Roy Disney Thanks Letter

[KevinPage]

The simple fact is that SAVEDISNEY could not go on forever, it had a purpose and acheived many of its goals.

We can debate all day over what they did/didn't accomplish, but the fact remains that they WERE a catalyst for CHANGE in upper management.

Eisner is gone sooner, Iger & the board know they are being watched closer than ever before. To say that this is not a BIG change would be shortsighted.

Yeah, we all had dreams of kicking Eisner out last year, getting rid of a few board members, etc., but what Roy did was unprecented.

He shot for the moon and only acheived grabbing some stars, still a pretty damn good accomplishment in its own right.

Everyone seems to have the mentality if you don't get 100% of what you tried to accomplish than EVERYTHING else was a failure. Nothing is that black-n-white, but a multitude of different grays.

Roy may not have any voting power, but the fact that he is back in the company now, he can voice his opinion/wants, whether anyone listens to him or not will be the real question as the years go on.

 

[testtracker]

Oh, I didn't mean on the board. I meant "on board", like what was said in the previous post about Steve Jobs.

Perhaps I should've been clearer.

Woops, i misread it :brick:

 

[miles1]

Yes, I do agree with most of what you say. But if you read "Disney War" its obvious Roy was NEVER an Eisner fan, even back in the early days. So really when he made that statement they we're really just doing to spite poor Roy. I'm hoping Iger proves me wrong and turns the company around but, being one of Eisner's little buddies, we can't really say. We'll just have to wait and see

I don't see Iger as one of Eisner's "little Buddies" at all. I think he is a lot more savy than anyone is giving him credit for. He knew how to play Eisner long enough to stay in his position until Eisner left/was ejected. In Disney Wars, Eisner is even quoted as having doubts about Iger's ability to take the helm. And, Eisner's past behavior was to systematically destroy anyone who was a remote threat to is authority or position.

Iger's tenure is still relatively new and we will have to give him more time. The improvements in the parks, and the outcome with Roy are good signs that he is working to patch things up quickly.

 

[njblackberry]

I wonder how many people on this board, who know everything that is being done incorrectly by everyone within the company, own stock in The Walk Disney Company NYSE: DIS). That would, of course, involve a financial commitment and perhaps leave out some of the younger forum participants (of course, I bought my children Disney stock the day they were each born)...

 

[dave2822]

Iger is not just an Eisner-clone. His bridge building abilities far surpass what Eisner was, he doesn't jump into lakes to avoid people, and he initially doesn't seem to let ego get in the way of making good decisions for the company.

In the few short months we've heard his name he's reopened talks with Steve Jobs, ended this "Save Disney" fiasco (which rose the stock 74 cents the day the agreement went public), and demolished the Strategic Planning Department.

Let's just take it for what it is: hopefully the end of this "Disney War" era.

 

[lebeau]

George Lucas doesnt like being tied down to a company, thats why the majority of his films (well all of them i believe) are done independantly through his many companies, the first star wars film was done through Fox and they did him wrong after "the empire strikes back" (its a long detailed story) so from there after he removed himself from Hollywood, quitting the writer's guild, and the director's guild.

correct me if im wrong

Sorry, but I must correct you.

When Star Wars was being made, Lucas knew he wanted to make sequels. He anticipated that Star Wars would be a failure and that Fox would not want to make the sequels. In anticipation of that, he insisted on retaining the rights to any sequels (as well as a hefty chunk of merchandising).

Alan Ladd Jr. who brokered the deal most certainly didn't do wrong by Lucas. In fact, the deal with Fox was so lucrative for Lucas, that it played a big part in Ladd Jr. being fired from Fox.

All of this is explained in the "Empire of Dreams" documentary on the recent Star Wars DVD release. If you haven't checked it out - it's a must for any Star Wars fan.

As for Spielberg, he has ties to Universal (he's designed rides at Universal Studios) and Dreamworks. It would be highly unlikely he'd have any involvement with Disney that didn't involve Roger Rabbit.

 

[WDWCP]

You have to remember, Eisner did make alot of good decisions early on, especially when he was working with Frank Wells. He was involved with getting Epcot ready and also with getting Animated Feature Film production increased. I may not agree with alot of the decisions from the past several years, but I can't say that he didn't help do alot for the company before that helped get it from where it was(in alot of financial trouble in the late 70s/early 80s) to where it went(just look at all that Disney has going for it). I think the problem is that once a bad decision was made and things didn't work, he may have been trying too hard to find ways to make it up and it just snowballed. Anyway, what I'm saying is that the comment in the joint statement to the press was intended to highlight their belief that he had done well in the past(with a hint that Eisner overstayed his welcome, and thankfully will be going now). As far as Iger goes, he seems to be aiming things in the right direction. At first I wasn't sure how I felt since Eisner pretty much made sure it would be Iger that took over, but Iger is doing his darndest to make sure that all the rifts that were caused by Eisner are getting healed. If he can do that, then he definitely is the right person for the job and has my full support.

