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Disney To Halt DVD Sequels

Quote:

http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2007-06-21/
The Walt Disney Co. will no longer produce direct-to-video sequels of its animated features, according to Disney watcher Jim Hill. Hill, who has had a hit-and-miss record in reporting on inside decisions at the company, said that Sharon Morrill, president of DisneyToon Studios, has been forced to step down as part of the decision to shut down the group that produces the DVD sequels. Prior to Disney's acquisition of Pixar, Pixar executives Steve Jobs and John Lasseter had publicly complained about the quality of the sequels, maintaining that they undercut the value of the original features. Disney executives had responded that the sequels had proved to be enormously successful for the studio. According to Hill, Lasseter made the decision to halt further production of the DVD sequels and fire Morrill after viewing a "work-in-progress version" of The Tinkerbell Movie, which Hill described as "an awful mess." Hill said that Lasseter complained to Disney chief Robert Iger that the movie was "virtually unwatchable." As a direct result of that meeting, Hill wrote, "some $30 million worth of animation had to be scrapped."

It nice to see someone at Disney wants to stop putting out the Direct to dvd sequels after finally realizing how much they really suck, hopefully this holds up for good.

This is really great news, if true. It's going to be hard for Disney to walk away from all of that money, though...

What's most disappointing is that they are giving them up because of inside pressure, NOT because the sales were bad. If the inside pressure didn't exist, they would crank these things out forever until the end of time. It's like printing money for them.

Disappointing news about the Tinkerbell movie as well. While I agree the sequels are mostly crap, I have daughter looking forward to this one, and I had hoped they would make a decent stand alone film of it.

Im really glad someone shows that they dont care to have just money.

If they made sequels that were really good, it wouldnt need to be DTV. They could make tons more in theaters and such wih merchandising and stuff.

Now I wont have to sit through another Mulan 2....god was that awful..

Quote:

Originally Posted by calhoun07

Inside pressure meaning Steve Jobs and John Lasseter firing people?
Im glad that they are putting Disney on track...

Thank god! Cinderella 2 and 3 was awful!

John Lasseter continues to be my hero...

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheJoker

Now I wont have to sit through another Mulan 2....god was that awful..

You didn't have to sit through it before, either.

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Originally Posted by GoldenJCJ

John Lasseter continues to be my hero...

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Originally Posted by The Third Jake

You didn't have to sit through it before, either.

LOL, funny thing was...I really didnt watch it all.
I watched the first five minutes and then skipped chapters.....its just went downhill everytime I skipped a chapter....

great news but aww man i feel sorry for that guy who was fired, why can't they fire ppl like that in FOX? lol...anyways, does anyone know how many direct to dvd sequels were there?

From a business standpoint I wouldn't think this makes sense- I thought those direct to dvd sequels made a fortune for Disney. But maybe they don't generate that much or maybe they do "cheapen" the classics. I don't know. But I'll still be very surprised if this is true.

its really sad that they do this just for money, i mean its understandable to a certain extent cause they have the power and are a company but some of these guys are so rich its mind boggling its un nessecerry to milk these timeless classics.

the most original things they've had in years have only been with pixar, and even then is probobly not there scripts to begin with. the creative juices are still there, we've seen pirates do nice numbers for disney, everyone is just so F'ing lazy now that were seeing cinderella 3. and it honestly wouldnt surprize me if they F'ed with one of my fav's, the great mouse detective.

I'm glad *SOMEBODY* at Disney realized that "Cinderella" didn't really need two different sequels.

But now my hopes for "Song of the South 2" are crushed. :sad:

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPP

But also from a business standpoint you have to understand how the public views you. If you heap crap on children of today, they will grow up hating Disney in the future. How many adults today look back on Disney with good feelings because they managed to consistently provide great entertainment, which made for good business in the long run because those parents were willing to share those great movies with their kids. Kids today with the craptacular direct to DVD sequels will realize they sucked and won't really want to share them with their kids in the future, threatening the longevity of Disney.

