Does 'Cars' Have Wheels?
By MERISSA MARR
June 3, 2006; Page A2
Since Walt Disney Co. forked out a hefty $7.4 billion to buy Pixar Animation Studios, the big question has been whether the cutting-edge studio -- creator of such blockbusters as "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story" -- can keep churning out hits. The first big test comes next Friday, with the release of Pixar's latest movie, "Cars."
Walt Disney has a lot riding on the seventh movie to emerge from animation's hottest studio. "Cars" is one of two big releases -- along with "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" -- that Disney is betting on to revive its movie fortunes this summer. The company is leaving little to chance: It has launched one of its biggest-ever marketing and merchandise campaigns to promote the animated tale of a brash stock car that loses its way en route to a big race.
Just a year ago, it looked like "Cars" was going to be the last movie Disney would be releasing for Pixar after talks over extending their partnership faltered. But the arrival of Bob Iger as Disney's new chief executive changed that. While watching a parade at Hong Kong Disneyland last fall, Mr. Iger realized that many of the characters in the parade came from Pixar's animation world. He resolved to restore Disney's fortunes in animation and decided that Pixar was the answer.
It wasn't cheap. But Mr. Iger got a stellar brand, and the best and the brightest of the animation world, including John Lasseter, director of "Toy Story" and head of Pixar's creative department, and Brad Bird, director of "The Incredibles." He also landed Pixar co-founder and Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs as a Disney board member and the company's biggest shareholder.
But can Pixar's unique culture survive under the auspices of its new parent? Disney is attempting to extend Mr. Lasseter's magic by giving him charge of both Pixar and Disney's animation business, as well as a role in designing theme-park rides. The plan is to make one Pixar movie and one Disney feature animation movie each year.
For now, Mr. Lasseter's focus is firmly fixed on "Cars," the fourth feature he has directed for Pixar. The studio has made great technical strides with the movie: 300 times more computer power went into "Cars" than "Toy Story," which came out in 1995. The movie is packed with sweeping, photo-realistic backdrops, including Grand Canyon-style landscapes and rumbling waterfalls. For the lightning-paced race scenes, Pixar animators wrote programs for 70,000 different cars in the audience.
Still, it's unclear whether the main characters -- cars -- will grip audiences the same way that digital toys and fish did. Mr. Iger has surprised Wall Street and the world in his first months on the job with a willingness to challenge the status quo and operate differently than his predecessor, Michael Eisner. But if "Cars" becomes the first Pixar movie to hit a pothole, his honeymoon as Disney CEO could lose its sparkle.
Write to Merissa Marr at merissa.marr@wsj.com
By MERISSA MARR
June 3, 2006; Page A2
Since Walt Disney Co. forked out a hefty $7.4 billion to buy Pixar Animation Studios, the big question has been whether the cutting-edge studio -- creator of such blockbusters as "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story" -- can keep churning out hits. The first big test comes next Friday, with the release of Pixar's latest movie, "Cars."
Walt Disney has a lot riding on the seventh movie to emerge from animation's hottest studio. "Cars" is one of two big releases -- along with "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" -- that Disney is betting on to revive its movie fortunes this summer. The company is leaving little to chance: It has launched one of its biggest-ever marketing and merchandise campaigns to promote the animated tale of a brash stock car that loses its way en route to a big race.
Just a year ago, it looked like "Cars" was going to be the last movie Disney would be releasing for Pixar after talks over extending their partnership faltered. But the arrival of Bob Iger as Disney's new chief executive changed that. While watching a parade at Hong Kong Disneyland last fall, Mr. Iger realized that many of the characters in the parade came from Pixar's animation world. He resolved to restore Disney's fortunes in animation and decided that Pixar was the answer.
It wasn't cheap. But Mr. Iger got a stellar brand, and the best and the brightest of the animation world, including John Lasseter, director of "Toy Story" and head of Pixar's creative department, and Brad Bird, director of "The Incredibles." He also landed Pixar co-founder and Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs as a Disney board member and the company's biggest shareholder.
But can Pixar's unique culture survive under the auspices of its new parent? Disney is attempting to extend Mr. Lasseter's magic by giving him charge of both Pixar and Disney's animation business, as well as a role in designing theme-park rides. The plan is to make one Pixar movie and one Disney feature animation movie each year.
For now, Mr. Lasseter's focus is firmly fixed on "Cars," the fourth feature he has directed for Pixar. The studio has made great technical strides with the movie: 300 times more computer power went into "Cars" than "Toy Story," which came out in 1995. The movie is packed with sweeping, photo-realistic backdrops, including Grand Canyon-style landscapes and rumbling waterfalls. For the lightning-paced race scenes, Pixar animators wrote programs for 70,000 different cars in the audience.
Still, it's unclear whether the main characters -- cars -- will grip audiences the same way that digital toys and fish did. Mr. Iger has surprised Wall Street and the world in his first months on the job with a willingness to challenge the status quo and operate differently than his predecessor, Michael Eisner. But if "Cars" becomes the first Pixar movie to hit a pothole, his honeymoon as Disney CEO could lose its sparkle.
Write to Merissa Marr at merissa.marr@wsj.com
