slop101

If this is true, Eisner is like the immature child who takes his ball home with him.

http://www.jimhillmedia.com/legacy/i...m~contentFrame

Okay. Quick question: How many of you have heard about what happened with those "Disney Treasures" DVDs?

For those of you who don't know: Wave 3 of this extremely popular, limited edition series of Disney DVDs was supposed to have rolled into stores on December 2nd. And -- this time around -- the titles that were to have been offered in collectible tins would have been "The Chronological Donald," "Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Vol. 2," "Tomorrowland" and "On the Front Lines."

But then -- back on November 13th -- Buena Vista Home Entertainment suddenly issued a press release, which stated that -- due to unforeseen circumstances -- the release of Wave 3 of the "Disney Treasures" DVDs was going to be pushed back 'til May 18, 2004.

So what exactly was BVHE's excuse for pushing back the release of "The Chronological Donald," "Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Vol. 2," "Tomorrowland" and "On the Front Lines?" Well ... this is where this story gets kind of convoluted.

Were you to call the Buena Vista Home Entertainment guys directly (as I did) and ask them what was going on, they'd have told you that the real reason that they'd opted to put off the release of Wave 3 of the "Disney Treasures" collection was because their production facilities had just been overwhelmed by retailers' requests for additional copies of "Finding Nemo" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" DVDs to sell this holiday season. Which is what supposedly forced BVHE to push the release of Wave 3 of the "Disney Treasures" 'til May of next year.

Which is a perfectly logical explanation, don't you think? Except that the press release that Buena Vista Home Entertainment put out about this "Disney Treasures" situation says something entirely different. It says that:

Due to the overwhelming consumer demand and retailer orders for Buena Vista Home Entertainment's WALT DISNEY TREASURES Wave 3, we have rescheduled the release to May 18, 2004.

Growing in popularity with each of the two previous debuts, demand for the four titles in the upcoming wave has exceeded BVHE's ability to manufacture enough of the highly-collectible, individually numbered, limited series.

Now where this gets truly weird is that -- if you were to e-mail the Walt Disney Company and ask what became of Wave 3 of the "Disney Treasures" DVDs -- you would have gotten a third explanation of the delay. Which was:

"Yes, it is true that the new releases from "Walt Disney Treasures" will be postponed until May 2004. This is due to a vendor delay. We do not have any further information."

So that's three explanations for the delayed release of four highly collectible Disney DVDs. So which is the real reason we won't be able to purchase any copies of Wave 3 of the "Disney Treasures" DVDs 'til next May?

Roy E. Disney.

How does Roy E. factor in here? Well, how many of you have purchased copies of any of the titles in Wave 1or Wave 2 of the "Disney Treasures" series? Do you recall how each of these collectible tins had a decorative blue wrapper on the outside? Now whose signature was on that wrapper?

You guessed it. Roy E. Disney.

According to my sources within the corporation, Disney CEO Michael Eisner -- in a fit of pique -- allegedly ordered early last month that Roy E. Disney's name be stricken from the packaging of the "Disney Treasures" DVDs. And that -- in addition -- that supposedly an effort should be made to lessen and/or remove any additional references to any or all contributions that Walt's nephew had made to the Walt Disney Company.

Sounds kind of extreme, doesn't it? Well, this should give you some idea how long this feud between Michael and Roy has been festering. I mean, just because Roy E. Disney chose to officially announce his resignation from Disney's Board of Directors on Sunday, November 30th doesn't mean that things weren't terrible between these two for weeks (and even months!) before the mainstream press latched onto this story.

And it's not like Eisner hasn't done something like this before. How many of you recall how -- in the Fall of 1994 -- Michael allegedly ordered that all references to former Disney studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg be removed from all of the company's books, videos and laser discs?

Don't believe me? Then go chase yourself down a copy of the 1993 edition of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" on laser disc. Now take a look at this disc's additional features. Given the multiple number of times that Jeffrey pops on this laser disc, you'd think that Katzenberg himself had animated every single frame of the film.

Now contrast that to the "Platinum Edition" of "Beauty and the Beast: The Special Edition" DVD that Buena Vista Home Entertainment put on sale last Fall. You could search through all the features on both discs in this set and I doubt that you'd hear more than one or two brief references to Jeffrey. It's now as if Katzenberg never existed. As if this talented producer never ever worked at the Mouse Factory.

Well, it's one thing to supposedly order that all references to a former studio head of the Walt Disney Company be deliberately stricken from the record. But quite another when the CEO Of the corporation tries to pull the same move on Walt's nephew.

Said one studio insider:

"This is a truly stupid maneuver on Eisner's part. This ham-handed attempt to get back at Roy is going to totally blow up in Michael's face. You can't just pretend that Walt's nephew never existed. Particularly now that Roy and Stanley are on the outside, trying to convince Disney shareholders that they too can make a difference.

