Jim Hill On Mission Space, Pooh, and Lilo & Stitch

[lrodk]

In his bi-monthly 'Eye Drive' column on the Orlando Weekly, animation expert Jim Hill reports:

Winnie the Pooh"

"These days, The Walt Disney Co. is the Rodney Dangerfield of the entertainment industry. No one gets excited about its successes anymore. Perhaps that's why the Mouse has started to soft-pedal stuff. Maybe they're tired of the negative spin placed on even the most innocuous of stories. Consider the Winnie the Pooh attraction currently under construction in Anaheim. This Disneyland feature is based on the wildly popular Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride in Orlando's Magic Kingdom. The hope is that this opening-in-2003 attraction will boost attendance at the Southern California park. That's the kind of small, upbeat item that Disney should be spinning in its favor, right? But the Mouse deliberately doesn't mention Winnie the Pooh these days, out of concern that any Pooh-related stories will remind readers about the corporation's ugly, ongoing legal battle with Stephen Slesinger Inc., the company that licensed the Pooh characters to Disney. This also explains why Disney is mounting such a low-key campaign for next month's 25th anniversary release of its first feature-length Pooh project, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh."

Mission Space:

"Mind you, the Pooh ride isn't the only one deliberately being built out of the spotlight," continues Jim Hill. "Insiders have begun whispering about Epcot's Mission: Space pavilion, which had been the source of much hoopla for the science and discovery park -- until recently, when the Future World thrill ride suddenly seemed to be sucked into a news black hole. Here's the problem: The attraction's sponsor, Compaq computers, is about to be swallowed in a merger with Hewlett-Packard. And Hewlett-Packard is in bed with DreamWorks, Disney's direct competitor in the feature-animation field. (Earlier this year, Hewlett-Packard signed a three-year, multimillion-dollar deal with DreamWorks to provide computers and support technology to its Glendale, Calif.-based animation studio.) That begs the question, will Compaq still pick up the $100 million-plus price tag for the Epcot project? Negotiations between Disney and Hewlett-Packard are said to be continuing. But thrill-ride fans--who could mark the days until "Mission: Space" opened on the huge countdown clock that overlooked the construction site -- were disheartened when the clock recently disappeared."

On Lilo & Stitch:

Jim Hill goes on to explain that "Disney Studios execs are suddenly very concerned about their animated summer film, Lilo & Stitch. The reason, if you can believe it, is the less-than-stellar reception given E.T. See if you can follow this circular reasoning: E.T. is a movie about a little boy who befriends an extraterrestrial stuck here on Earth. "Lilo & Stitch" is a movie about a little girl who befriends an extraterrestrial stuck here on Earth. Given that Universal's promotional millions couldn't steer a new generation of filmgoing kids toward the Spielberg classic, is Disney's made-in-Orlando animated film doomed at the box office? Urgent meetings in Burbank among Disney's PR staff have focused on ways to keep this cartoon from sinking. This is the same brain trust that in 1985, after Paramount's Young Sherlock Holmes had tanked, scrambled to 'fix' Disney's upcoming animated release, Basil of Baker Street, about a mouse who modeled himself after Sherlock Holmes. The PR staff concluded that the former failed because modern audiences didn't like Sherlock Holmes movies. So, to distance their next cartoon from this alleged stigma, Disney rechristened Basil as The Great Mouse Detective. That sort of lamebrained response has the filmmakers shuddering in fear, even though Lilo & Stitch has been testing through the roof with audiences."

Below is a link to the entire article:

http://www.orlandoweekly.com/news/eyedrive/

 

[Bob O]

Another very interesting article!!!

 

[Lesley]

Actually I'd love to see some thoughts about M:S and the whole HP/Compaq thing....

As soon as my dh heard that M:S was being funded by Compaq he declared that it most likely won't be finished.....but he really doesn't know any more than I do about it all. Interesting that there's a Dreamworks/HP connection.....

So, will we ever see M:S? Will Disney end up footing the bill and cheaping out on the project? Any thoughts?

 

[Bob O]

Im sure they will complete the ride. But if what ive read is true they have already cheapened the attraction and if disney has to foot the bill im sure they will cut back more as that is how they do things lately!!

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

If they "cheapen" the ride due to the Compac merger, I'm going to be mighty miffed (to put it mildly). Ok, I'm still one of those obsessive nuts who crys out about the destruction of Horizons. If they're going to kill my favorite part of Epcot, they'd better replace it with something REALLY good.

While I don't' always agree with Jim Hill, I do enjoy his insight and articles.

 

[Lesley]

I agree totally, Annie&HalliesMom!

