New Animation Chief Redraws Rules at Disney

From Animated Movies:


David Stainton, the new chief of animation at Walt Disney Co., hopes to infuse the Disney empire with a little more irreverence for past conventions. "I really want to shake it up," he tells the Los Angeles Times. Disney's animation division has suffered through three chiefs in four years. Along the way have come wrenching layoffs, deep cost cuts and the studio's biggest flop ever, last year's Treasure Planet. Although still considered the market leader in animation, Disney has lost ground to rivals, especially DreamWorks SKG, the company headed by former Disney Studios chief Jeffrey Katzenberg that produced the blockbuster Shrek. At the same time, Disney faces tough profit-sharing negotiations over its lucrative partnership with Pixar Animation Studios. To all this, Stainton is expected by Disney to bring stability, vigor and profitability. "I think we're at a time in the organization where we have to be thinking about breaking the mold and figuring out what we aren't doing and what we can be doing in a different way," Stainton said in his first extensive interview since taking the helm in January. Some who have worked with Stainton say his blunt style and occasional impatience can be off-putting. He said he resents being "surprised by problems" and will "definitely get brusque" if he has to repeat directions. Some of Stainton's co-workers say his blunt style doesn't sit well with the fragile egos of artists. Stainton conceded that he had a "mixed record" in his dealings with artists, but said his perceived aloofness was a reflection of the limited time he had to spend with them, rather than a lack of appreciation for their talent or input. The financial discipline Stainton needed on the TV side will serve him well in his new job, where his mandate is to produce most movies under $100 million. Throughout his tenure at Disney, Stainton has developed a reputation as a bridge builder between the very different worlds of TV and feature animation. "There was a time when feature animators wouldn't speak to TV animators," Disney Vice Chairman Roy E. Disney said. "David was a big asset. He kept feature animation and TV animation more arm-in-arm than they had been."


On Monday, David Stainton roiled the ranks when he told a gathering of 525 animation employees that he wants them to produce lush, classic fairy tales--perhaps The Snow Queen or Rapunzel--entirely on computers, according to the Los Angeles Times. His vision was greeted with dropped jaws by the roomful of artists steeped in the traditional style of hand-drawn animation pioneered by Disney. "There's a lot of fear," said veteran Disney animator Glen Keane, who drew the characters Tarzan, Aladdin and Pocahontas. "He's trying to steer the studio in a direction that half the artists are afraid to go and the other half are headlong racing down that path." Keane said he felt "personally challenged." For his part, Stainton said he was simply "throwing another grenade into the pot." He knows that his message has "caused anxiety here because what I'm asking doesn't currently exist -- and that frightens people."


One thing David Stainton told the L.A. Times he knows for sure: the studio's core audience for animation is 4- to 10-year-olds and their parents. "If you think you're making a movie for everybody, you're making a movie for nobody." Stainton said that lack of clarity contributed to the dismal showing of Treasure Planet, which cost an estimated $140 million but grossed just $38 million domestically. The "blow and shock" of Treasure Planet's performance was a wake-up call, he said. "It really gives us a chance to throw everything up in the air and look under every rock and stone in terms of questioning the way we do business... to a degree that I don't know would have been possible without that kind of financial failure."
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Some of this scares me... And as for the whole Treasure Planet deal. They guys come up with possibly the worst marketing campaign in history and want to blame the movie?!?!? Give me a break! And as if the original campaign wasn't enough, according to Animated Movies, they came up with an even worse one. Check this out:

U.S. residents can now grab their copy of Disney's underrated movie in retail stores! A new ad campaign, focusing on fart jokes and cute characters in an effort to appeal to a younger crowd, has been invading American TV for the past week.

See what I mean? I still have high hopes that TP will be rediscovered in video and DVD...

Computers are great, but are not what makes feature animation sell. It is a universal story, well-written and well-executed.

What they need to look at is Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, and the Lion King. They were different films that became universal favorites for a reason. They had universal themes that kids enjoyed, along with their parents and teens. And, yes, they used computer animation. But not for its own sake. The ballroom scene in Beauty is a hallmark in animation, not for its computer use (as it had), but for its beauty.

Also, these films were fun for all ages. Yes, all ages. Disney made AND marketed B&B for both young kids and dates. It worked. It will work when the film has several levels.

It established a pattern that followed in Aladdin and Lion King. Adults, like Walt himself intended, came to a picture that they could enjoy right along with the kids.

Finally: one more thing. The musical, as long as it is FUN like these were, is still the king here. They have not done a good one lately. Not pop songs, but fun songs orchestrated and composed by classically-trained artists, like in these three movies.

There is a reason that these three movies continue to help hold up the rest of the company, even on Broadway.

No, they do not have to overspend, but "cheap" will only hurt the rest of the company. And, no computers are not evil; they are wonderful tools. But a tool is only that. So is drawing. Get back to wonderful stories, musicals, and fun, that is fun for the kids but also for adults (even romantic).


And yes, I said, "for adults" also. The Lion King continues to prove on Broadway and video that good children's stories go a lot farther when they are smart and nuanced, qualities appreciated by adults.