Contribute to Our Research |
By Michael - October 6th, 2009 Although I’ve been too immersed in busyosity lately to post anything of significance, as I go about my peregrinations I’m constantly cycling through the mental list of stories that I intend to or need to write. These days, a lot of those stories have to do with overdue and obscure tales from the D23 Expo or Disneyland. As I was thinking this weekend about the list of projects that have been announced for the various Disney parks, it occurred to me that I don’t think I’ve publicly confessed my extreme wrongness about a recent story to which I reacted quite strongly.
When the Hong Kong Disneyland expansion plans were announced, I recoiled in horror at the sight of “Toy Story Land”, one of the new areas to be added to the undersized park. I blamed this on everyone from WDI to Rasulo to Lasseter to Iger, and in the wave of disappointment from the underwhelming plans I don’t think I skipped anyone’s house in my bout of pox-placing.
But in an unexpected twist that no one could have possibly foreseen, it looks like I was totally wrong on this one. Sure, Disney’s recent franchise-mania lies at the root of the problem; after all, the expansion was originally designed as the yet-unannounced “Toy Story Playland” for France’s Walt Disney Studios park. In the case of Hong Kong, though, it looks like the blame for this unsightly expansion lies right at the feet of the Hong Kong Government.
In only the latest instance of Disney coming to regret its unfortunate decision to enter the theme park business with the local Chinese government, Hong Kong officials apparently nixed several quality expansion plans presented to them by Disney Imagineers. As majority stakeholders in the park, the local government holds a great deal of sway in design decisions and have proven far more difficult to work with than Disney’s partners in Tokyo or Paris.
Hong Kong’s role in forcing WDI to resort to Toy Story Land became clear during my time at D23, and so I haven’t yet had a chance to recant my slurs. Imagineers I spoke to at D23 talked about this as diplomatically as possible, saying that they had come up with a number of initial ideas for the three expansion areas and whittled them down from there. At the suggestion of their local partners, it was said, they changed the plans to what we see today. As I say, it was all very diplomatically phrased but the implication was clear: the reason that Hong Kong is not getting it’s swanky new Pirates area or Glacier Bay is at the insistence of the local government.
So mea culpa, all my pals in Burbank and Glendale. I’ve still got my gripes but I can’t put this one at your feet. To the Hong Kong government I say this: What in the world are you thinking? Let Disney be Disney. The Oriental Land Company understands this and that’s why Tokyo Disneyland is the paragon of modern Disney design. Don’t tell them what to do. Just give them the money and back away, and don’t pull out the veto pen unless you’re going to refuse something completely lame like… Toy Story Land.
So there you go. Wrongness confirmed. Join us next time on Jumping to Conclusions Like a Jackass Theater, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
Related Posts...
By Michael - October 5th, 2009  There must be some weird sort of Hollywood law of thermodynamics at work today. For each suspect Disney executive that retires, another gets promoted. So it happened that Rich Ross, president of Disney Channels Worldwide, was tapped to replace the fired Dick Cook as head of the Walt Disney Studios.
Let’s be clear. Ross has been incredibly successful business-wise in his thirteen years at the Disney Channel. He has turned it into a worldwide brand, with Disney television networks now in 163 countries. He’s also made Disney a ton of money thanks to the High School Musical and Hannah Montana franchises.
The thing is, he’s also turned the Disney Channel into a vast wasteland of dreck that has zero appeal to anyone over the age of twelve. Gone are the classic Disney films, animated shorts and anthology shows. Gone are even the more classy and better-scripted shows for teens and tweens that could also hold some appeal for adults. All that remains on the Disney Channel are ridiculously broad, slapstick farces with embarrassingly canned laughter and a series of blandly stereotyped mischievous moppets and their clueless parents. It’s junk food TV, which will disappear into the memory hole as soon as the next fad comes along.
There’s some concern noted in the coverage of Ross’s promotion; he is being handed the reins of a massive Hollywood studio, and yet he has no film production experience. He also lacks the ties to talent both behind and in front of the camera that former studio chief Dick Cook could claim.
I don’t know where this is going, but I fear it’s Iger’s branding mania gone awry. Walt Disney Pictures could probably make some money cranking out five Jonas Brothers movies next year, but those profits will be fleeting and eventually that well will run dry. Better to produce quality films than chase fads, eh? I would never make it in Hollywood…
Ross will also head Disney’s theatrical and music groups. The synergy, it burns. Read all the gory details here.
Related Posts...
By Michael - October 5th, 2009  In the continuing cascade of surprising executive news from Team Disney, the mysterious and possibly mythical Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier announced today that he would be retiring Friday. When asked for comment, Disneyland cast members said, “Who?”
Grier capped his 28-year career at Disney, where he started as a senior auditor at Walt Disney World, with his three years in charge of Disneyland. His tenure in Anaheim is best known for his near-total absence from the park, which disappointed many after previous resort president Matt Ouimet became famous for the amount of time he spent in Disneyland interacting with front-line cast members. Ouimet also remains beloved amongst fans for overseeing the restoration of Disneyland following the disastrous presidencies of Paul Pressler and Cynthia Harriss (both of whom went on to fail spectacularly at Gap Inc.), while Grier has only been tasked to maintain a fragile status quo during an economic turndown.
Grier, who is only 54, departs Disney using the ol’ “more time with the family” canard; this chestnut was also used by Harriss before she fled to The Gap to rejoin Pressler. He apparently realized it was time to retire as he helped move his son into Stanford this fall, and plans to spend his time helping another son run his new production company.
So who will run Disneyland? Previous resignations have usually included the announcement of a replacement, so I suspect we’ll know soon. Grier mentions that he’s been planning this exit for a while; one would expect Disney has a succession plan in place. But which way will it go? Will it be a true-blue Disneylander like Ouimet, an incompetent hatchetman like Pressler, or merely a photo-op placeholder like Grier? Will there be more resignations? Phil Holmes? Meg Crofton? Jay Rasulo? Will Ouimet return on his white horse to save Disney park fans from the budgeteers?
More as the world turns…
Related Posts...
By Michael - October 1st, 2009 This is turning to home movies day here at Progress City, but this was too cool not to share. This actually comes from the Disney Parks Blog, which is a hopeful sign that even if we don’t get the inside poop on Handwiches ™ we might at the very least get some nice media and images from them:
Ok, so maybe the “Disney Parks” branding sticks in my throat a little (or a lot), but is’s a really nice piece of work. I’m tempted to be ever-so-bitchy and say that it’s good to see a Disney-created video with shots lasting longer than seven picoseconds but I’ll play nice and just applaud a job well done. More, please!
Related Posts...
By Michael - October 1st, 2009 Eleven years later, and twenty-seven years ago today in Orlando:
Hey, at least this time the song was actually about the park!
How much would I love to see the Disney company show this much enthusiasm about EPCOT and its mission today? Not a character or franchise in sight – just big, big ideas and lots of ambition.
Happy birthday, EPCOT, and also to Horizons, which turns twenty-six today. We miss you.
Related Posts...
|
The Progress City Primer
 From the Progress City archives comes this collection of 33 tall tales and true from Disney history. Available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats. |
Recent Comments