Eoghann
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2014
They didn't actually have a working robot for the shooting of the movie. I think they had some guy pushing a ball around, seriously However, they had the real, life-size one that debuted at Celebration in May. So, I am pretty sure the robot came first, and then the toy company. Or maybe it was the chicken and then egg
The version in the movie is essentially a remote controlled puppet with some CGI enhancements.
The company releasing the $150 toy are called Sphero and they did receive investment from Disney's Accelerator program and mentorship from Iger ( http://www.cnbc.com/2014/10/15/disney-ceo-bob-igers-big-bet-on-start-ups.html ). This could theoretically create a conflict of interest but there are ways in large companies to handle such situations in an above board manner.
Both mentorships and accelerator programs are quite common in the tech industry. I would expect the documentation for any negotiations resulting in issuing the license to a company they invested in to be very thorough because Disney will not wish to be sued or investigated. They were very public in their relationship.