Great Huffington Post article on what Disney really needs in a new CEO

clsteve · Feb 3, 2015

lockedoutlogic said:
I wish universal would buy out Seaworld and link up the two more or less through longterm property acquisitions...

The convention center is right there... So Orlando would be in.

And after the whining and bullying Disney has done in the last 20 years to the state/city/counties...they'd all be game to stick it to them a little while maintaining the public face.

Plus the BG Parks. With the SeaWorld "issues" lately, price should be about as good as it gets right now. Lots of synergy there, just don't know if the Board and Street are ready to assume that much of a P&R increase to the overall portfolio plus the PR of handling "What are you going to do with all those poor wet mammals....?" that would come from some quarters. Love to see it, though. I thinks heads would explode from Burbank to this Board and everywhere in between.

Those Marketshare stats came from here btw:

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...orlando-wizarding-world-theme-park-attendance

But who really wants to put things in context when we can talk about record attendance and and record profit figures straight from Disney! That reminds me, time for the call.......

Yellowstonetim · Feb 3, 2015

rteetz said:
It wasn't intended not to be an opinion article we all write our opinions on here and many don't agree with you and I.

I accept that it is just an opinion piece and not news, therefore the author can give any opinion and reasoning they want. It is the excess rhetoric and very insulting language that undermines credibility. Being childishly rude makes the author lose any credibility they might have otherwise had.

eXo said:
I feel like I've just fallen through the rabbit hole and found myself in a backwards, upside down, merry un-birthday world.

Eisner very nearly killed Disney. Sure, he attempted to expand like crazy, and those ventures essentially flopped. Great job w/ Euro Disney there buddy. Meanwhile, he allowed the existing parks to stagnate.

Eisner is the one who fired Pixar and said they could do it cheaper in house. You can thank him for Home on the Range, Bolt, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and every other movie that murdered the Disney brand in the early to mid 2000's and allowed Dreamworks to go from derivative knock off crap like Shark Tale to a major competitor.

Katzenberg often gets credit for being involved in the golden Disney films of the 90s', however I have always failed to understand how he gets credit for movies that were well into production before he ever strolled in. He was known for editing the crap out of these movies. Anyone here care to recall how Robin Williams did the Genie's voice under the agreement that they would not advertise the movie using his name? Katzenberg and Eisner 100$ screwed Williams over on that deal.

The people who made the films you guys all loved HATED Katzenberg. And he was there 100% because of Eisner. Hell, even Eisner realized that Katzenberg was a problem.

Meanwhile, Eisner and Katzenberg are walking around with all this credit for recreating this Disney Golden Age when the concepts and production of several of these films all date back to Ron Miller's time. You know, the guy who funded Tim Burton's work giving us NMBC and everything that was released under Touchstone?

Roy Disney friggin QUIT THE COMPANY and started a SAVE DISNEY campaign. That is how bad Eisner was. How anyone who actually appreciates Disney and understands the history of the company can argue that Iger is worse than Eisner is absolutely beyond me. Iger single-handedly saved the movie division by rescuing the relationship with Pixar and acquiring them. Eisner had not only cut Pixar, but he had killed the traditional animation department. What was left?

Iger knew that Disney was 100% based on characters, and guess what - they didn't have *any* new ones in the pipeline. Pixar saved Disney, like it or not. It gave Disney time to regroup and get back to developing new stories. And what did the go back and develop? Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen. One of which is one of the highest grossing movies ever.

How in the world can the article claim that Disney has lost being "Disney", when Iger has done the one thing that defines Disney more than any other CEO SINCE Disney? All he has done is BUILD their character base. The acquisition of LucasFilms was brilliant. Not only did it bring in a ton of very recognizable characters, it saved the franchise. Lucas was murdering Star Wars. There is absolutely no way the new movies can be worse than the prequels.

Acquiring Marvel was especially brilliant. Disney has a shortage of boys characters. The princesses are bank, but Cars and Planes can only take them so far. Super heroes on the other hand are the boy version of Princesses. Those characters allow them to cater equally to both boys and girls, while giving both of them the fantasies they want to have.

