As of February, guests will no longer be able to see a trained Disney Artist who is d

I am a cast member at the Magic of Disney Animation and I feel the need to inform our guests about some very unethical decisions that have been made clear in the past couple of days. For those of you who miss seeing actual animators ever since the studio has closed, but still enjoy being able to draw at the Animation Academy, you should know that as of February 1, 2005 there will be NO trained Disney Artists at The Magic of Disney Animation.

Guests will be taught by an untrained cast member who will be tracing from a template. You may just as well ask the person at the front of the room for a piece of paper and go trace it yourself.

Two days ago, the artists were all asked to attend a meeting where they were informed that they were lucky because the company had decided to allow them to stay on as artists until February when the position would be disposed of in order to save less than ten cents per guest. This two month time frame has everything to do with the fact that this comes in the middle of the Christmas Season (which they need the artists to work) and gives them all of January with artists to spare so that they could train the operations cast members to trace drawings. Furthermore, cast members have learned that this switch to all "untrained artists" has been in the works for an entire year (since the tour reopened).

The reaction of almost every operations cast member has been "I will not trace and I don't want to be a phoney." We really care about our guests!

I do not wish to ruin the magic for any of you, but only to allow you to come see the artists before they leave. Be assured that everyone at The Magic of Disney Animation is verging on tears because of what has been taken away from the experience. We will continue to provide you and your families with the best experience possible until Walt Disney World will no longer allow us to do so. Also, feel free to ask questions and voice your opinions to both management and cast.

This decision will have no real effect on the Guest experience, and let's face it, is probably a very sensible move.

Whilst I fully understand your personal disappointment (and your point is very valid), it doesn't take a genius to see that this has been on the cards for a long long time and that it was only a matter of time before this introduction was made.

Nevertheless, it will not directly tarnish the overall Guest experience and as such, can only be viewed as a positive move.
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disneyfan@paris said:

This decision will have no real effect on the Guest experience, and let's face it, is probably a very sensible move.

Whilst I fully understand your personal disappointment (and your point is very valid), it doesn't take a genius to see that this has been on the cards for a long long time and that it was only a matter of time before this introduction was made.

Nevertheless, it will not directly tarnish the overall Guest experience and as such, can only be viewed as a positive move.
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Whilst I can understand replacing talented animators with cheap labor from a business perspective, it doesn't take a genius to see that yet another cheap move by Disney can not "only" be viewed as a positive move by many people here.

The big crime was to close the studio in the first place. I was surprised that they had real animators left and when I saw the show I can remember thinking it was only a matter of time before they too got the boot.

I found the whole show a little uncomfortable - seeing animators who have just been put out of their jobs talking about the rich history of animation at the studios.

The whole thing can be viewed as far from a positive move.

Animationtour, I totally see where you are coming from. A lot of guests might come to Disney's defense and say it's a good move economically, but who knows the result. Disney has never succeeded in its cutbacks, and it never will.

You artists are our inspiration and the true magicians of Disney magic. Hang in there -- and good for you!

May the WDCompany learn its lesson, and I hope that the glory of 2-D animation may come back to haunt Lord Ei$ner & his Henchmen one day. . .

Sick!

I agree Grizz. Being able to actually see the animators at work is what the animation tour is all about for me. I wish that WDCompany was not doing this, but Eisner needs that bonus.

I know it is a big hope, but maybe once he is gone, the new leader will begin to restore some of what the company used to be.

Grrrrrrr...what I find ironic about this whole thing is--Walt Disney himself was an artist. The Magic of [what was] Disney Animation is right down the street from Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. With this move (and the closing of the studio to begin with :fork: ), what is management saying about their regard for that dream?

Why is it that every time something happens some of you tend to just blame Eisner?

Come on guys, he doesn't do EVERYTHING, he is not god you know.

Does anyone want to place bets on Eisner bonus being based on the bottom line. It is the end of the year and quarter. Saving $.10/guest is a big increase to net income. He is on the way out, so I am sure he is trying to get all he can.

Yes, I do blame Michael Eisner in part for this. He started this whole downward spiral of the company in the first place.

It was a sad year...

my gosh...what next is nothing sacred?

se8472 said:

Why is it that every time something happens some of you tend to just blame Eisner?

Come on guys, he doesn't do EVERYTHING, he is not god you know.

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Of couse he is not god, he's just a greedy self centred egotistical money-grabbing heartless selfish souless piece of corprate offal.

:lol:

Unfortunately, with the coming of 3D and computer animation, I saw this coming years ago.

Hand drawn animation is a slow tedious expensive process that takes years and many talented artists to complete and that all adds up to Big $$$

In the future, I see outsourcing of 3D animation to other countries to save $$$ and make $$$$$

Out of respect for the Disney Animators, my family and I will NEVER step foot in The Magic of Disney Animation attraction again.
To all the animators out there I say this:

Thanks for the decades of joy and happiness you have brought to millions of people, and I hope you all find a place to go where you will all be happy and successful. You have done so much more than you will ever know to bring smiles to generations of people.
Good Luck and may God Bless you and your familys

se8472 said:

Why is it that every time something happens some of you tend to just blame Eisner?

