ah shucks   gee whiz

I'm sure no one in Hollywood knew who he was when he "applied" for jobs that just happened to be on the Disney lot.   wink wink  nudge nudge    Things haven't changed much over time. After 50 years it's still "Give me an office and pay me something." How about, "I'd like to have some say in corporate charitable donations," or "I'd like to see what I can do to improve cast member morale."

He was there when Black Cauldron was greenlit and animated, but all those years of dealing with story problems didn't seem to help much on that film. Guess it only helps on selected films.

Really don't need to get into accounting when you inherit that much stock.

I've got some questions for him, but I guess that's why Maltin does the interviewing.

Roy E. Disney, with your now defunct website, SAVEDISNEY, you had taken on the responsibility to stop the apparent corruption within the Walt Disney Company, in particular, with it’s board of directors, it’s CEO Michael Eisner and the so-called CEO selection process which you called a “sham”. Yet abruptly, you changed your tune, as you have made some type of deal with the Walt Disney Company, which is evidently to mostly satisfy only a personal need of being a token name at the Walt Disney Company.

I now believe that you had no intention of following through with your promises. Clearly, it was all about you, not the legacy of Walt Disney, the hard working righteous employees who make Disney what it is, nor is it about the artists. You fooled everyone. As documented, you have folded into the very operation which I am currently fighting and you have known about.

Roy E. Disney your heart has proven to be made of stone for you have chosen to stand for photo opportunities rather than stand for righteousness.  The facts substantiate that Disney is company infected with unscrupulous business practices, such as to make false claims against me while it also petitions the court to not allow the facts and evidence to go before a jury.  To prevent me from a day before a jury and to punish me for seeking the court’s involvement is part of Disney’s defense.  Meanwhile Disney (along with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio) twists facts, concocts and rewrites history of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride attraction with which to attribute my uniquely original creative materials to the talents of the “Disney Legends” of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride attraction, notably Marc Davis and Francis X. Atencio.  Is this the legacy you are proud of?   See www.disneylawsuit.com for photos as originally filed in federal court.

Clearly, I can not stop big influence that prevents full reporting of the facts. I can not stop corporate power that uses legions of blind followers to jump up and down with pitchforks and controls all aspects of the media.  As I fight a battle against the everlasting putrid Eisner tactical procedures, I wonder what you, Roy Disney, Steve Jobs, John Lasseter, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush and Disney’s board of directors are doing while all of this is taking place?

I think that Roy Disney is great.  He's trying to get "Song of the South" on DVD, he helped "Destino" finally get completed, and he has introduced the Legacy Collection.  He's definitely an asset to the company, with all his experience.

So Rocketrod1, you're the scam artist claiming you came up with the idea for Pirates of the Caribbean?? What a joke ...

You're an idiot. No one cares what you think. Beat it, you fraud.

Your simple article got under the skin of a couple of people Jim.

I enjoyed it  though.  Roy E. Disney is still a valuable asset to the Disney company.

Agreed.  It's just not Disney without an actual Disney involved with the company.  At least that's how I feel about it.  It's good to know that Roy is there and relatively active in the company.

Roy, SaveDisney.com and all the Disney fans got what they REALLY wanted, which was a return of the Disney company to it's true greatest.

Did Roy become a "king maker"?  No

Did Roy become some "all-powerful" player at Disney?  No

Did we get a new CEO from the outside? No Did we get a CEO that better "understands" Disney?  yes

Did Disney (and Iger) mend fences with the people that mattered (eg Steve Jobs/Pixar, George Lucas, Speilberg, etc)?   Yes

Did Disney (and Iger) bring talented people back into the fold (eg Lasseter, Catmull, Ron & John, etc)?   yes

Is EVERYTHING right with the company?   not yet

I think that resolves the question of "was this REALLY about Roy Disney or the Walt Disney Company and it's legacy".

Roy Disney is one of the most important people in Disney history of the last couple of decades. And he still remains that. People like Rocketrod1 (who clearly has some mental issues) just only see the negative.

Disney has been created by the Disney family, and it is good that someone from that family keeps participating in the future of the company. Especially someone as talented as Roy, who has supported some of the best animation projects of recent times (e.g. "Destino" and "Fantasia 2000").

curmudgeon said:

"I'm sure no one in Hollywood knew who he was when he "applied" for jobs that just happened to be on the Disney lot."

NBC wasn't on the Disney lot...

And:

"He was there when Black Cauldron was greenlit and animated, but all those years of dealing with story problems didn't seem to help much on that film."

Well, he wasn't animation chairman when B.C. was green-lit so...

I'm sure the name "Disney" on the job application was completely overlooked by the personnel office. Yeah, that could happen.

Sometimes I read these stories and then peruse through the comments and just shake my head in amazement.

Why is it soooo difficult to understand that not all interiews are meant to be hard hitting, ground breaking, or scandal inducing? This was one big Disney fan (Maltin) talking to Roy Disney (also a Disney fan I assume) about warm and fuzzy Disney stories. There were no subpoena's to appear before the senate, this was not 60 minutes, it wasn't Hardball or anything of the kind.

Enjoy it for what it was. Breathe people... breathe.

Oh, and RocketRod1..... I think you forgot to take your meds this morning. The nurse would like to see you now.

