Bazooka Joe is the next Mickey Mouse? Is Michael Eisner serious?

[minnie61650]

Posted Nov 5th 2007 4:45PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Newspapers, Marketing and advertising, Walt Disney (DIS)
from this website:
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/...-next-mickey-mouse-is-michael-eisner-serious/

After months of fighting, Tornante/Madison Dearborn Partners' deal to acquire Topps finally received the approval of the company's shareholders in September.

Now former Disney (NYSE: DIS) CEO Michael Eisner, who controls Tornante, has a plan for Topps. In an interview with the USA Today, Eisner said that he has big plans for Bazooka Joe: "Bazooka Joe is my new Mickey Mouse."

Eisner points out that most movie heroes from the past few years have been old comic book characters: Spider-Man, X-Men, and Superman.

Depending on how you look at it, Eisner is one of two things: a visionary, or an idiot. The problem is that Bazooka Joe is just not as iconic as any of the cartoon characters that have recently had big resurgences. If they put together an amazing movie, anything is possible, but I just don't see anyone flocking to the theater to see the new Bazooka Joe movie -- unless that can get Zac Efron to play Joe. And if they can do that, Efron needs to fire his agent.

His other ideas for the company are more reasonable. Eisner believes that the trading card industry has been taken over by hardcore collectors, and that the company needs to focus on making cards fun for kids again, the original intended market.

One thing's for sure: Eisner has big plans for Topps. And if he can pull even a fraction of it off, the controversial Topps buyout is going to look like one of the greatest fleecings of minority shareholders in recent memory.
Tags: Bazooka Joe, BazookaJoe, Eisner, inthenews, Topps

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I hope he succeeds at this, and then Disney takes him to court to void all the after-employment perks he has gotten as is is competing with Disney.

 

[DC7800]

Eisner is one of two things: a visionary, or an idiot.

Well, his tenure at Disney proved he isn't a visionary...

 

[MassJester]

Not as big a detractor as some, but I'm going to go with "idiot" on this one.

 

[Another Voice]

How times have changed.

Used to be around here that one would be flogged for even hinting that Eisner wasn't the Greatest Man Alive, the One Who Saved Disney, and The Sorce of All Goodness.

Glad to see everyone's finally come around.

 

[MassJester]

How times have changed.

Used to be around here that one would be flogged for even hinting that Eisner wasn't the Greatest Man Alive, the One Who Saved Disney, and The Sorce of All Goodness.

Glad to see everyone's finally come around.

much like a favorite restaurant, you can return here after a period of time and feel like you've never left.

My guess is that most people view him as neither the "Greatest Man Alive" nor the Worst Thing That Ever Happened to Disney. I've long thought that there was more religion than reality in both extremes.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I am prety sure that dopey turtlenecked friend of Bazooka would beat Eisner in a chess match.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I am prety sure that dopey turtlenecked friend of Bazooka would beat Eisner in a chess match.

 

[theparsons]

Gosh....I seem to recall him saying that he was leaving Disney not because no one on the board wanted him there....but because after his illnesses he wanted to spend more time with his family. So what does he do, become CEO of another big giant company and immediately start in acquiring new companies and making big plans.

Maybe his family works for this new company and that's how he's spending more time with them?

Now...if Disney could just erase some of the messes he made instead of trying to "make them better". Remember that old series show Dallas? Maybe this has all been a dream and we'll wake up and it never happened.

 

[minnie61650]

I am prety sure that dopey turtlenecked friend of Bazooka would beat Eisner in a chess match.

For those of you who have not seen a Bazooka Joe comic strip that comes with the gum i will post a photo of a Bazooka Joe comic strip:

 

[agnes!]

Ah yes, the deathless prose of Bazooka Joe...so witty! *So* debonair! And it's so PC to have a cartoon character named for a GUN . I'm sure Eisner knows what he's doing in saying that he'll make Bazooka Joe the new Mickey Mouse, but I have to wonder how long Bazooka Joe has already been in show business. Shouldn't he be as big as the Mouse already? Hmmmm...
And the bit about comic-book characters being big in the movies? I hate to point this out as well, but those characters actually had comic BOOKs, not three frame strips printed on waxy paper.

agnes!

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I mean he had a tough time going from a nickel to a dime. His mass apeal cannot be that great.

 

[bughouse]

Hi folks, I'm new around here. I thought some of you may be interested in reading about the artist Wesley Morse, he created Bazooka Joe for Topps in the early 1950's, and continued to draw the comic in complete anonymity until passing away in 1963 . Anyway, take a look at taylormorsecollection dot com for the true story behind the eye patch, and a glimpse at the long lost art of Wesley Morse.