Peter S. writes in to ask:
Jim,
Do you have any news regarding the Pixar/Disney split, and/or Disney’s plans for The Muppets beyond “The Wizard Of Oz” TV special?
For the sake of movie audiences, I really hope Pixar and Disney can reach an agreement of some sort. If not, it’s Disney’s loss I think.
I assume the Muppets have no hope of ever going back to The Jim Henson Company which makes me wonder how long that company can stay afloat…
As a big fan of both Pixar and the Muppets I’m eager to learn as much as possable about these stories.
Thank you!
Paul.
Dear Peter —
Let’s start with Pixar. More importantly that animation studio’s CEO, Steve Jobs. Given that Mr. Jobs controls over 60% of Pixar’s stock, he can pretty do whatever he wants with that animation studio. And — to be honest — Hollywood still isn’t getting any clear signals about Steve wants to do with Pixar.
I mean, let’s take a look at that third quarter earnings webcast that Jobs chaired last Thursday. Steve threw out so many curve balls during that conference call that Pixar’s investors — as well as most of Wall Street — are still trying to figure what Pixar’s CEO actually has his sleeve.
The Reader’s Digest version of what Jobs said to investors is:
- Pixar is no longer in negotiations with the Walt Disney Company regarding an extension of their existing coproduction / distribution agreement.
- Over the past couple of months, Pixar representatives have been making the rounds in Hollywood. Meeting with representatives of other major studios for what are euphemistically being called “get acquainted sessions.”
- Steve will not be making an official decision about which studio Pixar will be signing with until the Summer of 2005. (Which — not-so-co-incidentally — is when the Walt Disney Company will be announcing who its next CEO will be.)
- Pixar has pushed back the release of its first post-Disney — “Ratatouille” — from the Fall of 2006 to the Summer of 2007.
So — given that Jobs has once again pushed back the time period for when he has to make a final decision about which studio will wind up releasing Pixar’s post-Disney pictures — Hollywood insiders are betting that what Steve really wants to do here is remain in business with the Mouse House. But ONLY if Disney’s CEO is A) a guy that Jobs can work with and B) that the new Big Cheese at Disney is willing to meet the sure-to-be extraordinary financial terms that Steve will be spelling out.
On the other hand, if Jobs ultimately opts not to have Disney continue as Pixar’s co-production/distribution partner … Well, that’s not really a bad thing either.
Which (I know) must sound like blasphemy to a lot of your Disneyana fans out there. But I like to take the long view, folks. And — if Disney goes from being Pixar’s partner to its rival … Well, that might finally force that that useless group of suits who currently run Walt Disney Feature Animation (I.E. The same bunch of boobs who recently chased off WDAF vet Pam Coats because — God Forbid! — she wanted Disney to once more make quality films with solid stories & memorable characters again. Rather than cost effective products that could be easily intergrated into the corporation’s pre-existing business units) to stop micro-managing and allow the studio’s remaining artists & storymen to make good movies again.
Besides, back in the 1930s – 1950s, Walt Disney Productions didn’t distribute its own films. Disney had the distribution units at two other major studios — United Artists (1932 – 1937) and RKO Pictures (1937 – 1956) — handle the logistics when it came to getting its shorts & features out to theaters. It wasn’t til 1954 ’til Disney eventually set up its own film distribution company: The Buena Vista Distribution Company, which later became known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
And — given that things seem to have turned out well when Walt Disney finally got total control over how his pictures were distributed — I’d imagine that Pixar will continue to prosper, that the studio will continue to crank out entertaining films no matter who Steve Jobs eventually signs his distribution deal with.
Sure, it’d be nice if Pixar stayed with Disney. By that I mean: I know that John Lasseter and Pete Docter are huge Disneyana fans. And that these Pixar vets really get off on the idea that the characters that they created are now walking around inside Disney theme parks. That the films they made are serving as the basis for new rides & shows at Disneyland & Walt Disney World.
But let’s remember what Steve Jobs once said. That he didn’t just want to go into competition with the Walt Disney Company. Jobs wanted to become the NEXT Walt Disney. So — knowing that — and knowing that Pixar’s just recieved clearance to finally go ahead with its plans to double the size of its Emeryville, CA. campus … Well, who knows what direction we’ll see Steve take his animation company in next? Will we see Pixar follow Disney’s well-established path and ultimately move into the production of live action features, television shows and — dare I say it? — theme parks?
All I can tell you folks is that Pixar Animation Studio is currently sitting on top of a cash reserve of nearly 3/4th of a billion dollars. And that stack of money is sure to get a whole lot higher once the ticket receipts for “The Incredibles” and next year’s release, “Cars,” are finally tallied. And Jobs is sure to do SOMETHING with that huge pile of dough.
But — as to what exactly that might be … Well, as I said at the very start of this week’s “Why For” column, Steve’s been sending out an awful lot of mixed signals lately. So maybe Pixar will stick with Disney IF (And that’s a pretty big “If,” folks) Jobs likes the Mouse House’s new Big Cheese. But — to be honest — it isn’t helping matters when Mickey officially revealed earlier this week that the Walt Disney Company is moving forward with production of “Toy Story III.” A sequel that Steve is said to be deadset against.
