enchanted not being part of a marketing scheme.

[Goliath]

Since that is a general animation site, that author probably doesn't care about Disney making the kinds of movies Walt would, or the kinds of movies that Disney is most known and loved for, you know, fairy tales, like the one that was the first animated film to get nominated for Best Picture?

In general, you focus far too much on the three 'princess'-films Walt made... That's right, Walt only made three 'princess'-films. His other sucesses included films with wooden puppets come to life, dogs eating spaghetti, a lady wanting to make a coat out of puppies, a boy and a talking bear developing a friendship, a girl landing in a fantasy land, a boy who never wants to grow up... and many, many more.

For someone who claims to be a fan of Disney, you sure seem to have a very narrow idea about what Disney is, or should be.