...DAVID COLLIS MARY FUREY The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire? In November 2005, Robert Iger, the newly appointed CEO of the Walt Disney Company, eagerly awaited the box office results of Chicken Little, the company’s second computer-generated (CG) feature film. He knew that, for Disney as a whole to be successful, he had to get the animation business right, particularly the new CG technology that was rapidly supplanting hand-drawn animation.1 Yet the company had been reliant on a contract with animation studio Pixar, which had produced hits such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, for most of its recent animated film revenue. And the co-production agreement, brokered during the tenure of his predecessor, Michael Eisner, was set to expire in 2006 after the release of Cars, the fifth movie in the five-picture deal. Unfortunately, contract renewal negotiations between Steve Jobs, CEO of Pixar, and Eisner had broken down in 2004 amid reports of personal conflict. When he assumed his new role, Iger reopened the lines of communication between the companies. In fact, he had just struck a deal with Jobs to sell Disneyowned, ABC-produced television shows—such as “Desperate Housewives”—through Apple’s iTunes Music Store.2 Iger knew that a deal with Pixar was possible; it was just a question of what that deal would look like. Did it make the most sense for Disney to simply buy Pixar? Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Feature Animation began with the...
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...Pixar Contents Pushing for Computer Animated Films Boosting the Creative Component Becoming Accomplished Storytellers Pumping Out the Hits To infinity and beyond? Contents KEY POINT Year: 2009 Pixar: a successful studio (animation)firm Disney V.S Pixar Important person: Bob Iger/Steve Jobs/Edwin E.Catmull/ John Lasseter Disney CEO Bob Iger worked hard to clinch the deal to acquire Pixar(one of the world’s most successful animation companies.2006) Steve Jobs make a deal with Disney to split the profits, ticket sales ,video sales , and merchandising royalties . Iger and Jobs try to protect Pixar’s creative culture . Pixar has continued to operate independently of Disney’s own animation studios ,its key talent has overseen combined activities of both Disney and Pixar. In order to ensure that Pixar manages to preserve its freewheeling entrepreneurial culture ,Jobs sits on a committee to protect its unique approach to making movies. Pixar remains committed to making films that are original in concept and execution despite the risks involved. Pushing for Computer Animated Films Boosting the Creative Component Pixar continued to develop computer animation technology. Steve jobs understood after Toy Story, that it would be the marriage of technology and creativity that would allow Pixar to rise above most of it’s competition. Catmull has built the creative innovation by creating programs to develop the employees. Employees are encouraged to devote up...
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...Pixar Animations MBA 615 Mickey Langford/Kimberly Horne Spring 2013 Mickey Langford Pixar Animations is our company of choice for this case study analysis. In 2006, Walt Disney acquired Pixar, but before we get to all of that, let us start at the beginning. Before Pixar, there was Lucas Films. George Lucas, of Lucas Films, decided in 1979 to upgrade their computer division (Animations, 2012). Lucas had a desire to see how far they could take computer graphics within the film industry. Lucas Films succeeded by creating Andre & Wally B., in 1984 (Animations, 2012). Andre & Wally B. - First Ever Pixar Short Movie - The Adventures of André and Wally B. [1984 HD] - YouTube, was the first ever computer-generated imagery short movie (Movies, 2009). This was the foundational establishment in the film industry that Steve Jobs was seeking. In 1986, Jobs purchased the Computer Division from Lucas Films and named it Pixar Animations Studios. Walt Disney and Pixar Animation agreed to do a number of films together, the first being Toy Story which was a huge success. The movie debut on November 22, 1995 grossed $192 million domestically and $362 million worldwide (Animations, 2012). Listed below is a table of the gross amounts that Disney/Pixar movies have made: Released | Movie Name | 1st Weekend | US Gross | Worldwide Gross | Budget | 11/22/1995 | Toy Story | $29,140,617 | $191,796,233 | $361,948,825 | $30,000,000 | 11/20/1998 | A Bug's Life | $291,121...
