Not entirely sure where this belongs, but it looks interesting:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/midcaps/pixar_disney/index.htm?section=money_latest

The New York Times reports Jobs, who owns about 50 percent of Pixar, would want a strong premium to its current $5.9 billion market capitalization to consider a sale, but he would be open to an offer from its long-time partner, Walt Disney Co. The paper attributed Jobs' willingness to consider a sale to "two people with knowledge of the talks" now taking place between Disney and Pixar about possibly extending their partnership.

Now that we all know what Chicken Little was all about, Disney would be pretty dumb not to buy Pixar... I'm sure Jobs knew this would happen, and he's planning on making some serious $$$ out of Disney's tragedy with animation.

Now that we all know what Chicken Little was all about, Disney would be pretty dumb not to buy Pixar... I'm sure Jobs knew this would happen, and he's planning on making some serious $$$ out of Disney's tragedy with animation.

I must say the thought did cross my mind.. Steve Jobs is a very clever person like that.

acp. Going to bed now, since it's 0133 (yes, in the morning!)

Yeah, last week in playing around with Google News and keyword "Disney" this news popped up as speculation. Disney and Pixar are to resume talks about their contract together this coming week... After "Chicken Little's" box office tallies were know for it's opening weekend. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, Friday's estimated box office was $10,730,000. Means "Chicken Little" might rake in $30 million this weekend. The production budget, according to Box Office Mojo, was $60 million. Add in there marketing costs, and then making money world wide, and I think Disney will make it's costs back and maybe a profit of some sort. But not the kind of "wow" box office totals Disney used to make in the days of "The Little Mermaid" "Beauty & the Beast" and "The Lion King" and not the "wow" box office of Pixar movies in each of the last ten years since "Toy Story".

It's said that "Chicken Little" is the last movie Michael Eisner truly had a creative (meddlesome?) hand into while Eisner was still CEO at Disney. I remember in the "Save Disney.com" era recently ended that Roy Disney was still working at Feature Animation while "Chicken Little" was in production, and that Disney resported Eisner made changes to the characterization that were unpopular at the time internally at FA, such as Chicken Little was changed from a female to a male character.

According to Box Office Mojo.com "Toy Story" opened November 22, 1995, coming up on ten years ago. Recall what it was like to see TS in a theatre for the first time. Recall what it was like to see "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King" in a theatre for the first time. Now compare to "Chicken Little". My point is that even compared with one of the first CGI feature length movies, and it's been a decade of development and competition since then, Disney's first (second, wasn't "Dinosaur" a Disney CGI film?) foray into CGI feature animation at least should have been much better than it was. (My opinion only, others' mileages may vary.)

I'm apprehensive that Disney should own then "control" Pixar. John Lasseter's muse of channelling into the spirit of Walt Disney, my "fear" is, will be crushed if Disney started dictating how things ought to be. I'm a "What Would Walt Do?" kind of Disney fan, and I feel that John Lasseter captures the best of Walt's story telling and movie making ability with the sense of connecting to contemporary audiences that Walt was also able to do in his time. In our time Lasseter is a creative force to be reckoned with and admired, and perhaps allowed to do his thing in peace without interference from management, often imitated and competed with, but after a decade still the one on top. I hope Pixar can retain this if in fact Disney should go ahead and purchase Pixar. If not, then Disney and then Pixar will sink together, and that would be a shame.

"Chicken Little" could have benefitted by more pre-screening and internal tweaking process before being released. It's not a bad movie (I reserve that for "Atlantis") but it's a weak entry into the era of consistent CGI feature animated fare. Viewing trailers of other films from other studios, many of them CGI, I can't help but think Disney and "Chicken Little" is just one of a herd now and no longer the distinctive "gold standard" it once was.

Your mileage may vary.

I didn't see "Chicken Little" this weekend, but it did win the box office and took in over $30M, well above expectations. In fact, it was the best Disney opening weekend except for "The Lion King". This should give them some leverage when it comes to Pixar talks.

That being said, I don't like the fact that an outstanding Disney opening is now on par with a Dreamworks or Fox animated opening. I am NOT a "WWWD" kind of Disney fan, except in the sense that I think the vision he had was a solid one (tell a really amazing story, basically). Pixar has indeed been the best studio at following that formula recently, so I think from that perspective alone they should stay in the Disney fold in some fashion.

But rest assured that if Disney buys them and then snuffs out what makes their magic, another company will spring forth (maybe with the same people, who knows?) because the formula is too simple and too successful to not be followed by SOMEONE.

But rest assured that if Disney buys them and then snuffs out what makes their magic, another company will spring forth (maybe with the same people, who knows?) because the formula is too simple and too successful to not be followed by SOMEONE.

I totally agree. If Disney buys Pixar then over 2 years they will push out the real creative folks and try to manage the group in the same way they manage the current group. Don't forget - the VPs and supposed idea guys who control the animation staffs tend to take all the credit for great successes and then push the blame down the ladder when movies flop... when they themselves are at issue. I think getting an MBA has a class hidden in there called "blindness of vision"...

I think getting an MBA has a class hidden in there called "blindness of vision"...

Not all people who obtained an MBA are like that... :(



I am afraid, if Disney buys Pixar, after a short time, all the creative people will have left the company, to start a Pixar2.

I haven't seen Chicken Little (left the US too early to se eit there, and God knows when it will be in theaters over here... oh no, it will come rather soon, I saw a commercial saying which celibrities have done the Dutch voices... RUN!!! as fast as you can!!! :( ).
As a matter of fact, there aren't that many "newer" Disney-films I have seen the last years, and those I have seen were, well... Brother Bear is pretty much OK, from the moment it's just bears, I don't care about the first part. Treasure-thing was... I didn't like it, it wasn't enough "kiddie-movie". And I didn't go to any other ones... they didn't taunt me.

Why is it that Pixar can make greta movies? Or even Dreamworks with Shrek? No, not because their technology is better, but because they can come up with a better story. Disney needs some new story-tellers. Or people who go to the library, to read old fairytales, and come up with great versions of those.

Not all people who obtained an MBA are like that... :(

.

sorry about that. let me qualify this by saying these are the ones that WDC hires. (well, Netscape in the late 90s hired a bunch of the same types - so it must be catchy). :p

sorry about that. let me qualify this by saying these are the ones that WDC hires. (well, Netscape in the late 90s hired a bunch of the same types - so it must be catchy). :p

Darnit, I just sent my application letter to Disney! ;)

I didn't see "Chicken Little" this weekend, but it did win the box office and took in over $30M, well above expectations. In fact, it was the best Disney opening weekend except for "The Lion King". This should give them some leverage when it comes to Pixar talks.
It was actually $40 million not 30.

http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/boxoffice/;_ylt=AsxmvFFWbxMOu6WI9eTO_FtfVXcA

Doesn't make much sense for Disney to buy Pixar. If they own and manage them, then why would their creative output be any better than what Disney is doing on its own. They need to get back to the storytelling first. Harnessing the technology to make the films look great would be easy after that.

If Disney were to buy them, hopefully it would be along the Miramax model where much of the creative/fiduciary power remains with the original powers that be with Disney having limited abillity to interfere (other than simply refusing to distribute a movie or cut off financing altogether).

That said, the Weinsteins scammed Disney so successfully over the years (by manipulating bonuses) that I don't see Disney walking into that kind of marriage again.