Come on guys, he doesn't do EVERYTHING, he is not god you know.

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Perhaps Eisner wasn't the one to demand this specific action. However, he's the head, he is in control of the management, and he leads the company in its "bottom-line" approach. In other words, even if the jerks who pulled this off were replaced, the new action wouldn't be any different; the same CEO and policies in every area of the company are in control.

And I agree with Barnum.

Remember, this isolated incident isn't enough to call for Eisner's removal. Rather, it's the *consistent* layoff of talent, whether at Imagination or Diamond Horseshoe or Feature Animation, nonstop decreasing of Cast Quality (Traditions? Big Thunder), and other disheartening decisions that have lead to demoralization of guests, magicians, magic makers, Imagineers, artists, engineers, enertainers, Cast Members (listen to the original poster here!) that will ultimately kill, if it hasn't, the magic. It makes guests think, "What attraction are they ruining next?" It makes Cast Members worry for their jobs. It makes enthusiasts worry about the future of the Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney's vision - that has proven success today.

No matter what new products or attractions Disney produces, these cutbacks add more fuel to the Disney fire of disgust (sorry, I'm into alliteration this morning) every time they are carried out (i.e. this morning on this thread) -- and the new products are tainted. I can't tell you how many people I know think of Disney as an evil company, not because of the product, but because of newer policies.

That's a lot of ground I just covered, but I'm trying to show how it's the general atmosphere, and that atmosphere was created by current management under Michael Eisner and Co. Alone, this is not a huge incident. But it brings back (and adds to) all of the emotions that I've felt from the previous cutbacks and unjustifingly lost memories. . .

This is going to be taken straight to the D-Army, and Disney should and will hear our sentiment. I hope that we'll be looking out for the Cast Members, especially those represented by the original poster.

Ok - this just ticks me off. Who the heck do they think they are taking the very foundation of WDW out of the parks??? For pennies on the dollar??? OMG - every time I hear about this it makes me more and more upset. It is just plain wrong.


Animationtour - My heart goes out to all of you that are stuck in this horrible situation - may you find a better job that makes you even more happy than sitting under Eisners horrible rule could ever supply! We will miss you all so much. I sense the very foundation of WDW is cracking and this seems to be one of the biggest holes.

A voice of reason

Listen, I fully understand the sentiment of many posters here - gosh, the removal of a trained animator from the animation tour appears to rip at the very fabric that is and was Disney and, in particular, Walt Disney. However...

Computer-generated animation is now the standard. I have an artist friend who is in school to be an animator - she is taking both 2D and computer-animation classes but understands completely that the clarity, story, detail and possibilities involved in computer animation far, far exceed that of 2D. In short, there will be few if any 2D animation jobs left over the next few years, not just at Disney, but in the whole industry.

Why, then, are we blaming Disney (or Eisner) from taking the necessary (but all-too-unfortunate) reasonable step of removing 2D animators from the company and replacing them with 3D computer animators? It is a fact of the industry, not a condemnation of Eisner's business practices. Perhaps the original poster's career can be saved if he/she learns the 3D craft and techniques. Let's face it, guys, there are a lot of 8-track tape machine repairmen and slide rule technicians out of work these days. It's called progress...and it has its unfortunate victims.

I am not going to place blame, because these things happen in the business world - but I think the whole thing is quite sad. The foundation of Disney is animation - it's what got them started, and part of the reason they're one of the biggest companies worldwide.

For them to trick guests...even though most won't notice....seems really unethical. I would hope they would care a little bit more than saving a few cents per guest. I feel like Walt Disney would never have wanted something like this to happen. Isn't the animation room where 'the magic happens'? Not if it's being traced

Relevent quotes from Walt Disney...

"When guests come here they're coming because of an integrity we've established over the years. They drive hundreds of miles. I feel a responsibility to the public."

"The first year (at Disneyland) I leased out the parking concessions, brought on the usual security guards things like that. But I soon realized my mistake."

"Those sharp pencil guys tell you, 'Walt, if we cut down on maintenance, we'd save a lot of money.' But I don't believe that."

Looks to me like Eisner is one of those 'sharp pencil guys!'

Empress Room said:

Computer-generated animation is now the standard. I have an artist friend who is in school to be an animator - she is taking both 2D and computer-animation classes but understands completely that the clarity, story, detail and possibilities involved in computer animation far, far exceed that of 2D. In short, there will be few if any 2D animation jobs left over the next few years, not just at Disney, but in the whole industry.

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While I don't exactly agree with you entirely that 2D is not the way to go anymore (because it can be with the right know-how), I respect your voice of reason.

However, I don't think that this post is about 2D or 3D at all; it's about an artist being replaced by an untrained Cast Member -- both are doing 2D art. The animation aside, this is not a way to treat talented people.

This makes me sad. I remember when I was perhaps 7 or 10 I went on this attraction (or something like it) at MGM, and I got chosen to "pose" for one of the Mulan characters. I really enjoyed the experience, and he even drew a Mickey Mouse for me and signed it. It's framed and hung on my wall in my bedroom at home.

Good times...