I basically agree with you completely. I think that in general, there are two types of CEO's. There is the type that is the founder of a particular company. That CEO is likely to have a great long-term vision and can get a company really going. Then, the other type is a "Project" CEO. This is a person that is really good at one set of things. This person is brought in to do a particular job for a company. In Disney's case, Eisner was brought in because of some specific troubles (most of which are outlined very nicely above). Eisner was great at that job. The problem was that he fixed those things and was still in power. The only thing he had to do was to start messing with things he wasn't so good at.

Every company goes through phases. Disney is now entering a new phase and they needed a new CEO who is the right fit for that phase. Maybe Iger is the right fit, we'll have to wait and see. Even if Iger is the right fit and does a fantastic job for the company, eventually, he'll outlive his phase as well and if he sticks around too long, people will become unhappy with him and his decisions as well...

Kind of a never ending type of cycle, in my opinion.

 

[TsWade2]

And I thought it will never end.

 

[disneyphilip]

As for Spielberg, he has ties to Universal (he's designed rides at Universal Studios) and Dreamworks. It would be highly unlikely he'd have any involvement with Disney that didn't involve Roger Rabbit.

I understand that.

What I've basically been saying is that I'm hoping that Spielberg will get involved with Disney again so they can be able to do more projects involving Roger Rabbit, get the Roger Rabbit costumed character back into the parks, etc.

After all, like you said, lebeau, Spielberg won't do anything with Disney unless it's something that involves Roger and co., since the Roger Spielberg and Disney share ownership of the Roger characters.

And I know darn well that anything relating to Roger Rabbit is the only kind of Disney stuff that Spielberg would get involved with. And with Iger doing a better job of getting things straightened out, I still strongly believe that he'll eventually mend the wounds in Disney's relationship with Spielberg so they can be able to collaborate on more projects and productions involving Roger Rabbit and co.

 

[lebeau]

I understand that.

What I've basically been saying is that I'm hoping that Spielberg will get involved with Disney again so they can be able to do more projects involving Roger Rabbit, get the Roger Rabbit costumed character back into the parks, etc.

After all, like you said, lebeau, Spielberg won't do anything with Disney unless it's something that involves Roger and co., since the Roger Spielberg and Disney share ownership of the Roger characters.

And I know darn well that anything relating to Roger Rabbit is the only kind of Disney stuff that Spielberg would get involved with. And with Iger doing a better job of getting things straightened out, I still strongly believe that he'll eventually mend the wounds in Disney's relationship with Spielberg so they can be able to collaborate on more projects and productions involving Roger Rabbit and co.

That would be cool - though tragically I think Roger's days as a hot property are done. Barring some kind of massive resurgence (like a new film) I don't foresee a return for poor Roger.

 

[disneyphilip]

That would be cool - though tragically I think Roger's days as a hot property are done. Barring some kind of massive resurgence (like a new film) I don't foresee a return for poor Roger.

Well, I do foresee return for Roger.

Please be optimistic, people.

And, Roger is still a hot property. They still make a lot of merchandise items featuring him and his co-stars...and Roger items are prominent than they were before, since the 2-disc DVD release of the movie. Take that as a good sign of things to come.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

Roy quit. No matter how nicely he puts it, he quit.
Anyway, that last line really could me thinking... Maybe there's more to this agreement?

After reading, just wanted to say, Roger is hot stuff! With a proper revival he could be one of the world's most beloved classics along with Mickey and Pooh Bear!

 

[lebeau]

Roy quit. No matter how nicely he puts it, he quit.
Anyway, that last line really could me thinking... Maybe there's more to this agreement?

After reading, just wanted to say, Roger is hot stuff! With a proper revival he could be one of the world's most beloved classics along with Mickey and Pooh Bear!

I definitely agree it could happen. It just doesn't seem like anyone with the power to revive him has any interest in doing so. Spielberg and Zemekis have gone on to greener pastures. And aside from Indiana Jones and Back to the Future (respectively) neither of them is known for revisiting old properties.

