A Spirited Dirty Dozen ...

[asianway]

Maybe Bairstow needs to have a li'l chat with Rolly Crump, one of Walt's Imagineers who is still with us. Rolly tells a story about a meeting he took part in where Walt and some of his staff were discussing the Country Bear Jamboree. One of the guys from merchandising kept pressing Walt to put a t-shirt store outside of the attraction. Walt said no. The merch guy kept pressing it ("T-shirts make a lot of money, Walt"). Finally Walt turned to him and said "Mr._, the tail does not wag the dog!"

In other words, Walt was focused on entertainment, not merchandising. Entertainment was the dog. Merchandising was the tail. Those were Walt's priorities. Walt cared about money, but he didn't care about it for himself. He saw money as a means to do things - like invent the theme park. It's important to remember that Disneyland was a terrible risk, but Walt built it anyway, because he believed in the idea, and the idea was not to make a pile of money. He wanted to build a place where entire families could have fun together. And that's of vital importance, because the real "magic" of Disney is Walt's ideals. That's the Disney difference. And people believe in that even now, and it's the best asset the company has, and that's why it's so upsetting to see those ideals sacrificed to improve the bottom line and please stockholders, to see a merchandise guy in charge of the parks. Walt would despise that, I have no doubt.

It's the most craven type of cynicism that believes that every positive thing we've heard about Walt is just company spin. It's also completely false. To believe that Walt was merely a savvy businessman is conjecture. That he was something more has been verified again and again by people who knew him. It's a pity he still needs defending, and worse that he needs defending from so-called fans on a Disney message board.

Walt died in 66, CBJ opened in 71 & 72....that doesn't sound right

 

[Mike S]

Walt died in 66, CBJ opened in 71 & 72....that doesn't sound right

The show was in the works for a ski resort he wanted to open and then was moved to MK after that didn't happen.

 

[VJ]

Just take a look at Lego Star Wars for how 'seriously' Disney takes Star Wars,
[...]
To Disney Star Wars is merely a BRAND, It's not a cultural phenomenon and Disney is going to milk the brand and then throw it away when it's used up.

For LEGO Star Wars, that brand has been in existence since well before George Lucas was considering selling off Lucasfilm. Not a very good example in my mind.

Please stop saying Disney when you actually mean Lucasfilm. Disney does not deserve the blame for *every* little bad change made. Lucasfilm still has executives who make decisions, and Disney expects said executives to make said decisions.

Disney is a multimedia conglomerate. It is not a theme park company. It is not an animation company. It is not even a film company. The way that people think that Disney should spend all their resources on one division, no matter what it is, is frankly ridiculous.

Sorry for the rant.

 

[VJ]

Frank Wells was the guy who kept Eisner's worst instincts in check, Also historically Disney has only fired on 'all cylinders' when there was a 'Creative/Finance pair at the helm' Walt/Roy, Walker/Miller, Eisner/Wells are the periods when Disney experienced its greatest successes.

I have to agree with you on this point. If there was a creative executive, like Tony Baxter or even Kathleen Kennedy, to compliment Iger's financial skills we'd have a pretty sound company. Sadly, that's not how the cookie crumbled.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

For LEGO Star Wars, that brand has been in existence since well before George Lucas was considering selling off Lucasfilm. Not a very good example in my mind.

Please stop saying Disney when you actually mean Lucasfilm. Disney does not deserve the blame for *every* little bad change made. Lucasfilm still has executives who make decisions, and Disney expects said executives to make said decisions.

Disney is a multimedia conglomerate. It is not a theme park company. It is not an animation company. It is not even a film company. The way that people think that Disney should spend all their resources on one division, no matter what it is, is frankly ridiculous.

Sorry for the rant.

No, you're right on the money $$$$$

 

[matt9112]

i just spit water out my nose....reading this thread is like digging a very deep hole and i have no ladder. the light gets dimmer.

 

[matt9112]

I think toontown could pass for a solitary kidney.