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...gender onto such characters. Especially inanimate ones is entirely based on the writers imaginations and the features selected to gender something “male” or “female” often reflect assumptions, stereotypes, and conventional gender roles. Pixar’s film Wall-E is a love story between two robots working in an environment following the evacuation and abandonment of Earth under piles and piles of trash. Wall-E is a computer generated animated feature created on Pixar’s own software Renderman.Wall-E is based on a...
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...WALL-E may be the cutest Pixar character ever, even though he is just a trash compactor with binocular like eyes. WALL-E was a movie created by Pixar to challenge themselves and as well as the world. It was released in 2008 and was directed by Andrew Stanton. It was written by Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter and the movie starred Ben Burtt as WALL-E, Elissa Knight as EVE, and Jeff Garlin as the Captain (of the ship called Axiom). Working along with Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures released WALL-E in Canada and the United States on June 27, 2008, and it blew the competition out of the water as it made $23.2 million on its opening day, $63 million on its opening weekend in almost four thousand theatres, all the while coming in first...
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...Conflict at Walt Disney Company: A Distant Memory? Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwcampus.com/shop/conflict-walt-disney-company-distant-memory/ Even in the midst of a severe recession that has de- pressed tourism and a digital revolution in the media business, Disney is faring better than many of its rival companies. Although spending at its theme parks is down and fewer people are buying DVDs of recently released Disney movies (e.g., Bolt and Beverly Hills Chihuahua), Disney has positioned itself well to ride out the recession by having a broad mix of businesses in its portfolio. For example, Disney’s sports cable network, ESPN, and ABC Family and Disney channels have reported an increase in operating profits in 2009. The creation and marketing of well-known franchises such as the Jonas Brothers is helping to fuel the company’s success. The Jonases have already performed onstage to over a million people, sold over 750,000 copies of a book, starred in their own TV show on the Disney Channel, and will star in an upcoming full-length movie. Also, in an attempt to capture a larger share of the growing online viewer market, Disney recently bought an equity stake in Hulu, the online video platform. In addition, the Disney Pixar creative partnership (Disney bought Pixar) is continuing to produce popular and profit- able animated movies such as Wall-E and Up. To what degree have these business decisions been successful? Disney was ranked 67th in the Fortune...
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...Theme: The Walt Disney Co. is an enigma in these rough economic times for the sole purpose that they show minimal signs of slowing down. Mickey Mouse has his hands dipped into everything and from an investor’s standpoint that’s a good thing because that equals diversification, and in turn, diversification lowers risk. The Disney Company operates in several areas of the media and entertainment industry. They have recently acquired Pixar, which consistently provides box office record sales with their animated films. Along media entertainment lines, Disney also operates dominant media channels ABC and ESPN. These are two channels that carry with them a strong loyal following. Sports have always been America’s past time and it’s unlikely to see them ever declining or the viewership that goes along with it. People have always poured capital into sports and will continue to for many centuries to come. Aside from Disney’s ventures, investors focus and confidence should be in the trademark of Disney. Characters such as Mickey Mouse and Buzz Light-year are icons that will never be lost in the pages of time. Kids and adults alike will always want to participate in the next big thing the company has to offer and these kinds of expectations will always lead to Disney having a stable stock price and even unstable in the positive manner because the growth potential is limitless for this company. You can see that limitless with the many franchises Disney has under its wing. For...
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...Although Pixar Animation Studios have resisted the temptation in making instalments among their films, producers have failed to live up to their stand. Toy Story, the ground breaking, blockbuster animated film launched in 1995, took nearly four years to finally have its sequel, the Toy Story 2 in 1999. Eleven years after the second instalment, Toy Story launched its third film in the series, the Toy Story 3 in 2010. All three sequels have made it to the lime light as one of the top grossing films in the history of animated films. Aside from the Toy Story movies, Disney-Pixar have also produced a number of successful installment movies like Cars, Monsters Inc., and the upcoming sequel of Finding Nemo (Finding Dory). In the course of time, film instalments have been an indication of opportunity to the animation company. More installments, means another profit generating loop for Pixar and an opportunity of growth to the company’s brand awareness to the general audience. Genre Variations & Character Diversity Pixar have been the Holy Grail of computer generated imagery films, and since its commencement in 1975, it has been known to produce quality child and family oriented pictures. Movies like Wall E, Toy Story, Cars, Ratatouille, and other films have been positioned to distinct male characters. In the film industry, variations in genres and diversity in character creation are crucial to maintain interest among audiences. In the last seventeen years of Pixar, films...
