A Spirited Perfect Ten

[zooey]

Just look at Subway. They were able to drop Fogle and while it might be a joke in some comedians act years from now, Subway is more or less unscathed. Because the consumer is able to understand that a company may not be aware of their spokespersons secret evils, and so the two are separate entities. You can't blame Subway for what he did. IF this is the same Jim Hill (may not be) it's very easy for Disney to just cut him off and there's really no harm to them. Same thing is true about any lifestyler they work with. If Mongello does something crazy, cut him off and problem solved.
I guess personally I've always seen these guys as fans. They might get access but it's like a reporters access, they're not a part of the company and definitely not representatives. They are just brand advocates that are expendable. Dime a dozen.

 

[TeriofTerror]

I could be wrong, but a quick glance on my phone made it appear that outside of a traffic violation, his entire criminal record is comprised of three misdemeanors which took place about 20 years ago. Maybe I'm just a big softie, but I'd probably feel safe enough inviting the guy over for dinner.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I could be wrong, but a quick glance on my phone made it appear that outside of a traffic violation, his entire criminal record is comprised of three misdemeanors which took place about 20 years ago. Maybe I'm just a big softie, but I'd probably feel safe enough inviting the guy over for dinner.

Our society in recent years has seemed to embrace the notion that every transgression or even accusation should result in a lifetime of punishment.

 

[zooey]

Our society in recent years has seemed to embrace the notion that every transgression or even accusation should result in a lifetime of punishment.

It also depends on the severity. If we're talking Cosby then I think that's an apt reaction. But I'm with you that if someone has served their time or if they stole something 20 years ago with no lapse in between its a non issue. People make mistakes, a just society would allow them to prove a change.

 

[asianway]

It also depends on the severity. If we're talking Cosby then I think that's an apt reaction. But I'm with you that if someone has served their time or if they stole something 20 years ago with no lapse in between its a non issue. People make mistakes, a just society would allow them to prove a change.

We're not talking about denying him a job. Or even banning him from property. Should someone who stole from a company be given freebies and above average treatment?

 

[Lee]

Again, as I stated earlier, it isn't about what he did, or how severe it may or may not be. (Theft, battery, trespass, probation violations, etc. I know we aren't talking Fogle level crimes here.)

It's about the fact that Disney today continues to associate closely with someone who they once prosecuted for these crimes. The fact that a person who was a repeat offender, that you banned (more than once) from your property, is now used to moderate D23 panels, quoted on DVD packaging, and used as a PR outlet for the parks, products, etc.

How can it be that in the entire lifestyler/blogger/Disney expert community they can't find anyone qualified for those duties who they haven't sent to jail?

And does today's Celebration Place even know about this history?

 

[asianway]

The details are a bit unclear to me, but it appears to involve repeatedly using receipts to fraudulently return merchandise. And there's some battery in there, too. And trespassing. And probation violation...

The defense appears to involve a lack of "impulse control" or some such.

I call someone a hog trough sucking blogger and #disneytwitter is knocking on my front door.

You drop this and crickets.

 

[Lee]

Quick question… Just playing devils advocate it so that we don't tar and feather an innocent person by mistake…

Are we 100% sure that that is the exact same person as the Jim Hill that does the podcasts? It's a very common name, I had aJames Hill as a teacher when I was in middle school.

Now I'm not here to debate what crimes are in public record… I just want to make sure that we are 100% positive that we are discussing Jim Hill as opposed to some other James Hill....

Oh, it's him.

In addition to the public records, I've got some info from someone who remembers when it happened.

 

[jakeman]

Whoa
How is this not in the news??

Honestly?

Because no one cares beyond the infinitesimal number of people in the hardcore Disney fan community.

I'm not saying it's not relatively important (emphasis on relatively) or shouldn't be discuss, just providing a reason why it probably wouldn't be picked up by a news outlet.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I could be wrong, but a quick glance on my phone made it appear that outside of a traffic violation, his entire criminal record is comprised of three misdemeanors which took place about 20 years ago. Maybe I'm just a big softie, but I'd probably feel safe enough inviting the guy over for dinner.

But he got fined $105! Only twenty years ago!

And in just forty years of driving, he managed to get one Civil Traffic Infraction!

For all we know Jimmy bought like the wrong Splash Mountain shirt, some rule-nazi didn't want to let him exchange it, so he helped himself in an agitated manner. This is Disney, that makes Jimmy still better behaved than most in our Orlando Trash Kingdom of the world.

 

[Lee]

But he got fined $105! Only twenty years ago!

Oh, it was a bit more serious than that. There was jail involved.

And only twenty years ago. Meaning that Disney has, knowing all of this, done business with him for twenty years.