So it's renal/adrenal cancer and the RoA is the Ureter that's refluxing something fierce.

We can only hope it's malignant and invades a certain parking lot occupied by toys.

jessus god i just died....its ok ghosts can type.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I have to agree with you on this point. If there was a creative executive, like Tony Baxter or even Kathleen Kennedy, to compliment Iger's financial skills we'd have a pretty sound company. Sadly, that's not how the cookie crumbled.

Still wouldn't work without a complete shakeup of the executive structure. Roy Disney, Ron Miller and Frank Wells all still clearly respected and understood the company they were running. The financial person cannot JUST think about finances, they also need to have an good eye for quality and creativity as well.

Iger has none of this. He even seems to have some degree of contempt for the creative side of things. As if pushing for quality and creativity is a "necessary evil" in order to make money (when his other attempts to milk money like mymagic+, price gouging, budget cuts etc don't work). Rather than embracing and cherishing them as the core foundation of the company. Someone who is so at odds with all that a company is about has no business running it (nor a right to).

Tony Baxter at least needs to be appointed as the head of imagineering, with full authority over it and all the employees there (let him fire who needs to be fired and hire who needs to be hired). I don't know if he'd want the top job running the entire company (possibly not), but it might be an interesting and fresh thing for a change. I'd be open to Kathleen Kennedy trying her hand at the job.

 

[gmajew]

the hundreds of interviews in the press when movie was announced. No single source

New trailer looks amazing so like always wait until,the release and then judge. We don't Know the facts

 

[PhotoDave219]

I'm seeing posts on Facebook regarding a two bus accident at WDW. Any word?

I'm so far out of the loop these days, its not funny. Takes something like a hurricane for me to pay attention for three days.

 

[VJ]

Still wouldn't work without a complete shakeup of the executive structure. Even the financial person has to showcase a love and respect for the company. Roy Disney, Ron Miller and Frank Wells all still clearly respected and understood the company they were running. The financial person cannot JUST think about finances, they also need to have an good eye for quality and creativity.

Iger has none of this. He even seems to have some degree of contempt for the creative side of things. As if pushing for quality and creativity is a "necessary evil" in order to make money (when his other attempts to milk money through things like mymagic+ and such don't work). Rather than embracing and cherishing them as the core foundation of the company...

Tony Baxter at least needs to be appointed as the head of imagineering, with full authority over it and all the employees there (let him fire who needs to be fired and hire who needs to be hired). I don't know if he'd want the top job running the entire company (possibly not), but it might be an interesting and fresh thing for a change. I'd be open to Kathleen Kennedy trying her hand at the job.

I also agree with this, all of your points. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

 

[RoysCabin]

The show was in the works for a ski resort he wanted to open and then was moved to MK after that didn't happen.

Yep, good call, it was originally a show being designed for Mineral King before those plans got shelved, one of the great "what if?" scenarios in Disney history.

With regards to discussions of Walt, speaking as a History MA I'm very much of the mind that we should not make idols of historical figures; like everyone, Walt was a complex person with numerous positive and negative attributes, and while all of us here appreciate his creative vision (or else we likely wouldn't be posting here in the first place) we should also appreciate his shortcomings and the fact that, yes, he certainly wasn't naive about money and how to make it. That said, I do think there is also a lot to learn by observing how business and the creative process were handled by people like Walt back in his day and then comparing it to the more "drive up stock value at all costs" corporate mentality that took hold in the 80s across the business landscape.

 

[ford91exploder]

For LEGO Star Wars, that brand has been in existence since well before George Lucas was considering selling off Lucasfilm. Not a very good example in my mind.

Please stop saying Disney when you actually mean Lucasfilm. Disney does not deserve the blame for *every* little bad change made. Lucasfilm still has executives who make decisions, and Disney expects said executives to make said decisions.

Disney is a multimedia conglomerate. It is not a theme park company. It is not an animation company. It is not even a film company. The way that people think that Disney should spend all their resources on one division, no matter what it is, is frankly ridiculous.

Sorry for the rant.