So now, Peter S., can you understand why it’s been extremely difficult for even the most inside of Hollywood insiders to predict what Steve Jobs is going to do next. Which (according to Pixar staffers that I talk with) seems to suit Steve just fine.
Now — as for the second part of your questions — on the Muppet side of things … I have some much happier news.
You want some idea of what the Walt Disney Company is going to do with Kermit & Co? Here. Click on this link, which will take you straight to muppets.com. The newly redesigned, recently relaunched (“How recently?,” you ask. How’s Wednesday of this week strike you?) online home of Miss Piggy & pals.
Here, you’ll be able to see the logo as well as concept art for the Muppets’ first project-of-size for the Walt Disney Company, “The Muppet Wizard of Oz” (Which is still on track to debut on ABC in May of 2005 as a special “Sweeps” episode of “The Wonderful World of Disney”). There’s also lots of other fun spots to visit at the site — like the newstand (Where you can check out the latest Muppet-related headlines as well as bounce various objects off of the poor Muppet Newsman’s head) or you can poke around Miss Piggy’s trailer.
Clearly, Disney’s web designers put a lot of love & care into the creation of muppets.com. As I understand it, their goal was to create a site that would recapture much of the sense of fun & whimsy that Kermit & Co. have been so closely associated with over the past 40+ years.
Mind you, a lot of JHM readers have already written to me, thrilled with how pretty the muppets.com site is. As Janice’s Twin said:
“This site looks just like the way I pictured MGM’s “Muppet Studios” looking after I read your old “When You Wish Upon a Frog” series of stories over at LaughingPlace.com. You don’t suppose that muppets.com is just WDI’s way of field-testing what a new version of a “Muppet” land for Disney’s theme parks would look like?”
Well, that seemed like kind of a silly question, Janice’s Twin. But — just in case you were on to something — I made a call to a friend at Walt Disney Imagineering. He said:
“Admittedly, the site looks great. And a number of the ideas that the web designers used here are actually direct lifts from plans that the Imagineers previously made for Muppet-related shows & attractions for the parks. Like Miss Piggy’s trailer, for example. We built something just like that for the ‘Muppets on Location: Days of Swine & Roses” show at MGM.
But as for WDI actually building a new ‘Muppet’ land for one of the theme parks that looks just like this … Maybe in a few years, after Chris Curtin gets this franchise back up to full speed, we can talk about it. But — as for the immediate future — nothing this ambitious is going to happen, Jim. At least ’til Disney management determines that the company can actually make money off of the Muppets.”
Which I know has to be disappointing news to Janice’s Twin. But at least I got you an answer.
Now — getting to Peter S. ‘s original question. As in: What’s going to become of the Jim Henson Company now that the Henson family has sold off the Muppets to the Disney Corporation? … Well, Brian Henson is in the process of radically reinventing JHC. Changing that production company which — for decades now — has been closely associated with Miss Piggy & pals into a firm that produces fantasy & science fiction films that will appeal to a broad family audience.
If you’d like to learn more about what a Muppet-less Jim Henson Company will be like, Peter S., then I suggest that you head over to Henson.com. Where you can poke around and learn even more about what Brian Henson has planned for his father’s old company.
Speaking of Henson’s family: Jim’s daughters Lisa & Cheryl along with his widow, Jane, are all expected to make appearances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this coming Saturday & Sunday. The Hensons — along with veteran muppeteers like Jerry Nelson, Carroll Spinney & Kevin Clash — will all be taking part an extra special event entitled “Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson’s Legacy.” Co-sponsored by BAM and the Jim Henson Foundation, this two day event will feature screenings of rarely-seen footage, talks by long time Henson collaborators like writer Jerry Juhl, producer Martin Baker and historian Craig Shemin as well as puppet-building workshops.
This sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime event for Henson fans, doesn’t it? That’s why Joe Apel is heading to NYC this coming weekend. So that he can file a full report on “Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson’s Legacy” at this website sometime next week.
On the other hand, if you’d prefer to experience the fun all for yourself, you can just head on up to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (which is located at 30 Lafayette Avenue) this weekend and purchase tickets to the various events. Speaking of which, if you’d like to learn more about what’s actually been scheduled for “Muppets, Music & Magic,” click on this link.
So there you have it, Peter S. In one marathon-length “Why For,” hopefully I’ve answered most of your Muppet & Pixar related questions.
Anyway … That’s it for this week, folks. Oops! Almost forgot … Scott Liljenquist of Mouseketrips wants me to remind you guys that I’ll be giving tours of the Magic Kingdom down at Disney World on Thursday, December 9th and Monday, December 13th. So — if you’re going to be in Orlando next month and would like to hear even more Disney-related stories straight from the horse’s ass … er … I mean “mouth,” click on this link.
Have a great weekend, okay? And we’ll (hopefully) see you all again next week at JHM.
jrh