I know there have been rumors of a Roger Rabbit sequel floating around for years. But at this point there is absolutely no reason to believe that it will ever get made. I do agree, however, that is a Roger Rabbit movie was made correctly, Disney would have a very profitable franchise on their hands.

 

[disneyphilip]

I definitely agree it could happen.

Yes, it could. It most certainly could.

It just doesn't seem like anyone with the power to revive him has any interest in doing so. Spielberg and Zemekis have gone on to greener pastures. And aside from Indiana Jones and Back to the Future (respectively) neither of them is known for revisiting old properties.

Oh, I believe that if approached by Disney, Spielberg would be willing to do it.

I know there have been rumors of a Roger Rabbit sequel floating around for years. But at this point there is absolutely no reason to believe that it will ever get made. I do agree, however, that is a Roger Rabbit movie was made correctly, Disney would have a very profitable franchise on their hands.

Even if a new Roger movie doesn't get made anytime soon, the least I'm hoping for is that they'll be able to make new agreements so that they can allow the Roger Rabbit costumed character to make regular appearances at the theme parks again and be able to include Roger in new productions, like on TV shows.

And I believe that with Eisner leaving, the least will get in the case of the Disney/Amblin relationship is more merchandise, minor at best appearances in new productions and a return of the Roger costumed character.

 

[lebeau]

Yes, it could. It most certainly could.



Oh, I believe that if approached by Disney, Spielberg would be willing to do it.



Even if a new Roger movie doesn't get made anytime soon, the least I'm hoping for is that they'll be able to make new agreements so that they can allow the Roger Rabbit costumed character to make regular appearances at the theme parks again and be able to include Roger in new productions, like on TV shows.

And I believe that with Eisner leaving, the least will get in the case of the Disney/Amblin relationship is more merchandise, minor at best appearances in new productions and a return of the Roger costumed character.

That would be nice.

 

[Mario]

I liked the site because it showed pictures and stuff from Disneyland's past that I wouldn't have seen anywhere else. I am all for the idea of an archive type site. Yeah, a return of Roger would be nice, but I don't think he'd be as big as Pooh or Mickey, but he could become a part of the disney character canon, with the proper advertisement, toys and publicity.

 

[Tim G]

So finally we all can go on with our lives...

 

[Dizknee_Phreek]

The simple fact is that SAVEDISNEY could not go on forever, it had a purpose and acheived many of its goals.

We can debate all day over what they did/didn't accomplish, but the fact remains that they WERE a catalyst for CHANGE in upper management.

Eisner is gone sooner, Iger & the board know they are being watched closer than ever before. To say that this is not a BIG change would be shortsighted.

Yeah, we all had dreams of kicking Eisner out last year, getting rid of a few board members, etc., but what Roy did was unprecented.

He shot for the moon and only acheived grabbing some stars, still a pretty damn good accomplishment in its own right.

Everyone seems to have the mentality if you don't get 100% of what you tried to accomplish than EVERYTHING else was a failure. Nothing is that black-n-white, but a multitude of different grays.

Roy may not have any voting power, but the fact that he is back in the company now, he can voice his opinion/wants, whether anyone listens to him or not will be the real question as the years go on.

VERY well put, and I agree with everything you said! Roy putting his foot in the door is better than nothing...to me, it's better to have him kind of in the company than outside of it completely. Baby steps, people, baby steps

 

[Connor002]

thanks for all the replies

interesting thoughts

by the way, i'll be down the shore for the next 3 weeks, so you'll all have to do without me, i know every one will miss me, right

 

[prberk]

I liked the site because it showed pictures and stuff from Disneyland's past that I wouldn't have seen anywhere else. I am all for the idea of an archive type site. Yeah, a return of Roger would be nice, but I don't think he'd be as big as Pooh or Mickey, but he could become a part of the disney character canon, with the proper advertisement, toys and publicity.

I completely agree. I do hope that Roy gets to make a difference again (even if he is flawed), and it was the archival quality of the info in this site that showed me that Roy did understand many of the things I cared about.

The best example was the pictoral history of Tomorrowland, comparing the clean lines of the past with the mishmash that it became.

And also the site was almost better than Dave Smith's Disney Magazine[/b] columns for paying attention to Disney legends and trivia about the company.

Maybe the company itself can add some similar things to its site (I know, minus the criticism). It wouldn't hurt to update their "Vault Disney" stuff.

I will miss the site, but if Roy can do things like influence animation and The Disney Channel again, it may be good.

Here's the big test, though: He has said often that if he got back "in," one of the first things he would do is to work on getting "Song of the South" released again on video/DVD ... Hmmmm..

Paul