I don't know what those of you who so cleverly call the CEO "Ogre" think Disney means, but I'll tell you what Walt defined it as.

"I am interested in entertaining people, in bringing pleasure, particularly laughter, to others, rather than being concerned with 'expressing' myself with obscure creative impressions."
-Walt Disney

"We are not trying to entertain the critics. I'll take my chances with the public."
-Walt Disney

My kids LOVE the current Disney movies. They love dressing up as princesses and super heroes. They adore the Disney Jr. shows. My daughter, and so many others, have spent hours dreaming of being Queen Elsa.

You can debate graphs and financials all you want, but there are some indisputable facts here:
Disney is relevant to today's kids
Disney is banking at both the box office and the parks
Roy Disney, nor any other chairman, has ever quit the company to start an entire campaign to "save" the company from Iger.

Under Eisner, especially towards the end of his egomaniac run, Disney was *not* relevant to children (Bolt, Dinosaur, Chicken Little, Home on the Range, Brother Bear, Meet the Robinsons, and I hate to say it, even Treasure Planet all flopped. The ONLY money making movies released during that time period were ALL Pixar). And let me remind you that even as Eisner was getting FORCEFULLY booted out of the company, he still caught wind of Iger trying to bring Pixar back and he went down and attempted to talk the board out of it.
Source: http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_c...cquisition-of-pixar.aspx#sthash.79h5rkf2.dpbs

Anyone who thinks Eisner was better for Disney than Iger has a little history to brush up on.

Couldn't have said it better! Agree 100%!

eXo · Mar 4, 2015

I find it interesting that those who have the most negative things to say about Iger weren't actually around/paying attention much during the Eisner years.

At the risk of nuclear implosion within this thread, it is much like how every active president has extremely vocal critics who point to past presidents as how things should be done.... and yet those past presidents had vocal critics for doing the very things that the new vocal critics think should be repeated...lol!

Last point - Disney World wouldn't be in such a state of decay currently if Eisner had invested anything into it. Under him 20k was an empty lagoon for years. Under him there was no permanent development of the Pixar brands within the parks. Apart from the movies that I have repeatedly stated were in production before he came along, he was responsible for very few new characters to base any new rides on. And even of the characters that did get popular under him (whether he was involved in their creation or not), he did nothing to develop them either. At best he stuck them in musicals. It took Iger to build fantasy land and give us something based on Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Eisner did nothing permanent with the golden era Disney characters. He stuck them in parades and shows and that was it. Cheap entertainment that did nothing to build the brand and make them as timeless within the parks as they were on film.

Cinderella isn't just a great movie, it's the basis of the giant castle we see every time we enter the park. That castle gives history to Cinderella. The Dumbo ride, the Peter Pan ride, etc.. these rides give relevance to today's children in regards to these older movies. Eisner overlooking these characters shows just how out of touch with what defined Disney he was.

MK has to be open every day. To build in an environment that has families in it without impacting their experience is difficult. Look at the difference between building a new highway versus expanding an existing one. One is much easier than the other. Is MK expanding/upgrading as fast as I would like? No, but at least it is working towards new things. The same can't be said for the Eisner years.

rteetz · Mar 4, 2015

eXo said:
I find it interesting that those who have the most negative things to say about Iger weren't actually around/paying attention much during the Eisner years.

At the risk of nuclear implosion within this thread, it is much like how every active president has extremely vocal critics who point to past presidents as how things should be done.... and yet those past presidents had vocal critics for doing the very things that the new vocal critics think should be repeated...lol!

Last point - Disney World wouldn't be in such a state of decay currently if Eisner had invested anything into it. Under him 20k was an empty lagoon for years. Under him there was no permanent development of the Pixar brands within the parks. Apart from the movies that I have repeatedly stated were in production before he came along, he was responsible for very few new characters to base any new rides on. And even of the characters that did get popular under him (whether he was involved in their creation or not), he did nothing to develop them either. At best he stuck them in musicals. It took Iger to build fantasy land and give us something based on Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Eisner did nothing permanent with the golden era Disney characters. He stuck them in parades and shows and that was it. Cheap entertainment that did nothing to build the brand and make them as timeless within the parks as they were on film.

