Ryan Peterson, a student at Vassar College, created this animatic (a mini-film of sketches) about the Michael Eisner years at the Walt Disney Company, approximately 1984-2004.
As a discourse on Disney history it does get a few things wrong. Sparky Katzenberg’s influence on the success of early 90s Disney animation is the matter of some debate. Eisner’s dislike for the man is not. There are also a few time line issues and John Lasseter is shown wearing a suit, which he never does, preferring loud Hawaiian print shirts emblazoned with Pixar characters if at all possible.
So why should you watch this film? Because sometimes the truth is funnier than fiction.
(via CartoonBrew)
Thanks, John. This was fun!
It’s a decent summary of what happened, though as you mention, there are a number of errors. One that jumped out is the claim that “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” was Touchstone’s first big success. It wasn’t; “Splash” was. Granted, “Splash” had no animation element, but it was what kicked off the revitalization of Disney’s film industry.
Incidentally, Ron Miller had been pushing for Disney to make more adult-oriented films and fewer “Herbie Goes to Nicaragua” sequels for some time, but nothing happened there until Eisner came on board.
If anyone is interested in this type of corporate Disney history, give Disney Wars by James Stewart a read. It chronicles the whole Eisner era from Miller’s ousting to Iger’s succession.
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