Puhleeze - get this straight Lucasifilm at this point is merely a DISNEY BRAND it has no independence from the Disney Mothership unlike MARVEL and Pixar where the senior executives were also major stockholders (Catmull/Lasseter and Perlmutter) and as such have a degree of control due to their OWNERSHIP stake.

Yes LEGO and Lucasfilm go way back to the days when LEGO sold incredibly complex kits to build the spacecraft from the Star Wars universe. Technically toys but geared for the teenager & young adult who wished to build something.

Now the LEGO Star Wars from Disney is simply a weekly toy advertisement for the under 8 set.

As to Lucasfilm being 'independent' Bzzt Wrong it's simply a BRAND of the TWDC otherwise why does Iger have so much influence over it. Pixar OTOH really does maintain a degree of independence why I'm not sure but Lasseter having a major ownership chunk I'm sure has a great deal to do with that as opposed to Lucasfilm where the executives are merely employees with negligible ownership stakes.

 

[asianway]

The show was in the works for a ski resort he wanted to open and then was moved to MK after that didn't happen.

So to say t-shirt stands were being discussed for the MK in 66 would be a stretch, correct?

 

[matt9112]

This isn't anything different to what happened for episode 7.

7 sucked.

 

[Andrew C]

7 sucked.

K

 

[brb1006]

Still wouldn't work without a complete shakeup of the executive structure. Roy Disney, Ron Miller and Frank Wells all still clearly respected and understood the company they were running. The financial person cannot JUST think about finances, they also need to have an good eye for quality and creativity as well.

Iger has none of this. He even seems to have some degree of contempt for the creative side of things. As if pushing for quality and creativity is a "necessary evil" in order to make money (when his other attempts to milk money like mymagic+, price gouging, budget cuts etc don't work). Rather than embracing and cherishing them as the core foundation of the company. Someone who is so at odds with all that a company is about has no business running it (nor a right to).

Tony Baxter at least needs to be appointed as the head of imagineering, with full authority over it and all the employees there (let him fire who needs to be fired and hire who needs to be hired). I don't know if he'd want the top job running the entire company (possibly not), but it might be an interesting and fresh thing for a change. I'd be open to Kathleen Kennedy trying her hand at the job.

I just hope Tony Baxter will still live long enough for this to ever happen.

 

[AEfx]

Tony Baxter at least needs to be appointed as the head of imagineering, with full authority over it and all the employees there (let him fire who needs to be fired and hire who needs to be hired). I don't know if he'd want the top job running the entire company (possibly not), but it might be an interesting and fresh thing for a change. I'd be open to Kathleen Kennedy trying her hand at the job.

Tony Baxter is long gone, and certainly wouldn't be qualified to be the CEO in any case.

What would be "interesting and fresh" would not be to go back in time, but go forward with a new generation, some of whom indeed would be fully capable of doing what folks feel needs to be done.

Unfortunately, no matter who is in charge - Disney does not exist in a bubble, however much we wish it did - and the truth of the matter is that anyone that ran the parks the way we wish they would be run would be run out of town themselves by Wall Street before the ink was dry on the contract.

 

[Mike S]

So to say t-shirt stands were being discussed for the MK in 66 would be a stretch, correct?

More likely being discussed for where they were actually planning to build it.

 

[MKCP 1985]

Tony Baxter at least needs to be appointed as the head of imagineering, with full authority over it and all the employees there (let him fire who needs to be fired and hire who needs to be hired). I don't know if he'd want the top job running the entire company (possibly not), but it might be an interesting and fresh thing for a change. I'd be open to Kathleen Kennedy trying her hand at the job.

Tony Baxter? He's been so far under the radar since his departure that you might want to target someone else for your hypothetical scenario.

Attempts were made to reach him earlier this year to inquire about his interest in serving as keynote speaker for an event in 2017 and I kid you not, people at Disney in Glendale & Burbank could not get so much as an e-mail response. I hope he is in good health. If anyone has current info, please share. Thanks-