It’s kind of sad, actually. But Wall Street still doesn’t seem have a clue about what’s actually going on here.
By that I mean: It’s been three weeks since Roy Disney and Stanley Gold tendered their resignations to the Walt Disney Company’s Board of Directors. And investment analysts — as they continue to eyeball what’s been going on between Disney, Gold and Michael Eisner — already seem to have settled on one pat answer when it comes to explaining how (they think) this is all going to play out: “It’s just Carla Fiorina and Walter Hewlett revisited.”
“Carly Fio-what-ie?” you say. “Walter who-lett?” Okay. It’s time for a quick non-Disney corporate history lesson: How many of you recall how — back in late 2001 — technology giant Hewlett-Packard announced its intentions to join forces with the Compaq Computer Corporation. This mega-merger was relentlessly championed by HP CEO Carly Fiorina and vocally opposed by Walter Hewlett, a member of Hewlett-Packard’s Board of Directors as well as being the son of HP’s co-founder, William Hewlett.
Early last year, these two squared off in a battle royale for the heart and soul of Hewlett-Packard. There were lawsuits, press conferences, board room battles, courthouse appearances. With Carly and Walter constantly whacking away at one another. And the business press just ate the whole thing up.
(If you’d like to learn more about Fiorina and Hewlett’s fight for control of Hewlett-Packard’s future, there are actually already two pretty good books out there that go into great detail about this boardroom brouhaha: Peter Burrows’ “Backfire: Carly Fiorina’s High-Stakes Battle for the Soul of Hewlett-Packard” [John Wiley and Sons, February 2003) which favors Carly’s side of the story, and George Ander’s “Perfect Enough: Carly Fiorina and the Reinvention of Hewlett-Packard” [Portfolio, January 2003] which tends to favor Walter’s take on the tale.)
Anyway … the end result of all this public wrangling was that — after a Delaware judge ruled that a March 19th shareholder vote (during which a majority of HP stockholders actually voted in favor of acquiring Compaq Computer) was legal — that Walter Hewlett eventually abandoned his opposition to the $19 billion merger with Compaq Computer in late April of 2002. So all that light and noise … eventually resulted in nothing much changing. That everything went back to the status-quo at HP.
So that’s the way Wall Street seems to think that this whole Roy / Stanley / Michael thing is going to eventually play out. Sure, it’ll be a fun story for the business press to cover. And financial analysts will probably get a big kick out of watching Eisner and Disney do the corporate equivalent of mud wrestling. But — in the end — nothing much is actually going to change. According to these Wall Street types, Michael’s eventually going to come out on top and — then — it’ll be back to business as usual at the Mouse Factory.
Except that … well … you see, Hewlett-Packard makes computers. And no one — not even the most hardcore computer geek — ever really felt warm-and-fuzzy about a digital imaging product.
Whereas the Walt Disney Company … well, this is the corporation that was founded on a tradition of telling stories well. This is the company that has made millions upon millions out of turning myths into major motion pictures. Creating popular pieces of entertainment that featured these incredibly powerful messages … like good will always triumph over evil. And that a few people — working together toward a common cause — can often unseat a powerful adversary.
Both Michael Eisner and Wall Street clearly doesn’t understand this part of the equation. He thinks that — as long as the stock price stays up and Disney’s investors stay in his corner — that he’ll be able to retain power. Which is why Michael has chosen to pretend that Roy and Stanley aren’t really a serious threat. And that — if he just doesn’t publicly acknowledge what Disney and Gold are saying about his leadership of the Walt Disney Company — that this whole awkward situation will eventually resolve itself peacefully. And then life at the Mouse House will go back to the way it used to be … Where Eisner’s rule was always absolute &unquestioned.
But Roy and Stanley. These guys actually understand the power of the stories that the Walt Disney Company has been spinning out for the past 70+ years. Which is why they’re secretly thrilled that Wall Street seems to have cast Disney and Gold as the underdogs in this situation. Why for? Because — if you know your Disney films — the underdog always triumphs in the end.
But you know who else understands the power of the stories that the Walt Disney Company has told over the past seven decades? David Pruiksma. David was once one of Disney’s top character animators. You know Flounder in “The Little Mermaid,” Chip in “Beauty and the Beast,” the Sultan in “Aladdin,” Flit in “Pocahontas” and Victor and Hugo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”? Well, Pruiksma helped to bring all of these memorable Disney characters to life.
The only problem was … while David was working at the very top of his game, Walt Disney Feature Animation had begun spinning into the dirt. Why for? Well, Pruiksma was probably among the first to see the handwriting on the wall. That — under Michael Eisner’s increasingly erratic management — that WDFA had lost its way. That the execs who were running this once-legendary division of Walt Disney Studios weren’t all really interested in telling good stories and/or in making great movies anymore. That all these suits cared about was making a buck.