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...Analysis In the 1980s and 90s Disney was seen as an American icon which was credited to its former CEO Michael Eisner for the company’s success, but following the mid-90s Disney had struggled with “brand fatigue” in that it was mainly associated with young children. Disney’s brand concentrated on this narrow segment of the market and Eisner’s successor, Bob Iger, had plans to broaden Disney’s brand to include tweens, teens, and adults. Iger recognized that Disney was more than just a brand but that its cross platform success with such franchise like Cars would help Disney reinvent itself when it comes to entertainment. Disney’s other platforms includes the Disney Channel, ABC, ESPN, Disney theme parks & resorts, publishing, film, and music label. Bob Iger franchise strategy had been supported by the other moves he put into place at Disney and his top priority as CEO was to revitalized Disney’s animation business. In 2006, Disney bought Pixar for $7 billion dollars, and in that same year Pixar released movie Cars, which grossed $462 million worldwide and over $2 billion in merchandise sales each year. Capitalizing on it’s the use of its franchises, Disney sought to broaden the tween and teenage markets through its multiple company platforms such its Hollywood Records music label and Disney channels with such artists and shows such as the Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, the Disney Princess, and the list goes on. Disney also focus attention on being...
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...The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire? Executive Summary: 3D computer-generated (CG) models changed the way the animation industry worked. The traditional 2D animation used frames that were comprised of hand-drawn cels. These required skills of hundreds of people and it took a lot longer to make. On the other hand, 3D computergenerated required less people, films could be made much faster and at a fraction of competitor’s cost. If there was a change needed to be made to a character, 2D would need to change all its subsequent frames, but 3D had mathematical models to redraw each cel and mimic camera angles. Walt Disney is a company that had mastered the traditional 2D animation. Disney’s Feature Animation unit was known as an open, collaborative environment. Leadership relied on all employees to generate story ideas. “Some of the same features that observers credited for Disney Animations’ success – large staff, large budgets, and lots of time – were blamed for its demise” (pg. 2). In the late 1990s, Disney set up a lab to work on their first 3D CG film but it wasn’t as big of a success as their other movies. Because many staff members needed to be retrained for this new technology, movie releases were pushed back. Throughout this period, Disney relied on revenue and characters produced by a company who excelled in 3D CG animation, Pixar. Pixar used its own proprietary computer animation technology that generated incredibly lifelike 3D images and...
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...radi An analysis of storytelling and Joseph Campbell’s universal themes and their role in animated films. Theodore Hicks Word count: 1,711 Feedback: quite broad terms. Where there is some analysis it is very short and this needs developing further. Much of this is down to Analysis, Argument There is some analysis here but it is very limited. ON the whole you are describing events and stories in animation in quite broad terms. Where there is some analysis it is very short and this needs developing further. Much of this is down to your choice of question. If you had picked a couple of Disney/Pixar films and analysed them in more detail in relation to Campbell, your essay would have been more focused. Outlining this narrowing in the question will help with this, as reading the essay, this is where the topic really lies. You need to be able to show Campbell’s theories working across more than one film for it to be a successful piece of analysis at this stage, and in doing so, it will help you reach a central argument about the use of Campbell’s theories in discussing these films – at the moment this doesn’t happen. This is the section you need to work on the most, to increase your word count and extend the overall discussion. Structure, communication, referencing/bibliography The structure is generally ok, with an introduction, and a conclusion. You need to work on some of the in between sections as the essay jumps between ideas of outlining theories, linking some...
