Give Pixar a Break!

This week, the LA Times reported: “On Friday, Pixar debuts the highly-anticipated third chapter of its popular "Toy Story" saga, to be followed in the next two years by new installments of "Cars" and "Monsters, Inc." Pixar won't have another original movie until 2012.” The articles goes on to paint Pixar as selling into Disney’s pressure to produce “franchise” movies that will gross as much, if not more, in consumer products. This may sell newspapers, but let’s examine the facts:

Toy Story 2 was the result of a Disney directive to Pixar. Originally, Disney had positioned the film as a low cost, low quality, direct-to-video release. Pixar convinced Disney to make Toy Story 2 as a theatrical release and it did what many critics said was the impossible…improve on a near perfect original.

This article leads readers to believe that Disney CEO Bob Iger forces Pixar to “franchise” movies. In April of 2009 Doug Creutz, vice-president of Cowen and Company Investment Bankers said, “The worries keep coming, despite Pixar’s track record, because each film it delivers seems to be less commercial.” Iger’s response, “We seek to make great films first. If the film gives birth to a franchise, we are the first to leverage such success. A check the boxes approach to creativity is likely to result in blandness and failure.”

So why not give Pixar a break? Their first sequel in 11 years…let’s wait and see if it has the same magic as Toy Story and Toy Story 2. My money is on Iger, Catmull and John Lasseter.

They all get it…make a great product and the bottom line will follow.