Disney & Pixar: The Dysfunctional Household Name

By: A.P.

It is no secret that the partnership between Disney and Pixar turned out to be the biggest and most influential combination in the feature film industry. If you were to ask a person would they see a movie if Pixar was behind it, I would bet the 95% of the time, you would get “yes” as your answer. Ever since 1995, Disney and Pixar have been amongst the Top 50 grossing films of all time, and their average gross of $602 million is the highest in the industry. Most would say that it was a match made in heaven. I would say it was more than that. The strong commercial and critical success of the duo has influenced Disney so much, that they are part of the reason why you really see original Disney animated movies anymore (Well besides Dreamworks riding on its back.) Disney and Pixar have definitely evolved into a kid’s entertainment juggernaut, but if it wasn’t for a little bit of downsizing and re-management, none of this would have happened.

            Pixar actually started off as 1/3 of the computer division of Lucasfilms in 1979 called The Graphics Group, and after working with Lucasfilms and other projects like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, the division was purchased by Steve Jobs (Source). As a computer software company, one of the buyers was Disney. The Pixar Image Computer, the software Pixar was dealing at the time, didn’t sell well, and in a bid to drive up sales, John Lasseter, now a creative officer and director, showed off the technology to SIGGRAPH, a computer graphics convention to much acclaim. From then on, they started making animated commercials for other companies (Source).  It wasn’t until Pixar mad a $26 million dollar deal with Disney to produce three computer animated films, that the seeds of success were planted into rich soil. Because of this, Toy Story was thus created. This of course was a success, and would lament the powerful partnership of Pixar and Disney.

            Pixar’s Toy Story revolutionized the industry, and the story didn’t stop their either. They continued their three movie deal with A Bugs Life, and Toy Story 2. Disney noticed the success Pixar was bringing in and was not willing to let them go. Pixar and Disney started to have disagreements as early as Toy Story 2. Pixar wanted to have more control over the profits, as both Pixar and Disney had a 50% profit split, while Disney also owned sequel and collected distribution fees. Pixar was in charge of creation and production, while Disney was in charge of Marketing and Distribution. Pixar contested this many times, but Disney found their agreements unreasonable, and did not listen. Pixar of course did not leave because although the profits were split, they were still a lot of money, as both companies were benefiting from their symbiotic relationship. This would of course lead to the acquisition of Pixar by Disney, and Pixar’s expansion (Source).

            The events that occurred only indicated that Disney knew what they would be giving up as far as profit if they were to just have a distribution deal with Pixar. Pixar’s demands were justifiable, as Disney had no part in creating the movies they distributed, thus they did not deserve a 50-50 profit, as this is akin to someone creating a car, and to have your best friend go around town telling everyone to buy this car, then demanding that you get 50% of the proceeds. Either way, Disney was smart, (and greedy) enough to see that the potential profit from Pixar was enormous, and they were in their right mind to demand more money from the company. With the success of Toy Story, A Bugs Life, and Toy Story 2, this prompted Disney’s new marketing approach.

            Disney began to focus less on making their own original animated movies. Disney animated movies came out annually ever since Disney’s Oliver and Company. Up until 2005’s Chicken Little, there was a 2 year gap in movies straight from Disney itself, with the next movie being Meet the Robinsons. In 2006 however, a Pixar animated movie started to become annual, as their used to be a 1-3 year waiting period in random sequences. Also, Pixar’s movies were considering critical and commercial acclaim, while Disney’s still had positive reviews; they were not as well received commercially or critically as Pixar’s.

2001: Atlantis: A Lost Empire - 46% Rotten (Rotten Tomatoes) - $186,053,725 (Gross Revenue), Monsters Inc – 95% Fresh (Rotten Tomatoes) - $525,366,597 (Gross Revenue)

2003: Brother Bear – 38% Rotten (Rotten Tomatoes) - $250,397,798 (Gross Revenue), Finding Nemo – 98% Fresh (Rotten Tomatoes) - $867,893,978 (Gross Revenue)

2004: Home on the Range – 55% Rotten (Rotten Tomatoes) - $103,951,461 (Gross Revenue) (Note that this movies budget was 110,000,000), The Incredibles – 97% Fresh (Rotten Tomatoes) - $631,442,092 (Gross Revenue)

2005: Chicken Little (Note that this is Disney’s first CGI animated film made directly) 36% Rotten (Rotten Tomatoes) - $314,432,837 (Gross Revenue), Cars – 74% Fresh (Rotten Tomatoes) - $461,983,149 (Gross Revenue)

            For each year Disney and Pixar had releases in the same year consistently, Pixar earned more gross revenue and better reviews than all of Disney’s self-produced films. To say that the symbiotic relationship was needed is an understament. If it had not been for Pixar, Disney actually would have lost money had they relied solely on the movies they made, at least $6,048,539 or more, because these results are only for their animated films. As Pixar was also the dominate force behind Disney’s earnings, and had full creative control over what they made, this also brought a contrast to Disney’s quality in films as far as characters, morals, and values.

            Disney has had a long string of financial and legal issues due to their movies, and has spewed a lot of debate about what values they embed in their movies (as evidenced in this blog.) If Pixar had not intervened, who knows how much more trouble Disney would be in because of their supposed ideals. A lot of this has to do with what Pixar focuses on in their movies. With their first movie Toy Story, the perspective was through living toys, which all had distinguished personalities. There were no talks about hidden messages, and minority misrepresentation because none of the characters were stereotypically portrayed. A recent example of this was in Pixar’s Up. One of the lead characters named Russell, an Asian American boy scout, received acclaim from the Asian American community, as he was portrayed as a regular American kid, and was actually portrayed by an Asian American voice actor. This is a sharp contrast to some of Disney’s films such as Lady in the Tramp, were stereotypical portrayal toke the form of the twin Siamese Cats, who were depicted with slanted eyes, buck teeth, heavy Asian accents, and deceitful and conniving personalities. Another example was Mulan, were some of the portrayals of the Chinese were a little off, as in using Korean flags instead of Chinese flags. A lot of Pixar’s movies had a lot of underlying tones of Good Vs. Evil, family, and strong character development, which are all very strong morals, valued by both parent and child. Although Disney has these portrayals as well, they often can be weighed down due to some their controversy.

            The very fact that Pixar has become somewhat of an unofficial Disney is a strong sentiment for the quality of films they produce. I find myself so enamored by the stories Pixar are able to portray, to the point that I am moved emotionally and become invested in their characters. Another strong suit for them is that they have not released a critical or commercial flop yet, which you would thing for any company is bound to happen. It is also of great benefit to business for Disney. If Pixar is the driving force for what Disney is today, a lot of the aforementioned values will stay intact, but at the same time, they represent something so much stronger. Pixar has time and time again faithfully represented and produce quality storytelling, without the use of racial stereotypes, gender roles or subliminal messages. Now that Disney in Pixar is in fact the same company, we can kind of say this is the same for Disney as well, as Pixar’s influence has drastically changed the way they present their demographics. To end this on a high note, Pixar are making sequels to Cars and Monsters Inc, and I will pay top dollar to see these films, because Pixar has proven to be a great and fundamental part of Disney.