This is the sort of thing that they used to do during Stalin's time in the Soviet Union. Not something you try and pull in today's Hollywood. Particularly when there are people like you out there, Jim. Who are happy to shine a spotlight on Eisner whenrver he's behaving like an ass.

I honestly don't know what the deal is with Michael, Jim. You'd think that -- given what PR disasters Mike Ovitz and Jeffrey's exits turned out to be for Eisner -- that this guy would finally learn from his mistakes. But not Michael. Every time Eisner gets mad, this guy loses IQ points.

Mark my words, Jim. It's this stupid petty stuff that's ultimately going to cost Eisner his job at Disney. The fact that the price of the company's stock is holding steady isn't going to matter much to the media once they find out that Disney's CEO likes to act like some Soviet dictator.

The very idea that he even try to erase all references to Roy E. Disney within the Walt Disney Company ... That's going to come back and bite Eisner in the ass big-time, Jim."

I'm afraid that I have to agree. If this allegation proves to be true -- that Eisner did in fact order that Roy E. Disney's name be removed from the wrappers on the "Disney Treasures" DVDs -- this is going to make Michael look pretty bad. That Eisner would stoop to this sort of Stalinist behavior, and then think that he could get away with it without anybody ever noticing is just beyond arrogant. It's ignorant.

Of course, once this story breaks today, I'd imagine that Buena Vista Home Entertainment will quickly be issuing a damage control press release. Which will attempt to explain why BVHE had three different explanations as to why Wave 3 of the "Disney Treasures" DVDs wasn't actually released on December 2nd.

It'll be interested to see how these guys handle the whole "Is Roy's signature still on the DVDs' wrapper or not?" issue. I'm betting that -- just to play it safe -- Buena Vista Home Entertainment will issue a non-denial denial. Which is PR talk for an answer that sounds pretty good, but doesn't actually get around to answering anyone's question.

But -- if these are the sorts of moves that Mike's going to make -- maybe it's good that he and a team of his trusted executives reportedly quietly slipped away from Disney headquarters in Burbank yesterday afternoon. To meet in secret some 30 miles away from the lot. With the hope that whatever it was that they were talking about wouldn't leak back to Walt's nephew and Stanley Gold.

And what is it exactly that Eisner and Co. supposedly talked about? Allegedly, they were putting together a battle plan for the next few weeks. Something that would take the wind out of Roy and Stanley's sails. Undercut the momentum of the "Oust Eisner" movement.

And what might that plan be? When I know ... You'll know. I'll post what I learn right here as soon as I get my hot little hands on the info.

But -- for now -- let's all reflect back on the idea of a CEO that's so out of touch, so arrogant, that he actually allegedly thought that he could erase Roy E. Disney from the Walt Disney Company.

El-Kabong

And then there's this tidbit that you missed:


and a little bit further down:

Damn this internal politics! I just want the disc. A pox them all!

Michael Corvin

slop1, by chance an X-files fan? This is Lone Gunmen material here. lol.

This reminds me of Apple though. Steve Jobs hiring an exec from Pepsi to run the company and the new guy fires Jobs from the company he created. This began the slide from #1 computer company to single digit market share.

Same thing will happen to Disney. Give it ten years. Disney won't have the same quality associated with it as in the 90's, much less the Walt years.

milo bloom

You know, the tins are pretty, but they're just dust collectors right now. Just give us the damn_discs.

slop101

I put question marks in the title for a reason - I just brought it out as a possibility.

Just the fact that it's kind of believable shows what a dick Eisner can be.

JoeyOhhhh

I thought the same thing while looking at my tins the other day and seeing Roy's name on them.

I wouldn't doubt the facility problems either, b/c on a somewhat related note, recent copies of Finding Nemo and Lion King at work have come without slip cases.

Vision Society

Eisner has acted this way for almost 20 years. He would get rid of anyone that is a treat to his job, and he has enough charisma with the board to get what he wants. This is nothing new, and I'm certainly not surprised by this news. Wall Street knows this already and Disney's stock has paid for it in the past.

Eisner's behavior is nothing like Stalin. Eisner is a fine product of capitalism. He's the head of a publicly traded company, if you don't like him, you get rid of him by buying up lots of stock.

Pants

The Walt Disney Treasures speculation is total Bullshit (as Leonard Maltin's letter clearly stipulates)

wmunn

Hell, he put most of the current member ON the board. They are nothing more than his YES guys. Eisner will need to be pushed out by pressure from wallstreet. He will not voluntarily let go of the reigns, they will be pried from his cold dead hands so to speak. Too bad really, as he has sucked the very essence from the Disney company. Morale is at an all time low, everyone covering their own ass, afraid of further and further layoffs and cutbacks. Roy really was speaking the truth, Disney is in big trouble under the guidance of Eisner.

Think about this for a minute, the only thing really holding Disney up at this time is the Pixar deals, with most of the animation dept on the skids, especially now without the leadership of roy, once Pixar pulls out, what exactly will Disney be marketing besides, old, run down pictures that have already been milked dry 10 times over.....