Sometimes running a business doesn't mean you focus on the fast buck you can make now but having a long term goal. It's time Disney gets back to being a name for quality and not a joke brand name for substandard product. We've got Dreamworks on that job already. It's a bummer it took them this long to get a clue...we've got what? 10 years of substandard sequels, or perhaps more? Well, if anybody can get the company back on track to creating quality movies it's Lassiter.

Damn! I was so hoping for Steamboat Willie 2.......That fricking sucks!!

To para-phrase Bill Hicks

It's Dead, it's dead, oh what a great day, after years of me and my movie fan friends shooting darts at that huge elephant like we were pygmies, it's finally dead!!!

Bought so much crap for the sake of collecting, and oh what crap it was.

They wouldn't have had this problem if you parents wouldn't buy every piece of shit movie for your whining rugrats just because it said Disney on the cover. :lol:

Yeah, agreed, we bought a few at first, not for our whining rugrats, but for my wife who collects Disney. After the first few, just kept hoping it would get better, but after 3 or four, just totally gave up on them putting any effort into this crap at all.

I will have to wait and see if Disney really means it. I think they will resume direct to DVD sequels.

This means no Pocahontas 8: The Casino Years. Do they realize kids'll have to watch ESPN to learn how to play poker now?

I'm going to have to quote myself from the New Goofy Short thread.

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Originally Posted by Michael Corvin

John mother-fuckin' Lasseter rocks. Damn this is awesome.

God bless John Lasseter.

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Originally Posted by Subgeniusguy

The movie wasn't scrapped, some $30 million worth of animation had to be scrapped. It is being reworked and targeted for release next year. Lasseter was displeased with the progress. The Tinkerbell movie was supposed to be used to launch a new toy line this July alongside the Princess line. As I'm sure you've noticed, the toys are out anyway. The DVD/movie was the big marketing push.

*edit* Quick google search reveals that this news hit around Dec. 22. Here's one article :

Quote:

Disney has decided to delay next year's release of a "Tinker Bell" DVD movie that the company was counting on to drive sales of a key new line of merchandise aimed at young girls, it was reported Thursday.

The entertainment giant had been hoping Disney Fairies, introduced last year, can replicate some of the success it has enjoyed with its lucrative Disney Princesses line of dolls, clothes, videos and other merchandise, according to the Los Angeles Times.

But executives from Pixar Animation Studios, who now run Disney 's animated movies business, decided the plot of "Tinker Bell" needed some tinkering, the newspaper said.

As a result, the film, originally scheduled to release only on DVD market next fall, is being pushed back until at least 2008.

Pixar executives were tapped to turn around Disney's feature animation unit, which has struggled in recent years to turn out hits, as part of Disney's 7.4-billion-dollar acquisition of the studio early this year. Pixar's work includes such blockbusters as "Cars," "Finding Nemo," "The Incredibles" and "Toy Story."

One of the first things the Pixar executives did was to review existing Disney projects, taking an especially close look at the strength of their story lines, the newspaper report said.

"Tinker Bell" is expected to introduce new characters to pave the way for new movies and other products with the title character 's friends. Actress Brittany Murphy is scheduled to voice Tinker Bell, who doesn't speak in Disney's 1953 animated film "Peter Pan. "

It was reported that Steve Jobs, chairman of Apple Computer Inc. who swapped his stake in Pixar to become Disney's largest shareholder through the acquisition, has been a chief critic of Disney's direct-to-video strategy.

Jobs reportedly argued that Disney should make the movies better and release them to theaters, where continuing publicity would help lift DVD sales.

Quote:

Jobs reportedly argued that Disney should make the movies better and release them to theaters, where continuing publicity would help lift DVD sales.

It boggles my mind that it required Steve Jobs to educate a major company like Disney on this concept. Of course, after seeing the box office performance of Shrek the Third, I'm convinced you can release any direct-to-video crap in the theater and everyone will flock to it with their kids. (Unfortunately, I was guilty of that myself. But I won't fall for it when the fourth comes out.)