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...Buenos días. Muchas gracias a todos por estar aquí. El tema de mi presentación es de la compañía estadounidense Pixar Animation Studios. Es una compañía de animación por ordenador especializada en 3D, ubicada en Emeryville, California (Estados Unidos). Es muy conocido por sus películas animadas con la característica CGI (Imagen generada por computadora). Fueron los creadores de la primera película comercial totalmente realizada por ordenador en 3D, (Toy Story) en 1995 * En primer lugar, hablaré de la historia de Pixar. * Después, explicaré la adquisición por Disney. * A continuación, presentaré las largometrajes que el estudio ha producido y sus premios * Además, presentaré los costes e ingresos por película. * Para terminar, hablaré de sus próximos proyectos. Historia Pixar se fundó como The Graphics Group, (Una división de Lucasfilm) que se lanzó en 1979 con la contratación del Dr. Ed Catmull del Instituto de Tecnología de Nueva York (NYIT). Después de años de trabajo y trabajar en películas, como Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, el grupo, que contraba con cerca de 40 personas, fue comprado en 1986 por Steve Jobs, poco después de que dejara Apple Inc. Pagó US$5 millones a George Lucas e invirtió $5 millones de dólares de capital en la compañía. Cuando el grupo se independizó de LucasFilm, el equipo trabajó en crear al precursor de RenderMan. Un evento que puede explicar esta venta fue las dificultades del flujo de liquidez que...
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...The Fluidity of Disney. Gender Norms & Racial Bias in the Study of the Modern “Disney” The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American diversified multinational mass media corporation headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the world's second largest broadcasting and cable company in terms of revenue, after Comcast. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and theme parks. The company also operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio, then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing, and online media. In addition, Disney has created new corporate divisions in order to market more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its film studio, the Walt Disney Studios, which is today one of the largest and best-known studios in Hollywood. Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, and ABC Family; publishing, merchandising, and theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world. It also has a...
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...The Walt Disney Co. FINA 4200.002 Nick Camp Nick Meyer Muddasir Sultan Theme: The Walt Disney Co. is an enigma in these rough economic times for the sole purpose that they show minimal signs of slowing down. Mickey Mouse has his hands dipped into everything and from an investor’s standpoint that’s a good thing because that equals diversification, and in turn, diversification lowers risk. The Disney Company operates in several areas of the media and entertainment industry. They have recently acquired Pixar, which consistently provides box office record sales with their animated films. Along media entertainment lines, Disney also operates dominant media channels ABC and ESPN. These are two channels that carry with them a strong loyal following. Sports have always been America’s past time and it’s unlikely to see them ever declining or the viewership that goes along with it. People have always poured capital into sports and will continue to for many centuries to come. Aside from Disney’s ventures, investors focus and confidence should be in the trademark of Disney. Characters such as Mickey Mouse and Buzz Light-year are icons that will never be lost in the pages of time. Kids and adults alike will always want to participate in the next big thing the company has to offer and these kinds of expectations will always lead to Disney having a stable stock price and even unstable in the positive manner because the growth potential is limitless for...
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...The Walt Disney Case GM591 Team 2 THE HISTORY OF OUR CHILDHOOD ENTERTAINMENT Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901, to Elias Disney, of Irish-Canadian descent, and Flora Call Disney, of German-American descent, in Chicago. His developed a love for drawing and trains while living on a farm in Marceline, Missouri. One of his elderly neighbors would pay him to draw pictures. While attending Benton Grammar School he met Walter Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer was a theatre aficionado. He introduced Walt to the world of vaudeville and motion pictures. Even thought Walt knew that you could make money from drawing pictures. Pfeiffer open his eyes to possibility of movies. Disney created ads for newspapers, magazines, and movie theaters. He and a friend started a commercial company but it was short lived. However while working in Kansas City for a Film Ad Company, he made commercials based on cutout animation, Disney took up an interest in the field of animation, and decided to become an animator. This is where his vision started to take shape (waltdisney.freeservers.com). Innovation is important to every company’s survival. Without it almost ever company will surely fail or be left behind. Disney is a company that has endured the ever changing market. Creating new ideas and putting them into place is something that Disney has mastered. Disney has found a way to intrigue the young and even the young at heart. With their theme parks all over the world, news...
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