You could say that the Walt Disney Company has kind of a thing when it comes to Albert Einstein.
As early as 1941, the good doctor had begun popping in pictures that Walt Disney Productions was producing. You’ll find Albert in the “Baby Weems” segment of “The Reluctant Dragon.” Where the brilliant babe discovers an error in the Princeton professor’s theory of Relativity. Only to have Albert quickly shoosh Baby Weems and whisper “Don’t tell nobody.”
Einstein also figures prominently in “The Fifth Freedom.” You know, that enormous mural that you’ll find in the post-show area of Disneyland’s “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” attraction? Where the good doctor is pictured with such luminaries of the 20th Century as the Wright Brothers, George Washington Carver, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Alva Edison, Robert Goddard, David Sarnoff and (of course) Walt Disney.
This brilliant physicist also makes cameo appearances in two Epcot attractions: “The American Adventure” (Where you’ll see a quick image of Albert in the film montage that “Golden Dreams” plays under) as well as “Ellen’s Energy Adventure” (Where Einstein goes head-to-head with Ms. DeGeneres & Jamie Lee Curtis in a game of “Jeopardy”). You’ll also find his name used for comic effect in Walt Disney Pictures’ 1988 animated release, “Oliver & Co.” Where Einstein is the name of the addled Great Dane that sitcom star Richard Mulligan (“Empty Nest”) provided the vocals for.
Even today, Mickey’s obsession with Albert continues. In fact, according to some Disney insiders that I’ve spoken with, one of the main reasons that the Walt Disney Company bought Baby Einstein (a Denver-based firm that produced books, toys & videos aimed at infants and toddlers) back in November of 2001 was because … Well … CEO Michael Eisner just liked the idea of having the Disney name linked to such a brilliant man.
So — given Disney’s decades-long love affair with this brilliant theoretical physicist — is it really a surprise to learn that Walt Disney Productions once considered producing a big-budget big screen biography of the good doctor? As a follow-up to “TRON,” no less.
Strange but true, folks. The time was the early 1980s. And Walt Disney Productions had just invested millions in the creation of a computer animation production pipeline for this Steven Lisberger film. And — once “TRON” was released in July of 1982 — Disney Studio execs obviously wanted to continue to make use of this very expensive asset.
The only problem was … Walt Disney Productions really didn’t know what else to do with CG back in 1982. Given the public’s somewhat tepid response to “Tron” (This special effects tour de force only grossed $33 million during its initial domestic run. Which — when you factor in the cost of producing & then marketing this ambitious motion picture — meant the Mouse [at best] broke even on “TRON”) as well as 1979’s “The Black Hole,” it didn’t seem wise for the studio to attempt another sci-fi feature.
And — at this time time, anyway — using computer animation for the background elements and/or props in the studio’s traditionally animated features just seemed … Well, impractical.
Mind you, WDFA did do a 30 second test (making use of the talents of then-new Disney studio employees John Lasetter and Glen Keane) for a proposed “Where the Wild Things Are” featurette. And the end result was admittedly impressive. But — given the projected costs of completing this featurette — it seemed highly unlikely that “Where the Wild Things Are” would ever recover its production costs.
So that promising project was shelved. And — though CG was used for some elements in 1985’s “The Black Cauldron” — it would be another four years before Disney’s animators finally officially made that big bold leap into the digital age with the Big Ben sequence in 1986’s “The Great Mouse Detective.”
Anyway … Let’s get back to 1982, shall we? When Disney has this brand new expensive tool on its hands. But studio execs have virtually no clue as to what to do with CG.
This is when Ron Miller, the then-President of the Walt Disney Motion Picture and Television Production Division began asking: “Well, what is computer animation actually good for?” And the general concensus at the time was CG was great when it came to illustrating abstract concepts. And computer animation also made it possible to accomplish these seemingly impossible camera moves. Like circling around a rocket as it roared across the galaxy.
I’m told that it was Miller himself who made the connection here. That Ron was the one who connected CG, abstract theory and space flight and came up with the idea of Walt Disney Productions doing a film about the life of Albert Einstein.
Miller (Who was NEVER actually the dumb jock that Michael Eisner & Roy E. Disney have always claimed him to be. The Disney Channel? That was Ron Miller’s idea. Touchstone Pictures? Also Ron. And “Splash,” that 1984 Ron Howard film that signalled to Wall Street that Walt Disney Productions was finally on its way back? That film was greenlit by Miller. NOT Eisner. Anywho …) saw the “Einstein” project as Disney’s opportunity to make a break from all those mediocre movies that the studio had made back in the late 1970s / early 1980s. Those half-hearted unnecessary sequels like 1979’s “The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again” and 1980’s “Herbie Goes Bananas.”
