Disney Buys Pixar for US$7 Billion
January 22nd, 2006 -- by Augie De Blieck Jr.
Disney Buys Pixar for US$7 Billion
Pixar Animation Studios, whose films have garnered critical acclaim with both domestic and overseas audiences, is being bought tomorrow by Disney for $7 billion. Steve Jobs, as the CEO of Pixar, will become the largest shareholder in Disney.
Hunh.
January 24th, 2006 at 6:36 am
Too early to make this announcement.
Wait until AFTER the Pixar Board VOTES to approve the sale.
Until then, negotiations could STILL fall apart at the eleventh hour.
I do think, however, that the Pixar Board will approve the sale to Disney.
It’s easy, safe, and the most logical thing for them to do now. Get the money now, maximize their profit, and then who cares (outside of the creative types who DON’T UNDERSTAND business) whether the company survives with its integrity intact as part of Disney?
(Yeah, that’s a typical cynical bastard view of things… But it’s closer to the truth than the hoopla you’ll hear from any of the principals involved in the Disney/Pixar deal. They’re going to make this out to be an “artistic marriage” when it’s just really about a bunch of rich guys who could care less about the final quality of the product. No question that both Jobs and Iger will make out like bandits on the stock options they’ll get from this deal.
(Too early to say if audiences will lose in the process, but don’t bank on every future film being a classic, either…)
Unfortunately, they might as well be putting the last nail in the coffin of traditional Disney feature animation and pretty much shutter the new Disney CGI feature animation division UNLESS Disney wants to keep two separate CGI units (including Pixar) to release CGI movies every year.
Right now, the best Pixar can do is release a new film about every 18 months.
And see, that’s what KILLED Disney feature animation in the first place — the rush to get a new film out EVERY year that could top the grosses of the previous film. The bloated budgets of Disney features coupled with diminished box-office returns, bad storytelling, and BAD management is what killed Disney feature animation.
I’m not so sure that a Disney Company without Michael Eisner at the helm will be much better with Pixar considering most of the same dopes who KILLED Disney feature animation in the first place are still with the company…