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Disney to Make Toy Story 3 Without Pixar

Posted by michael on from the debian-naming-scheme-endangered dept.

rdurell writes "CNN is reporting that Disney has begun the process of setting up a new CGI studio with the goal of making Toy Story 3. Pixar has balked at the idea of another sequel thus far though Disney does own the rights to the franchise. Does this truly spell the end of the Disney-Pixar relationship? Can both Disney and Pixar live without the other?" We covered the Disney/Pixar breakup in January.

13 of 598 comments (clear)

  1. The End? by Zebbers · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Disney has repeatedly fucked Pixar over. A toy story 3 without Pixar will suck, though it may not flop with Disneys brand recognition. Ive been waiting years for Pixar to sever ties with Disney.

    1. Re:The End? by javaxman · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Why do you think that Disney movies don't flop due to brand recognition?

      Need examples? How about "Treasure Planet"? "80 Days"? "The Alamo"? "The Ladykillers"? "Raising Helen"?

      Oh, you want animated movies that were flops? There sure were those as well...

      Or do you mean the brand recognition of Toy Story, which is probably better than Disney right now?

      Maybe Disney will make a direct-to-video movie, like they did for The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, etc... I rate that as highly likely. They'll make the movie on a budget, it'll suck, test audiences will tell them so, and it'll end up being a big direct-to-DVD money maker for them, but hardly ever see the light of a theater, if at all.

      That's my half-assed prediction, anyway. I'm going to do my best to avoid letting my son see any Disney-only Toy Story movie, lest the first two be ruined for him.

    2. Re:The End? by JohnsonWax · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, bad news for Disney is that my kids (3 and 6) leap for joy and hollar when they see the Pixar/Luxo intro, but don't know Disney other than the Mickey sillhouette.

      For those that grew up with Toy Story being their first Disney film, the Disney brand recognition is pretty worthless in films.

  2. Good luck with that Disney. by pherris · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Pixar films have a very unique style to them that IMO Disney won't be able to copy. Between having some of the best artists and best programmers in the world I think Disney is SOL. They just got too greedy and now Pixar going to hammer them.

    --
    "And a voice was screaming: 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'" - HST
    1. Re:Good luck with that Disney. by SamSim · · Score: 4, Insightful

      More importantly, Pixar has some of the best writers. IMO the writing in any movie is far more important than the visuals. If one were to take the CGI out of - for example - Finding Nemo, you'd still have a fantastic movie because it can stand on story and dialogue alone.

      --
      qntm.org
  3. and now for something relevant. by mushroom+blue · · Score: 4, Insightful

    there's no way that people will really sit for this. I figure by the time this is released, there will be a big stink in the public (read: non-geek) sector about Pixar going solo, and people will just see this as more Disney Sequel-itis (see Little Mermaid 2, Cinderella 2, Lion King 2).

    somewhere, right now, Roy Disney is laughing.

    1. Re:and now for something relevant. by Trurl's+Machine · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think you're vastly overestimating how much the general public cares about this.

      Not to mention the power of Disney's marketing machine. It's not easy to sell an animated movie. Brad Bird previous movie "Iron Giant" was a masterpiece but it failed at the box office, because Warner had no clue how to market it. For an animated feature to be succesful it requires to be in McDonald's kid's menu, to be in Hasbro's, Mattel and Lego offers, to be in cheap and stupid kid's magazines etc. Disney mastered this machine just like Microsoft mastered using Windows monopoly to promote their applications. If Pixar can survive competing with Disney, it's still an open question. So far, only Dreamworks had real success on this field, but they were co-founded by Jef Katzenberg - it was as if Steve Ballmer would quit Microsoft to compete with Gates. In 2006 it might turn out that "Ratatouille" (the much-rumored first non-Disney Pixar feature) will be a masterpiece but a commercial failure and Disney's "Toy Story 3" will be an utter crap, but box office #1.

  4. Re:In other news... by jejones · · Score: 5, Insightful

    P.S. - Disney hasn't done anything original on their own in YEARS (nay, DECADES).

    I must respectfully disagree. Lilo and Stitch was wonderful and not the stock issue Disney movie. (Admittedly, what they've done with the characters since then is truly sad.)

  5. Bad for Disney, Worse for Pixar? by djtripp · · Score: 4, Insightful
    When people talk about Toy Story, Finding Nemo, et al, they are talking about Pixar, not Disney. If they create a talentless, storyless, yet nicely animated sequel, it will do more damage to Pixar, because many people will believe it is a Pixar venture.

    Disney could hire a great crew, and make a great "looking" film, but it would lack the substance and all the Pixary goodness that makes their films, well, a Pixar film.

    --
    "This is you left and that's your left. This is your right and that's your right. You're gonna die!
  6. Disney's Track Record.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Then, after Toy Story 3, they will launch Toy Story: The Series, daily on the Disney Channel. Of course, it will be hastily put together and have completely flat graphics created as cheaply as possibly. They'll also be releasing direct-to-video sequals until people are so tired of it that the brand is useless. Then they'll wait 5 years and "rerelease" the original toy story to theaters, and come up with a "new" DVD set containing the original and all sequals. Of course, they'll do this just in time for the holidays and get all new Toy Story toys, books, ice cream, cereal, shoes, clothing, etc. Only then, after this dies down, will they consider the franchise "milked." If you don't like the way Disney operates, you're not alone

  7. ...and it will suck without Pixar's writing by FearUncertaintyDoubt · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Pixar employs great writers. I think the best thing about Pixar is that they tell a great story. There are few cheap jokes (unlike bathroom humor in Shrek, for instance) or overly cutesy stuff that adults roll their eyes at (like in most Disney films). There are lots of little jokes, subtle humor, and satire in Pixar films. Disney stuff looks cool but you never forget you're watching a movie for kids. The writing is hokey and stiff.

    My guess is that the writers are given much more freedom and control at Pixar than at Disney. So maybe if Disney learned something from the experience, they can do it. But most likely not.

  8. Re:Pixar is the sniznit ... by MikeMacK · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Pixar is now in the same position Lucas is in at Lucasfilm. Does Lucas have trouble finding anyone to distribute "Star Wars" films, no, 20th Century Fox is happy to do it, they know they will make lots of money. The same with Pixar, I would be AMAZED if they had any trouble finding a distributor.

  9. This might actually be a smart move for Disney... by Angostura · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Consider for a moment; they have a tremendous amount of catch-up to do, in terms of software and 3D animation know-how. Would they be able to produce something straight from cold that was a barnstorming success? I doubt it.

    So instead they are starting off by attempting to reverse engineer an animated movie that was state of the art 10 years ago (probably 11 years by the time they make it).

    They can tool-up, do their homework and create an apprentice-piece that people will pay to watch - it probably won't be great, but it will pay for itself, and the Disney R&D.