[tabacco]

Pixar's board just approved Disney's $7.4 billion purchase of their studio today. The deal makes Steve Jobs the largest shareholder at Disney, with 7% of DIS stock, and gives him a position on the Disney board (with a very likely shot at Chairman when the current chairman retires soon). It also places several key Pixar people in leadership positions within Disney, with John Lasseter taking lead positions at both Walt Disney Feature Animation AND Walt Disney Imagineering (which creates attractions and concepts for the theme parks).

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060124-6038.html

[Melanie68]

My friend was just complaining about this purchase. She basically said Disney had too many rules and regulations. I really don't know if it's a good or bad thing.

[SakSquash]

Emperor's New Groove is the best Disney movie of all time.

[Dasilva]

I think its good, I loved every Disney classic and specially the new stuff. And I doubt this will limit any creativity, Pixar & Disney make the best team, its good news for me.

[jjacob]

Originally Posted by Dasilva

I think its good, I loved every Disney classic and specially the new stuff. And I doubt this will limit any creativity, Pixar & Disney make the best team, its good news for me.

I still have mixed feelings about this; although I love the work of both companies, it'll probably mean less projects from both combined than if they were separate entities, but on the other hand they'll probably make even more magical stuff together, I don't know.

[Starflux]

The way I see it it means Pixar quality is invading the stagnant Disney corp. Although we probably won't see any risqué titles from Pixar now that I was so desperate for after the incredible The Incredibles, but hey, the odds are there'll be good stuff made there.

It was gonna happen eventually.

[AFGNCAAP]

Originally Posted by Flux

Although we probably won't see any risqué titles from Pixar now that I was so desperate for after the incredible The Incredibles, but hey, the odds are there'll be good stuff made there.

Are you saying The Incredibles were risqué?

[Kolzig]

This is a quite interesting deal. It will be intriguing to see what happens in the next few years.

[SakSquash]

Originally Posted by Kolzig

This is a quite interesting deal. It will be intriguing to see what happens in the next few years.

They'll prolly make a 3D Emperor's New Groove .

[Sage]

I wonder if Steve Jobs will immediately get the Imagineers busy designing a new rollercoaster based on Apple's stock price over the years?

[Starflux]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

Are you saying The Incredibles were risqué?

No, but already more mature than their previous films. The anticipation was that Pixar would explore this more after they would have cut themselves off from Disney.

[Once A Villain]

Disney isn't what it used to be. Pixar is at the top of their game. Dunno what I think about this deal...

[Karmillo]

Originally Posted by temporaryscars

Emperor's New Groove is the best Disney movie of all time.

Yeah it was ok, but Toy Story was better

[nikoniko]

I hope this deal will lift up Disney without bringing down Pixar. I also hope it won't change the working environment of Pixar too much -- excellent, free, ongoing art training at "Pixar U"; amazing hiring incentives for talented animators; every employee being able to take home for a night the Oscar from any movie they were involved with; and so on. When my friend was hired as an animator by Pixar, they paid her entire moving expenses from the east coast to the west coast, bought her a modest but nice house(!), gave her a new car(!), and hired her husband into their marketing department when she let them know he was having a tough time finding a new job in the region. I don't know too many other companies willing to spend close to half a million dollars on a new animator... and this wasn't even extraordinary treatment: they've done as much and more for many of their employees. Maybe a company doesn't have to do all these things to attract some of the best and the brightest in the industry, but I'll bet it helps keep them, and I'm sure that without a mortgage or car payments to worry about, one would come to work feeling a bit lighter, a bit happier, and ready to put more soul into every frame of the movie.

[tabacco]

My hope is that with so many Pixar execs coming into key roles in Disney's Feature Animation department, Pixar will retain the freedom to continue doing things their own way. From what I've seen of Bob Iger, he has the sense to realize that Pixar, left to their own devices, has brought in >$2 billion with only 5 films to date, and that it would be foolish to mess with that. Plus, Pixar is geographically seperated, so hopefully it won't be full of Disney execs harumphing their way around the place all the time

Also, Eisner is gone, so it might not get micromanaged into the ground.

[Karmillo]

Pixars next movie doesnt look too good atall...I seen a trailer for it that was on the incredibles DVD and it kinda sucked

[tabacco]

Originally Posted by Karmillo

Pixars next movie doesnt look too good atall...I seen a trailer for it that was on the incredibles DVD and it kinda sucked

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/cars/

The new one is much much better. Remember, too, that 90% of Pixar teasers use footage made specially for the teaser rather than actual footage from the film.

[Lucien21]

Another death Nail in the coffin of 2D animation.

[nordic_guy]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

Another death Nail in the coffin of 2D animation.

Disney had already moved on from 2D animation, except for some direct-to-dvd trash like Cinderella III, Bambi II, The Fox and the Hound II and Brother Bear II coming out this year. If a death nail in the coffin of 2D animation means no more unnecessary sequels, I don't see the problem.

I think this is great news, and hopefully we will see Disney making a comeback like they did in the early 90's. Besides, I wouldn't completely rule out a return to 2D animation in the near future.