DVDizzy Forum

Jim Hill writes in an article:

http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief ... stmas.aspx

In late 1990 -- Peter Schneider, the then-head of Disney Feature Animation, made a call to Ed Catmull and said "Okay. We're now willing to consider the idea of hiring Pixar to come make an animated feature for Walt Disney Studios. So do you guys want to come down here and pitch us some story ideas?"

Of course, Ed was thrilled by Peter's offer. The only problem was ... The folks at Pixar had yet come up with a viable concept for a full-length CG feature. Oh, sure. There was all that development work that had been done on aborted projects like "Monkey" and "James and the Giant Peach." But Schneider was going to want something solid, something that would play to Disney's core audience of kids & families.

Did they really have plans about making James and the Giant Peach.

How much can we trust the article? Well, he writes; "Lasseter took Ranft's story suggestion and ran with it. Over 1989, John talked with Joe, Pete and Andrew Stanton about how they might revisit the world of "Tin Toy." But Pete Docter and Andres Stanton didn't arrive at Pixar before 1990. But it's correct that Pixar was drying to make a movie called "Monkey" before they gave up.

Also, it would have been interesting to know the exact dates; when was Pixar approached by a TV-network, and what network was it that wanted them to make a 30 minutes holiday species ("A Tin Toy Christmas")? And was it Disney who got in contact with Pixar, or the other way around, when Pixar suggested a feature film? And when did it happen?

I probably haven't read a Jim Hill article since my teens (or a little bit later) but I don't recall his writing being unreliable. Perhaps he makes some superficial errors but normally gets his facts right.

I seem to recall that some would mock his news articles many years back. Nevertheless, I recall Floyd Norman contributing to his site, and if someone of Norman's integrity felt comfortable writing for him then I tend to trust him, even if the articles can seem as if they were written in haste and without much proofreading (at least that's impression I always got.)

Off-topic, but Rumpelstiltskin, are you American or from Europe? I have always perceived you as European (specifically German) but without mention of your location beneath your avatar I can never be sure. If you are not comfortable revealing your nationality please do not feel pressured to do so. I won't take offence.

That's my impression as well. Which mean there could be at least one Pixar project that was abandoned which has been mentioned little or not at all by media in general.

I am European, but not German, despite the Brothers Grimm inspired name. There should be some clues about my nationality in some of my posts, but I prefer not to reveal it. Partly because I don't want have some special bond with fellow countrymen based on nationality alone, and because I think it's who you are in a forum that counts when you're active there, not who you are in real life. I don't mind if others wants to share information, even if I'm don't have a personal interest in stuff like age, physical appearence and general background (except if they used to work on certain movies or TV-shows, and can share some stories from back then).

Disney bought the rights to the J&tGP story in 1992 (https://variety.com/2016/film/news/roal ... 201806205/); reading this Variety article, I wonder if the Dahl estate would have allowed Pixar (or Disney) to have the rights for their version.

(I've always been a Jim Hill Media fan; I still go back and read old articles often.)

Yes, Jim Hill often have, or had, Disney related info worth reading.
Interesting article, but Hill is referring to a projects before Pixar decided which story to use for their first feature ever, which happened before 1992.

Should Pixar ever show interest in doing James and the Giant Peach, hypothetically speaking, I can't imagine that the Roald Dahl estate would mind as long as they didn't take too many liberties. Just wish the movie that was made had been all animation, and not a mix between animation and live action.

I know this thread is kind of old, but here’s what happened (as concise as I can):

John Lasseter always dreamed of being an animator for Disney. After he got into CalArts, he finally got to Disney. He discovered 3D animation and was blown away. After wanting to implement 3D into his version of The Brave Little Toaster (which he worked on with Disney Legend, Joe Ranft), he made some 3D/2D animation tests (3D sets, 2D character animation) and showed it to Disney.

While doing the 3D/2D animation test (code named Wild Things), he visited Lucasfilm, where Ed Catmull and his pre-Pixar team were working on some cool things like The Road to Point Reyes. John was dazzled.

Shortly after Lasseter returned from Lucasfilm, he was notified that Ron Miller said there was no point in using computer animation unless it would make things “faster or cheaper.” Five minutes later, John was notified that his project was complete, and that his employment at Disney Studios was terminated. He was fired.

(Joe Ranft eventually saw TBLT through when it was made by another company, not Disney, and even did some voice acting for it).

John finished the Wild Things test and then left Disney. After running into Ed Catmull, he was offered a job at Lucasfilm as an “Interface Designer” (because Lucasfilm didn’t need an animator), where he started work animating.

Blah, blah, blah, Steve Jobs came, it became Pixar, they made TV commercials, they made short films, and in fine, they became pretty famous. Back at Disney, they realized their mistake in letting John Lasseter go. They offered him a job as a director, but Lasseter stood his ground and said if they wanted him back, Pixar would be part of the package.

(For those of you wondering what this has to do with James and the Giant Peach, that’s what I’m getting to).

In 1989, Pixar wanted to buy the film rights to Roald Dahl’s book, James and the Giant Peach because Joe Ranft really loved the story. Chris Van Allsburg was interested in being the production designer, and Colossal Pictures was a potential production partner. Dahl declined their offer, so Pixar turned their full attention to commercial work.

Then comes Tim Burton. Burton had left Disney for live-action in 1984, leaving behind a short film, “Vincent,” and a feature idea, The Nightmare Before Christmas. After the huge success of Batman, Burton went to Disney to try to get TNBC back so he could make it himself. Disney agreed, and let him make it in stop-motion, instead of traditional animation, as a product that they would then distribute. This paved the way for Disney to be open to the idea of being partners with another studio to make a movie.

When TNBC was given a green light, Disney called Lasseter again about being a director, and again, Lasseter proposed that Disney consider a project with Pixar, to which Disney agreed, telling them to come back when they had a story.

Joe Ranft sparked the idea with John that would later become Toy Story, based on Tin Toy. John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton went down to Disney to pitch the idea to Jeffery Katzenberg, Peter Schneider, and Tom Schumacher. In case it didn’t go well, they brought along the books James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, and Dinosaur Bob by William Joyce as their backup.

As we know, it did go well, Toy Story went into development, Steve Jobs settled a 3-picture deal, and the rest is history. What’s also interesting, is that Randy Newman (score/songwriter for Toy Story) did the score for the stop-motion James and the Giant Peach that Tim Burton did for Disney in 1996, just a year after Toy Story.