Cinderella isn't just a great movie, it's the basis of the giant castle we see every time we enter the park. That castle gives history to Cinderella. The Dumbo ride, the Peter Pan ride, etc.. these rides give relevance to today's children in regards to these older movies. Eisner overlooking these characters shows just how out of touch with what defined Disney he was.

MK has to be open every day. To build in an environment that has families in it without impacting their experience is difficult. Look at the difference between building a new highway versus expanding an existing one. One is much easier than the other. Is MK expanding/upgrading as fast as I would like? No, but at least it is working towards new things. The same can't be said for the Eisner years.

Eisner was with Disney for a long time he did a lot of good and bad. Iger has done good and bad as well. While yes not all the movies that came out during the Disney Renaissance were started under him as well. Eisner has to get credit for the renaissance because a lot of that has to do with marketing and selling merchandise. If you're going to have successful long lasting movies you have to market it right. Iger has done very well with the studios and entertainment division. Most of the concerns of Iger come in the parks division. Eisner, built DLP, DCA, AK, WDS, DHS, HK. Without him would we have those parks today? Some of them yes but definitely not all of them. Eisner loved the parks and yes he did cheap entertainment but so has Iger, WDW specifically cuts a lot of corners these days.

lockedoutlogic · Mar 4, 2015

I'm curious what you'd say to those that worked as both a frontline and as a manager/supervior across several departments in p&R under Eisner?

Just curious

DDLand · Mar 4, 2015

rteetz said:
Eisner was with Disney for a long time he did a lot of good and bad. Iger has done good and bad as well. While yes not all the movies that came out during the Disney Renaissance were started under him as well. Eisner has to get credit for the renaissance because a lot of that has to do with marketing and selling merchandise. If you're going to have successful long lasting movies you have to market it right. Iger has done very well with the studios and entertainment division. Most of the concerns of Iger come in the parks division. Eisner, built DLP, DCA, AK, WDS, DHS, HK. Without him would we have those parks today? Some of them yes but definitely not all of them. Eisner loved the parks and yes he did cheap entertainment but so has Iger, WDW specifically cuts a lot of corners these days.

Yeah, Eisner did do good and bad. I think there's been some rose colored glasses recently though.

Leaving Disneyland to rot, WDS, and DCA are among the worst stains on his legacy. He was the one who oversaw the cost cutting revolution. Strategic planning? Eisner. He created the culture that destroyed cast satisfaction, and quality.

He also created two other culturally destructive practices.
1) The movie tie in requirement for all attractions. The Era of Big Thunders, Journey to the Center of Earth, and Matterhorns was all but ended under him. True Everest was approved, but they actually had a movie in development to work in conjunction with the attraction. It was canned. That IP theme park under development in HK is partially his fault.

2) The great clone strategy. While this practice had been in use since the early days of WDW, it really ramped up though his tenure. I personally don't have a problem with this as much as some others. I do know you do @rteetz. Thank Eisner.

His terrible management created the horrible cesspool of WDI that even to some extent exists today.

I honestly once again refuse to believe he "loves" D&R. That's like saying you love your family, and then watching them starve as you eat at a unlimited buffet.

Iger may be bad, but he's light years better then Eisner.

rteetz · Mar 4, 2015

DDLand said:
Yeah, Eisner did do good and bad. I think there's been some rose colored glasses recently though.

Leaving Disneyland to rot, WDS, and DCA are among the worst stains on his legacy. He was the one who oversaw the cost cutting revolution. Strategic planning? Eisner. He created the culture that destroyed cast satisfaction, and quality.

He also created two other culturally destructive practices.
1) The movie tie in requirement for all attractions. The Era of Big Thunders, Journey to the Center of Earth, and Matterhorns was all but ended under him. True Everest was approved, but they actually had a movie in development to work in conjunction with the attraction. It was canned. That IP theme park under development in HK is partially his fault.

2) The great clone strategy. While this practice had been in use since the early days of WDW, it really ramped up though his tenure. I personally don't have a problem with this as much as some others. I do know you do @rteetz. Thank Eisner.

