june-2010

MICHAEL BUCKNER/GETTY IMAGES
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employers at Disney, in which the former handled creation and production
and the latter handled marketing and distribution. While
the Lasseter-directed A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2 went on to make
a combined $848 million worldwide (not to mention millions more
in merchandising), Disney’s animation arm continued to flounder,
with The Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure
Planet, Brother Bear and Home On The Range all failing to crack the
$100 million mark domestically.
In the box office battle between Disney’s old-school aesthetic
and Pixar’s new-school inventiveness, the student was quickly
emerging as the master. By 2004, the seemingly synergistic relationship
between the companies had broken down completely over
profit distribution and story and sequel rights, with Jobs publicly
declaring that Pixar was actively seeking other partners.
Finally, in 2006, Disney announced a $7.4 billion deal to buy
Pixar. Lasseter’s new role at Disney allowed him unparalleled control
over the flagging studio’s creative decisions, while at the same
time protecting Pixar as a separate entity with its own policies
(including a notorious lack of employee contracts).
COVER STORY
“Our company caught lightning in a bottle and we didn’t want
it to get swallowed up or assimilated,” Lasseter says. “But what’s nice
is that Disney is great at marketing, distribution, merchandising
and theme parks, which benefits us on an international level. We’re
making Disney Animation a director-driven studio like Pixar, but
we’re not trying to turn Disney into Pixar.”
Lasseter has already made a huge impact on Disney’s reputation,
completely retooling the critically acclaimed Bolt, strengthening
the studio’s relationship with legendary Japanese anime guru
Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Ponyo) and reuniting the creative
team behind the hit The Little Mermaid to make last year’s Oscarnominated
The Princess and the Frog. If you ask his old Cal Arts
classmate John Musker, who directed the musical adaptation of The
Frog Prince, Lasseter is doing more than anyone to keep his beloved
craft moving forward.
“It’s ironic that John, who pioneered digital animation and has
done such incredible things with it, is actually the biggest fan of
hand-drawn animation you’ll ever meet,” Musker says. “He knows
all those classic films inside and out, and I think he was the only
one with the clout to get [hand-drawn] movies going again. There’s
something very magical and beautiful about it, and it’s because of
John that Disney is back in that business.”
Like Walt Disney before him, Lasseter and his innovations continue
to resonate and revolutionize the filmmaking business. And
when Woody and Buzz Lightyear—the characters who made him
famous—return to the big screen in Toy Story 3, it will be a warm
reminder of childhood dreams fulfilled. At the age of 53, Lasseter
remains a boy at heart, delighted to see his love of cartoons spreading
throughout the world.
“The animation world is in one of the best places it has
ever been,” he says. “Look at all the quality filmmakers that are
doing animated films now: Blue Sky with Chris Wedge [Ice Age];
DreamWorks [Shrek, How To Train Your Dragon] is getting better
and better; Fox and Sony are producing some great movies;
Miyazaki-san in Japan…. There are so many great artists out
there, and the goal is to make great movies, you know? I’d much
rather be part of a healthy industry than be the only player in a
dead industry.”
With nearly a dozen computer-animated films among the
Top 50 blockbusters of all time and hand-drawn animation
experiencing a remarkable renaissance, Lasseter has every
reason to conclude that the industry on the whole has never
been in better shape. And with him steering the ship at
Disney and Pixar, it’s safe to say that animation’s bright
future couldn’t possibly be in better hands.
JUNE 2010 GO MAGAZINE
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