Here was a prestige project. A film that would finally force the Hollywood elite to start taking Disney Studios seriously again. Which perhaps explains the following description of Disney Studio’s upcoming production slate that Ron Miller insisted be included in the company’s 1981 annual report:
In striving to expand our film and television audiences, we have turned to the Company’s great traditions.
The name Disney has always meant fantasy, escape, high adventure and optimism — whether in comedy or drama. Perhaps more importantly, the name means innovation, originality, technical virtuosity and taking chances on new ideas.
Well, Walt Disney Productions was certainly looking to take a chance with “Einstein.” I mean, take a look at the way that this proposed film was described in Disney’s 1981 annual report:
“Einstein” combines the story of one of mankind’s greatest figures with the genuis of Disney special effects. From an early-life biography of the man who reshaped our view of the universe, we will travel into his vast imagination through a series of spectacular visions. The sate-of-the-art computer effects of “TRON” will be taken a step further in this innovative feature.
What Miller had in mind here was a film unlike anything that Walt Disney Production had attempted to date. A major motion picture that would actually be shot on location in Munich. Berlin, Bern & Zurich. That would have recreated key moments in Einstein’s life by filming in the actual locations where Albert had lived and taught.
But the big hook for this film was supposed to have been that — as Einstein actually came up with his theories — the film would suddenly swing to CG. And seemingly boring equations like “E=MC2” would become the jumping off points for eye-popping special effects sequences. Where computer graphics would be used to make even the most complex theories accessibles (And — more importantly — entertaining) to the average moviegoer.
Obviously, “Einstein” was to have been an ambitious film. But even Miller recognized that the movie’s subject matter was going to be hard to sell. Which is why Ron knew that he’d really need a star in the title role if he was going to make this proposed picture a reality. So he set his sights on one of the biggest stars of the 1980s: Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss.
Of course, it had been over four years since Dreyfuss’ Oscar-winning turn in “The Goodbye Girl.” And — given that Richard’s follow-up films (I.E. 1978’s “The Big Fix,” 1980’s “The Competition” and 1981’s “Whose Life is It Anyway?”) hadn’t performed all that well and that Hollywood was awash with rumors that the actor had a serious cocaine problem at the time — Dreyfuss was really in need of work at the time. Which is why he agreed to go to Disney to meet with Miller to discuss the project.
And — at first glance — Richard really did seem to be an inspired choice to portray Albert. After all, Dreyfuss already bore a physical resemblance to Einstein. And the two men were both left handed in addition to having similiar heritages. Plus there was no denying that the Academy Award winner had a real gift when it came to portraying characters with fierce intellects.
So imagine Ron Miller’s surprise when Richard Dreyfuss arrived at Disney Studios and — instead of Miller trying to sell Dreyfuss on the idea of playing Albert Einstein — Richard pulled a switcheroo. The way I hear it, the Oscar winner used this meeting to pitch his own idea for the bio pic that Walt Disney Productions should be producing. And that was the life story of Walt Disney!
And who did Richard envision as playing kindly old uncle Walt? You guessed it. Dreyfuss wanted to play Disney.
As you can probably understand, this wasn’t exactly the way Ron Miller had wanted this encounter to go. I’m told that Miller tried mightly to get this meeting back on track. But Dreyfuss could not be dissuaded. While he was flattered to be offered the part of Albert Einstein, the role that Richard really wanted to play was Walt Disney. Particularly the young Walt Disney. The guy who kept risking it all in pursuit of his dreams.
Speaking of pursuing your dreams … Ron Miller still had hopes of producing an Albert Einstein bio pic when he was unceremoniously booted out of Walt Disney Productions in the Fall of 1984. And Miller’s successor — Michael Eisner — hasn’t really shown much interest in Disney Studios doing film biographies. Over the past 20 years, the studios has attempted a handful of movies in this difficult genre (EX: 1994’s “Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale,” 1995’s “Pocahontas” and 1996’s “Nixon”). But — for the most part — the Mouse prefers to produce more mainstream fare.
Though — that said — Eisner did really take to Ron Miller’s idea of having Richard Dreyfuss appear in Disney-produced films. Over the two decades, Dreyfuss has appeared in no less than ten Mouse House projects. These include his on-screen performance in 1986’s “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” 1987’s “Stakeout,” 1991’s “What About Bob?” and 1995’s “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” As well as Richard’s great vocal performance as the Centipede in Henry Selick’s stop motion masterpiece, “James and the Giant Peach.”
Still, as fun as all those films are … I can’t help but think about the Richard Dreyfuss movie that we all missed out on: Disney’s “Einstein,” the film that was going to try and make physics fun.
Your thoughts?