A Disney era has come to an end. An era filled with billions in revenue, and yet still an era that Disney felt it couldn't afford to prolong any longer. Sharon Morrill, the 13 year President of Disney Toon Studios, was asked to step down this week, and people are buzzing. The following was discovered by Disney insider Jim Hill at jimhillmedia.com ealier this week:
Apparently, John Lasseter felt that the reign of Morrill and the time of producing cheaply made direct to DVD movies needed to come to an end. It was made clear that he was no big fan of Morrill's work when he stepped in as the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006. He feels that release of all of these movies had made a sever impact on the value of full blown animated features. This was shown by his nixing some movies that were set to be released, such as "The Aristocats 2", "Chicken Little 2 : The Ugly Duckling Story" , "Meet the Robinsons 2: First Date" and "Disney's Dwarfs". Another issue was the much talked about "The Tinkerbell Movie". Lasseter essentially said that the movie was awful, and that it needed to be completely redone if it had a chance to be successful. After making his suggestions to Bob Iger about the movie, it was scrapped, along with $30 million worth of animation.
More and more, Morrill was seen as a liability, not an asset. While making billions of dollars with these Direct to DC releases, Lasseter felt that the image of Disney Animation was far more valuable. These plentiful releases would leave major film releases seem less special, and then in turn, less profitable. Lasseter knew that if was to make a change it had to be from the top. He cancelled the "Disney Princess Enchanted Tales" line, with the exception of the first installment, "Follow Your Dreams". After that, Disney Management asked her to step down.
Disney has said that they will continue to create home premiers that will coincide with the "Playhouse Disney" franchises. Ms. Morrill will stay on at Disney in a new position and Alan Bergman will oversee the Disney Toon Studios.
Apparently, John Lasseter felt that the reign of Morrill and the time of producing cheaply made direct to DVD movies needed to come to an end. It was made clear that he was no big fan of Morrill's work when he stepped in as the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006. He feels that release of all of these movies had made a sever impact on the value of full blown animated features. This was shown by his nixing some movies that were set to be released, such as "The Aristocats 2", "Chicken Little 2 : The Ugly Duckling Story" , "Meet the Robinsons 2: First Date" and "Disney's Dwarfs". Another issue was the much talked about "The Tinkerbell Movie". Lasseter essentially said that the movie was awful, and that it needed to be completely redone if it had a chance to be successful. After making his suggestions to Bob Iger about the movie, it was scrapped, along with $30 million worth of animation.
More and more, Morrill was seen as a liability, not an asset. While making billions of dollars with these Direct to DC releases, Lasseter felt that the image of Disney Animation was far more valuable. These plentiful releases would leave major film releases seem less special, and then in turn, less profitable. Lasseter knew that if was to make a change it had to be from the top. He cancelled the "Disney Princess Enchanted Tales" line, with the exception of the first installment, "Follow Your Dreams". After that, Disney Management asked her to step down.
Disney has said that they will continue to create home premiers that will coincide with the "Playhouse Disney" franchises. Ms. Morrill will stay on at Disney in a new position and Alan Bergman will oversee the Disney Toon Studios.