 

[gmajew]

Tangled, Wrck-it Ralph, Enchanted and the biggest - FROZEN - all opened on the same weekend in their runs. People will go see over holidays if it looks good/has good word of mouth. Why did Into the Woods or Les Miserable (I know, not Disney), release on Christmas if people have better things to do?

I know you'd hardly know it judging by this Donald Trump-led propaganda these days, but not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving or Christmas. They just don't.

Thanks did not realize those released over thanksgiving... We did not go over that time either... But what all of those films had was long runs... so we will need to see what final box office numbers are. Remember everyone panned Ant-Man and look at what it did.

 

[brb1006]

And the thread is back and ladies and gentlemen!

My thing is why would Disney be so keen on keeping him around for promoting and other events if he has such a past? I wonder if this goes deeper and if so how deep?

What's the name of the thread? I want to hear about what happened with that person?

 

[doctornick]

Thanks did not realize those released over thanksgiving... We did not go over that time either... But what all of those films had was long runs... so we will need to see what final box office numbers are. Remember everyone panned Ant-Man and look at what it did.

The issue with The Good Dinosaur is the "legs" -- it had a significant drop from its opening weekend, much more of a drop than a typical Pixar film. The opening weekend over Thanksgiving was subpar for Pixar, but would have been fine with good legs, but indications at this point is that the film won't maintain a very steady/good box office in upcoming weeks. Obviously, we won't know for sure until the actual results are in, but the trends are not good.

Ant-Man is actually the opposite on that point. It had fantastic "legs", better than more Marvel films. It's opening weekend was less than most previous Marvel films, but it had such good staying power that it's final box office ended up doing quite well.

That's not to say that The Good Dinosaur is a bomb. Just that the it probably won't make a profit based on box office. It might still do fine with merchandise and DVD/Blu Ray sales and not be a money lose but it's not going to be a big hit. It happens.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Oh, it's him.

In addition to the public records, I've got some info from someone who remembers when it happened.

Just double checking before we all go off Here....

Honestly?

Because no one cares beyond the infinitesimal number of people in the hardcore Disney fan community.

I'm not saying it's not relatively important (emphasis on relatively) or shouldn't be discuss, just providing a reason why it probably wouldn't be picked up by a news outlet.

You're right. Twenty years ago this was somewhat newsworthy. Today? It only has relevance in the hardcore Disney community and is representative of how Disney does business.

 

[alissafalco]

Honestly?

Because no one cares beyond the infinitesimal number of people in the hardcore Disney fan community.

I'm not saying it's not relatively important (emphasis on relatively) or shouldn't be discuss, just providing a reason why it probably wouldn't be picked up by a news outlet.

I know, but usually anything remotely "Disney" seems to make the news. It always looks like the news even tries to connect any kind of story to Disney in some way, even if its inconsequential.
In this case its directly involving Disney.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Perhaps theft on property isn't that bad, in relative terms. But let's say for the sake of argument another Celebration Place endorsed Lifestyler did something worse and the company knew about it yet they still had a relationship with this person. What if a Lifestyler was pulled over for a DUI with a child onboard?

 

[rael ramone]

Oh, it was a bit more serious than that. There was jail involved.

And only twenty years ago. Meaning that Disney has, knowing all of this, done business with him for twenty years.

A google search produced the following article:

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/25/local/me-parsons25

10 years after committing crimes in the swamps, he's kicked out for doing 'unauthorized tours' at the other coast.

Recidivism, perhaps?....

 

[zooey]

Is it possible there was management changes and the replacements didn't know about the crimes? If it wasn't entered into some internal database they may not have seen it or heard about it. It is insane to me that they'd knowingly continue working with the guy unless a significant amount of time had passed.

 

[baymenxpac]

Is it possible there was management changes and the replacements didn't know about the crimes? If it wasn't entered into some internal database they may not have seen it or heard about it. It is insane to me that they'd knowingly continue working with the guy unless a significant amount of time had passed.

i'd find that to be highly unlikely, considering corporations are so risk-averse. most either have their own or staff out massive compliance departments to deal with anti-money laundering, Know Your Customer, and other due diligence. if you do business with a corporation, they know what's up with you.

granting the premise that they did know, it reeks of arrogance. suffice it to say that none of us are perfect. we all have our fault. but what does disney have to gain to have someone with a record be a de facto spokesperson for their brand? short answer: nothing. so it just seems to me like they assumed no one would find out, and even if they did, it simply wouldn't matter because of the infallibility of the brand. let's face it, that's not an uncommon attitude in TWDC in the last two decades.

i don't want to condemn jim hill as a human being. that really wouldn't be fair. what i am wondering is: where is the wisdom behind disney tying themselves so closely to people who add an element of unpredictability to their brand?