Great post, captainhook91. Couldn't agree more!

"I really want a job. Give me an office and pay me something."

Just affirms my view that the only reason SD happened was because Roy was about to lose his job.

I think Roy seems like a great guy (but of course seeing Disney on the job application would make the human resources people a little biased.)

He may not be important to the company as far as making decisions goes, but I think he's definately an important figurehead.  It gives the company the appearance of being very united, when it's really this huge hydra (and I'm sure everyone here saw Hercules, and knows how dangerous those things can be ;) )

AskMike1 - C'mon my friend. You know as well as I that any comment, not only taken out of context, but without any knowledge of mannerisms and such, can be twisted to fit ANYTHING that we want it to be. While I am no Roy Disney apologist I am also not a Roy Disney basher. Maybe he winked after saying this, or made some other comment that alluded to how he wished for more. Or the whole comment could have been made tongue in cheek. Whatever the case may be, the fact is that neither of us know. Why do you assume the worst? I can only imagine what your response would be if I found some old quotes of yours on this very website, pulled them out of context, and then used it to show you in a very negative light... for no reason other than to bad mouth you and to prove some negative assumption (on my part) about you.

You're smarter than that. C'mon.

Roy Disney ain't perfect... neither are we. Unless everything you've done has been only for noble causes and with nothing short of the best intentions and with great results, give the guy a break. Enjoy this fluff article and interview for what it is.

(Sniff) lately I had been agreeing with many of your comments... now I feel that we're drifting apart!   ;o)

Geez folks, take it with a grain of salt.  Besides, if he doesn't have a true job within Disney, how would he have any real control within the day to day stuff?  Of course he wants a part of his family's legacy.  Roy's main purpose with SaveDisney.com was to get rid of Eisner because he had become egomaniacal in recent years and was taking the company in a direction that appalled fans and his family.  He did what he accomplished and let it go.  So should you!

Roy E. Disney is a wonderful addition to the Disney staff, I always wanted to hear HIS story, we know fair mounts of info bout him in his Uncle Walt's Biographies. but nothing more than his "True Life" productions. I'm proud that there's a Disney still hangin' around the studio, if any you have Your Host, Walt Disney...Mr. Martin interviews Diane Disney Miller bout handling the torch and she replied something like, Never felt the need to uphold my dad's legacy, my sister worked for the studio a couple of months till she died.  my main thing is keeping Dad's history alive for the next generations of fans."  Now I don't wan'na start a riot here, but here's something we've been curious about....Why didn't Roy E. Disney become C.E.O after Ron Miller's removal? since Cousin Diane passed the torch, shouldn't Roy be next in line for the throne? again sorry for causing a riot.

-Mason

Maybe he didn't think he was fit for the job, Oswald ;)

Oh you silly rabbit, Oswald ...

I don't think Diane passed the torch to Roy ... I think her husband, Ron Miller, was the one hand-selected by Walt and was the family member being groomed for the throne. He sat there for a short time until he was unceremonially dethroned when Michael Eisner was appointed king (now there's a story with Shakesperian overtones -- and maybe someday we'll hear Ron's take on the whole situation).

In some ways it's a shame that Roy had a major role in all that. Some people, including myself, think that Ron Miller was taking the company in directions it needed to go.

Ron Miller opened up the vaults to home video -- bringing the company millions if not billions in new revenue and extending the lives of several fantastic animated characters by introducing them to new generations of children.

Miller created Touchstone for more adult product and green-lit several productions like "Splash," "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Ruthless People" -- entertaining films that made piles of money and launched or revived the careers of Tom Hanks, Bette Midler, director Ron Howard and others.

Ron Miller supported animation and "The Fox in the Hound" was an important training ground for Glen Keane and others who were later responsible for the second golden era of Disney feature animation. Sure, he made some mistakes, but none as costly as the failures of Eisner.

Unfortunately Miller was forced out ... and some of the credit he's due was given to Eisner (who did have a good run with Frank Wells).

mnmears, you certainly sound very knowledgeable, so maybe I'm wrong, but I could have SWORN it was Eisner who did all those things ... opened the video vault, launched Touchstone, etc.

I thought he even talked about all that stuff in Work in Progress ...

I think the historical record (including stock reports) will bear out that Ron Miller was helping to drive the company into the ground. He was a football player that married into the business and Walt decided to try and teach him how to make movies so he wouldn't get a head injury. (I mean him no disrespect. I would have done a worse job in his position.)

Remember Walt Disney Productions was in imminent danger of a hostile take-over and buyout in the 80s when Roy stepped in with Eisner. Saul Steinberg was trying to buy the company and had stated plans to close the animation studio and sell off the parks.

Yes, Ron was going in some new directions, but not all of them were gems like "Splash". Remember "Tex"? Or "Tron". These films were suppose to grab the teen audience during the summer of '82. And while you might have fond memories of the first foray into CG, it was a flop. A big one.

It was the summer of E.T. (Which also buried Bluth's little "NIMH" project.)

Read some of the remenisences of the folks who worked during the Miller regime (or the stock reports). You will find that for the most part, the company was barely managing to tread water most of the time.

WDWacky,  mnmears is right. Miller founded touchstone, but Eisner exploited it and made it more profitable when he came aboard. Eisner did, however, start Hollywood Pictures, another short-live division of Disney.