It’s the highest honor that a Mouse House employee can possibly recieve. The Disney Legends award.
Established in 1987 to honor ” … the many individuals whose imagination, talents and dreams have created … Disney magic,” each year’s honorees are selected by a committe chaired by Roy E. Disney. And over the past two decades, this awards program has paid tribute to dozens of animators, Imagineers, actors and executives who have had a significant impact on the creative legacy of the Walt Disney Company.
And based on the list of 2008 honorees that JHM recently got a peek at, that tradition of excellence & achievement will continue with this year’s awards. Among those selected for induction are:
- News pioneer Barbara Walters
- Veteran sportscaster Frank Gifford
- Designer Dorothea Redmond
- Artist Walter Peregoy
- Animation veteran Burny Mattinson
- MAPO Show Manager Bob Booth
- Audio-animatronics expert Neal Gallagher
- Composer Oliver Wallace
- Voice artist Russi Taylor
- Voice artist Wayne Allwine
All of the folks listed above (particularly those last two. For those of you who don’t know, Russi & Wayne are the husband-and-wife team who are the official voices of Minnie & Mickey Mouse) are obviously deserving of recognition. Which is why I’m sure that the entire Disneyana community will applaud their nominations.
Minnie & Mickey flanked Michael Eisner earlier this year, when Disney’s former CEO was honored with his very own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Copyright 2008 Disney. All Rights Reserved
There is — however — one additional Disney Legends honoree that I’m sure certain segments of the fan community are going to have some trouble with. And that’s the company’s former CEO Michael Eisner.
Now before all of that “Save Disney” era talk can start up again, where the die-hard fans rail about how Eisner almost drove this company into the ground … I think it’s important to take in the bigger picture. You gotta remember that — when Michael & Frank Wells first took control back in October of 1984 — Walt Disney Productions was a show business dinosaur verging on extinction. The corporation had just survived two greenmail attempts. And few — if anyone — in Hollywood took this Burbank-based operation seriously.
But under Eisner & Wells’ guidance (with a large assist from then-Disney Studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg), the Mouse House eventually became a media powerhouse. Over the two decades, the company built seven new theme parks, acquired ABC, ESPN as well as several other cable channels, launched a cruise line as well as creating a stage division.
And during that time, Walt Disney Productions grew from being a $1.5 billion operation (with most of that value coming from the company’s theme park division as well as its film library) to a $30.75 billion behemoth. A worldwide multimedia corporation with nearly 130,000 employees (which was up almost 100,000 from the 28,000 people who were working for Disney back in 1984).
An achievement of that size does deserve some recognition, folks. Which is why it’s only right that Michael Eisner receive a Disney Legends award. But I would imagine that there are those of you who would disagree. Which is what JHM’s TalkBack section was built for.
So — please — share your thoughts on what’s sure to be a somewhat controversial ceremony. Which will be held sometime later this fall in the Disney Legends Plaza on the Burbank lot.
Your thoughts?