His terrible management created the horrible cesspool of WDI that even to some extent exists today.

I honestly once again refuse to believe he "loves" D&R. That's like saying you love your family, and then watching them starve as you eat at a unlimited buffet.

Iger may be bad, but he's light years better then Eisner.

The clone strategy to me isn't terrible if lets say it's a clone from Paris or Tokyo. I am much less likely to visit those parks even tho I'd love to than WDW or DL.

Now I know we have our disagreements on Eisner and Iger but like I said both have done good and bad but I don't think either is light years ahead of the other. To me Eisner was more focused on the experience, Iger more focused on the return.

George4 · Mar 5, 2015

The problem with all of this discussion is that we are stuck with Disney being a public business, and all decisions are made based on financials and income potential. It is no longer about the experience. Disney owns a huge array of IP that they haven't done anything with, or at least very little with it. DHS and EPCOT feel like nothing has really changed in at least 10 years, but there have been 10-15 big movies that came out over that time. Because the parks division continues to bring in huge profits (mostly from WDW), there is no "business" reason to spend much in that area. From a business perspective, it isn't broken, so don't fix it. The problem is that Disney really needs a visionary or at least a creatively minded person at its helm, and not accountants.

I am beginning to look at Disney a little bit as the new IBM (from the 80's). I can't remember the CEO's name, but he was there for a long time when IBM was stagnating. They brought in someone new finally, and the first thing the new CEO did was walk through their development department. The new CEO found things like full color laptops, flat screen monitors, high capacity hard drives that had been sitting on shelves for years because there was no investment in pursuing these technologies. New CEO saw them and starting working to develop them right away and saved IBM (for a time). My point is that Disney needs someone that can walk through the businesses (parks, movies, online, TV, etc.) and tap the potential in the company and set a direction without being concerned about the short-term profit (good luck with that). I made the point somewhere else Disney is reaping in money from park customers now, but they are also making some customers so angry of the cost and quality of the park experience that they have vowed to never go back. Those are lost future customers. Yes, you got their money today, but you won't ever get it again. Disney parks make money off of repeat customers. Get me a visionary that can continue to build the total product and not just the current bottom line.

Bring back the days where each store carried different products that were worth purchasing. I hate seeing the same 15 t-shirt designs in every store. There is some variety, but not a lot. This past year, I found a shirt that I really liked at DHS. It "spoke" to me. By the time I saw it in 10 different stores, it wasn't something I was interested in getting. If you want to drive customer purchases, make some of these things unique to the customer. If I know that there are things that only this store sells, I am more inclined to at least walk through the store. I hate marketing, but I thought "unique experiences/products" was one of the easiest ways to drive up foot traffic?

Get me a visionary in charge that can unleash some of the amazing talent and creativity that is in the Disney organization (and outside of it). Walt wasn't perfect, but he walked through Imagineering periodically to see what they were working on and pushed them to make the ideas better. Find someone that will do that with all of the divisions. You don't have to be an expert at everything - trust those around you for information, but be a visionary. We'll see if that's what we're getting. Eisner and Iger were businessmen, not visionaries. They did some good and bad things, but neither created amazing things. The only amazing things to occur under their watch were the dismantling of things and Pixar (which is really thanks to Steve Jobs, John Lassetter and Ed Catmull I think).

OldsDr · Mar 5, 2015

lockedoutlogic said:
It actually breaks out to two simple philosophies...

..... grandpa's Oldsmobile...

Hey now enough with that. My kids would love to have their Grandpa's W-30.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program

lockedoutlogic · Mar 5, 2015

Excellent post, G4...

The only way Disney is gonna be run with a focus on quality and creativity is if it's a private company.

And that's just not gonna happen. Unless I start a hedgefund and rack up 10,000,000,000 and make alot of billionaire friends.

George4 · Mar 5, 2015

I know you're right lockedoutlogic, but I can hope. Or maybe WE can hope.

Great Huffington Post article on what Disney really needs in a new CEO

clsteve

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Yellowstonetim

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eXo

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rteetz

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lockedoutlogic

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DDLand

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rteetz

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George4

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OldsDr

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