Pixar delivers hits — but not the home runs Disney craves

By Jason Garcia
Sentinel Staff Writer
August 16, 2009


Tucked inside an animation building in Disney's Hollywood Studios, costumed versions of the characters from Up, the most recent hit film from the Walt Disney Co.'s Pixar Animation Studios, have emerged as a modestly popular attraction this summer.

At any given point of the day, a small line of families waits for autographs and photos with Carl Fredricksen, the movie's 78-year-old hero, and two other characters. Fredericksen sometimes sets aside his walking cane to waltz with a waiting mom.

But it may be a long time before Fredricksen and the rest of Up's stars are given a bigger stage at Walt Disney World. Disney executives don't envision the film as one that will be splashed across the rest of its entertainment properties.

"We definitely have a hit on our hands. But Up is not the kind of movie that's going to generate the kind of multiplatform-franchise success of movies like Cars or Toy Story or other movies that we have in the pipeline, like the princess movies," Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said during a recent conference call.

Iger's comments underscore the challenges Disney faces in transferring the most recent films from Pixar, the animation powerhouse it acquired three years ago, from movie screens to theme parks.

Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up have all been critically and commercially successful movies. But each is built around unconventional characters — a French rat, a nearly wordless robot and an elderly widower — that don't necessarily lend themselves to rides, shows and souvenirs.

That's particularly true when compared with Pixar's earlier movies, which have revolved around more-easily marketed characters such as clown fish, race cars and action figures.

The challenges aren't unique to Disney's theme parks; they also affect everything from toy licensing to video games. And they come as the company attempts to navigate a steep drop in consumer spending.

Pixar's most recent films "are less valuable franchises. They're valuable, but they're less valuable," said David Bank, a media analyst with RBC Capital Markets. "They don't really highlight that extra, that secret sauce that Disney brings to the table, which is the ability to monetize across platforms.

"It's the difference between a solid single and a double versus a home run," Bank added.

Read the whole article here.

So kids, it looks like we'll still have HISTA around, since it looks like they don't want to come up with an UP attraction. Funny how they realize that some films shouldn't be forced to having merchandise and attractions based off them, but yet you still see how hard they try to push them. Stitch, Dinosaur, HSM, anyone?

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Thanks AP interesting ! I think Pixar does great films

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Barb

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Counting down to: Sept 2010 BWI
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I love pixar films. I hate the idea of great offbeat films being axed because there's no toy/ride/toddler costume opportunities

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