Which is why — after nearly 20 years of pushing a pencil for Disney — David came to the extremely difficult decision that he’d have to leave WDFA. That he couldn’t just idly stand by and watch what he loved be dismantled by a bunch of accountants masquerading as creative executives.
Mind you, Pruiksma did NOT go quietly. In May of 2001, as he made his exit from the studio that he had called home for almost two decades, David fired off a blistering e-mail to many of his friends at the Disney Company, “A Farewell to the Mouse.” Which (I think you’ll agree) does a pretty succinct job of summing up all that this talented animator thought had been going wrong at the Mouse Factory over the past few years.
And — in the months that followed — Dave continued to use his website, “Dave’s Luncheonette,” — to criticize the current management team at the Walt Disney Company. Last year, animation fans got a particularly large kick out of Pruiksma’s parable about the “Demise of the Disney (that) we all love,” an article entitled “The Emperor’s New Greed: A Not So Silly Symphony.”
Given that Pruiksma was among the first to openly criticize Disney Company management, is it really any surprise that Dave was among the first to rush to Roy Disney’s aid after Walt’s nephew announced that he was resigning from the Mouse House. Less than 40 hours after Roy had tendered his resignation, David — along with his colleagues, Steve Moore and Tim Hauser — had crafted an on-line letter of support for Disney and Gold’s cause. Which they then fired off in all directions around the web, asking any and any members of the animation community to come forward and express their support for what Roy and Stanley were trying to do.
And then … Well, something truly extraordinary happened. In just a few days time, over 4200 people came forward and agreed to attach their names to Hauser, Moore and Pruiksma’s letter of support. And we’re not just talking about weenies like yours truly (though — in the spirit of full disclosure — I guess I should point out that I was the 22nd person to sign this petition), but real giants of the entertainment industry.
“Like who?” you ask. Well, here’s just a partial list of the folks that I’m sure Disneyana fans will recognize:
Tom Bancroft
Tony Bancroft
James Baxter
Alice Davis
Gaetan Brizzi
Paul Brizzi
Brenda Chapman
Michael Gabriel
Harrison Ellenshaw
Ollie Johnston
Bill Kroyer
Sue Kroyer
Frank Thomas
Gary Trousdale
Tom Sito
Look at that list, folks. If you were to harness the talents of just the 15 people that I’ve listed above (which includes two of Walt’s “Nine Old Men” as well as some of the top animators, directors and story people working today), you would probably be able to create the greatest animated film of all time.
Yet these folks are just the tip of the iceberg. Over 4200 other animation fans and professionals came forward — totally disregarding any possible impact that signing this petition might have on their futures in the entertainment industry. Why for? Because they felt that it was important to Sign Tim, Steve and David’s letter and show their support for Roy and Stanley’s cause.
And — in addition to the people who signed the Pruiksma petition — I’m told that over 5500 other folks have written directly to Roy and Stanley at their www.savedisney.com website. Offering words of encouragement, leading their support for Disney and Gold’s campaign to oust Eisner.
And yet Michael Eisner remains silent, hidden away in his ivory tower in beautiful downtown Burbank. Disney’s embattled CEO has yet to publicly acknowledge that Roy and Stanley are even out there, actively seeking to end his reign. Which just reinforces — to those of us who are watching this drama unfold, anyway — how truly clueless, isolated and detached Eisner seem to be these days. While the animation community as well as Disneyana fans from around the globe eagerly sign up to join Disney and Gold’s army, Michael remains mute.
MEMO TO MICHAEL: It’s time to come down out of your tower. Better yet, go pull a few of the feature length animated films that the Walt Disney Company produced during your tenure out of the vault and actually take a look at them. You need to understand that the myths that your corporation has sold the public over the past 7 decades are extremely powerful. And that — while you may actually not believe in any of these stories, Michael — Disney shareholders and the public at large still do. Which is why they continue to pull for good to triumph over evil, why they enjoy seeing the greedy and the powerful made humble.
Like it or not, Michael, you’re in the process as being painted as the villain of this piece. And Roy and Stanley are rapidly emerging as the underdogs of this tale. Which is why — unless you want to replicate Gaston’s untimely demise from “Beauty and the Beast” (I.E. a painful fall from a very great height) — you have to end your silence ASAP. Publicly acknowledge what Disney and Gold are doing. Get your side of the story out there.
Otherwise … well … you could end up mything the boat.
Your thoughts?