Breakfast with Girls

Disney animation, maybe.

wmunn

Animation is what the company was FOUNDED upon, without a healthy animation business, there is inherant instability in the rest of their organization. The parks and television businesses depends upon animated material to drive their business model. With the current sad state of affairs in the animation business line, and overall lack of morale in the rest of the company, their is trouble... Why don't you see that?

Rogue588

More fuel for the fire..?

Tigger

Esiner has bastardized the entire foundation the company was founded on by trying to make a quick buck in creating pathetic sequels in the direct to video market, weak storylines and 2nd place animation in the features and the increasingly poor success in the Animated Feature Films that are released around the holidays. Look at the track record- Brother Bear, Treasure Planet, Atlantis, Piglet's Big Movie, and the awful Return to Neverland, Cinderella 2, Little Mermaid 2 and so on. The bread and butter for the companies for years was the quality, morals and family based fi;ms. Now each product shown screams Quick Buck. Although my user name is Tigger, I love the company of old, and despite Eisner stepped in when he did, being a strong in building media across the world, turned the company around, there comes a point where new visions, directions and strength needs to be rebuilt. Now is that time.

Michael Corvin

You left out Emperor's new Groove which was a Thanksgiving movie. Better than the ones you listed but nowhere near up to par with the greats. I think it tanked as well.

Dazed

There used to be a time when you could look forward to Disney creating something wonderful. The last time I even remotely wanted to see one of their 'cartoons' was the Lion King.

What a sad time for Disney. Thank goodness for Pixar who have filled the gap nicely with their magic.

unbeeleebable

This thread is an extremely interesting read to say the least. It all doesn't bode well for Disney really while Eisner is at the helm which is a real shame.

ctyankee

Well said. I'm no big Disney fan, but I respected the way they went to market. First class, well thought out products. When you went to Disney World, you paid for it handsomely, but the product was always first class.

Some would say that since Frank Wells died, things haven't been the same. It is obvious that creative talent has left Disney in droves. All studios go through up and downs but from a marketing perspective, Disney moves don't make much sense.

When you are the platinum studio (at least from an animation standpoint) why risk cheapening your product with poorly done spin-offs? It just doesn't make sense.

Time for new leadership.

Get Me Coffee

Trazan $435,000,000.00
The Emperor's New Groove $89,296,573.00 (US only)
Atlantis: The Lost Empire $186,049,020.00
Lilo And Stitch $245,800,000.00
Treasure Planet $91,800,000.00
TOTAL $1,047,945,593.00

That's one sad number!
Pixars total is almost double that.

milo bloom

The Emperor's New Groove really got the short end of the stick. It is a damn_funny movie, one we've watched many times in our home.

ETILIM19

Esiner is full of Bull$hit. I hate it when he turns up at the end of Snow White DVD sitting on a cosy chair introducing Barbara Striesand for gawd sake. The man doesn't care about Disney he only thinks about, sleeps about dreams about and shi$$ about is dollers and cents.

mcarver

As I have said before, the House of Mouse is bleeding (can you say "broke"?). There is a large amount of postponed titles by BV (some that were supposed to come out this last September) that have been re-scheduled for April 2004. Some are "art" titles, but some are popular titles.

I suspect it has more to do with the suppliers of the tins knowing about the empty BV pocketbooks, are demanding payment in advance....

kevin75

here is something from thedigitalbits.com from today:

We can't verify this ('cause no one at the Mouse is talking), but the always interesting Jim Hill Media site has some interesting background on what might really be happening with those Walt Disney Treasures, Wave 3 DVDs at Buena Vista (click here and here for the details). It seems that the discs might have gotten caught in the crossfire between Disney CEO Michael Eisner and recently resigned board member Roy Disney (also nephew of the late Walt). Roy, reportedly displeased with the direction Eisner has taken the company and his management style, is attempting to mount an overthrow of the CEO. From Roy's own resignation letter (available at Roy's Save Disney website), he's apparently upset by the fact that the company under Eisner has "lost its focus, its creative energy, and its heritage." The rumored gist with the DVDs is that when Roy began his takeover bid, Eisner reportedly demanded that all reference to him be stricken from the discs, which meant retooling that couldn't be done by street date. The discs were then re-slated for May, by which time it's hoped that all this will have blown over, one way or another. Personally, I suspect there's some true to this, but who knows. Consider this heavy duty Rumor Mill fodder. And stay tuned.

littlefuzzy

Who knows, maybe thedigitalbits got their rumors from this thread??

Pants

They probably did.

However if Disney plans to excise Roy Disney it will most likely make little difference to the Walt Disney Treasures since none of the previous WDT have made any mention to Roy.

On the other hand MAKE SURE YOU GET FANTASIA, FANTASIA 2000 AND SLEEPING BEAUTY before they go back in the vault Jan. 31. They had tons of Roy interviews that might get cut.

slop101

His signature is on the blue ribbon that wraps around the tins.