From what I've seen so far I generally like Jim Hill's articles....though I'll admit they sort of give my negative side more of a boost than it needs! As does this board sometimes!

 

[OnWithTheShow]

I think that it is ridiculous to assume that because Dreamworks has a TECHNOLOGY SUPPLY CONTRACT with HP that it will prevent HP from endorsing Mission Space. Compaq signed the same kind of exclusive technology provider contract with Disney as part of the Mission Space deal and I am sure there is a contract involved with the Mission Space deal itself. Just because the company was purchased does not mean the new owners will not have to fulfill the contractual obligations. Also companies like HP, Compaq, Gateway, Sun and Dell each have hundreds of these exclusive technology provider contracts with many other companies some of which are even competitiors. It really has absolutely no bearing on the issue of Mission Space.

 

[larworth]

I wouldn't think the Dreamworks deal would get in the way.

But it's also pretty likely HP management has a different opinion on the merits of this type of promotion/project. The cultures are somewhat different, and I have to assume the original sponsorship proposal crossed their desk at some point. Contracts often have change in ownership clauses that might give HP some leverage if they wanted to use it.

Gee, maybe they will see this as a great way to trumpet the new company and want to make the pavillion even bigger and better!


Hill may also be reaching a bit on the Pooh posturing. Such a small fraction of the population must even be aware of the ongoing dispute. They have taken the opportunity with Splash being down to do some Pooh related work, so it seems that plans are full steam ahead. I guess they could be worried that this thing explodes later this year, but maybe it is just a bit too early (still more than a year away) for the Pooh ride PR campaign to get cranked up yet.

 

[Another Voice]

The world of Disney sponsorship agreements is rather convoluted – and occasionally nasty. Personally, I think that the ‘Mission: Space’ problems don’t have anything to do with a spate between Disney and Dreamworks; but that HP thinks it more pressing needs for $100 million than buying a sign to hang on an amusement park ride. Also remember that the real reason Compaq signed the deal with Disney was to be the tech supplier behind Disney’s massive effort with Go.com and the Internet. Oh, the sweet naïve days of yore. I don’t think HP feels it will sell a look of tech equipment to Disney anymore.

As for the ride, one hundred million bucks could buy a lot of television commercial time. One hundredth of that amount will buy a thirty second spot during ‘E.R.’ and seen by twice as many people than will visit Epcot in an entire year. And a minute spot on CNN will target far more likely customers for a fraction of the cost of even the ‘E.R.’ ad. Given all the problems HP is having I sure the Disney deal is not one that anyone is going to fight the Board of Directors over.

On the ‘Lilo and Stitch’ marketing, here we go again. Many of the “suits” in Hollywood believe there are no such things as “good” and “bad” movies. To them there are only “successful” and “unsuccessful” marketing campaigns. The actually quality of the movie is unimportant; the films a just a product to sell. Unfortunately these days as Disney, animation is treated like a commodity product that gets sold by the pound. It will be a true crime if Disney doesn’t give ‘Lilo’ all the support it deserves.

 

[raidermatt]

Regarding Pooh, I agree that not that many people know about the lawsuits, however, there are certain news organizations that would be sure to attach the lawsuit story to any info being released regarding the Pooh ride. This would of course only serve to increase the number people who know about the lawsuits.

Also, while I know Disney lawyers publically express confidence regarding the lawsuits, they have to realize that they could lose the case, or be forced into a settlement. I believe one of the claims against them is for a % of park revenue based on Pooh's contribution. If Disney plays up the fact that they expect to increase attendance by adding a Pooh ride at DL, it could cost them money in the lawsuit.

Regarding Space, its certainly a possibility that HP won't want any part of this, and may want to get out of the deal. How big an impact this has all depends on what the terms of the contract are, and whether HP really wants out. Has Compaq already made payments? Is there a change in ownership clause that would allow them to get out of the deal, or maybe just reduce their payments?

Of course, Disney could counter with some kind of offer to sweeten the deal for HP. Perhaps there is some other business that Disney could throw to HP?

Regardless, I can't imagine Space being halted, but I have to admit that if Disney is presented with the choice of putting up more of their own money or scaling back the project, I'm not sure what they would do. One possibility is a delay while they search for another sponser.

Regarding L&S and ET, I think this is a case of much ado about nothing. ET has brought in over $30 million, including over $1.5 last weekend (it looks like ET will pass SW: Episode One for 3rd place all time this weekend). Maybe Universal expected more, but assuming ETs performance is an indicator for L&S is a tremendous stretch. If this really is throwing the marketing guys into a tizzy, I think we found some more fat that can be cut...

So far, I think the marketing for the film has been reasonably well done. Hopefully it will continue and build towards the opening.