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Hiring/firing practices in Disney recently really have me questioning what the goals of Disney currently are. Theatrically and cinematically, they seem to be focusing on the past. Disney is continuing to revive old movies, stories, and cartoons and is having mixed success, while not creating much that is new. How many movies can be turned into big flashy musicals? All of them apparently. The purpose of the Imagineers is to look to the future of the company and innovate new designs and concepts. Taking away their top leadership may help pave ways for young and fresh ideas, but will likely result in general unease among the workers about their own job stability.
Once again - a company that is centered around monopoly (old stuff) and vertical integration (new stuff) has to focus very little on actual quality. To my mind, Disney has lost most of its reputation for artistic integrity and has become infamous for marketing its movies, shows, and stars into commercial success and suing as many people as they can. Things like this just re-emphasize how much they've transitioned from art producers into another corporate monster.
Poor Walt Disney must be turning in his grave....granted he has been for the past 20 years at least. It's sad to see the company that has created some of my fondest childhood memories is now more concerned with owning rights and making money rather than great storytelling. Disney's having more drama and breakups than most celebrity couples. I honestly can't remember the last original Disney film that was actually memorable and not a remake trying to harbor in old fans.I don't know if the firing of these imagineers has anything to do with this decay of Disney, but it certainly doesn't improve the image.
I agree with mrstien. I feel that the fact that Disney is more concerned at this level more about the legal rights of its property than telling a good story. On the other hand, the firing of these people is not necessarily a bad thing. As with all theatrical practicies, it is important that various takes and aspects be considered. While these faithful Imagineers have spent much of thier lives working for this one conmpany, this might have hindered the company by closing them off to new ideas and creative inspiration. By this shuffle of employment, it is importnat to see that Disney is opening a new chapter in thier entertainment and theatrical venues.
I think its horrible that Disney is no longer considering quality a main priority. Ms. Edwards was with the company for 21 years! How can you just off someone who they placed the responsibility of building the president to? I'm sure that she costs more than a recent sculpture graduate, but the quality and detail of the work would not be the same. She has devoted her life to improving disney, and its not right that she is disposed of.
On the other hand, this article is very slanted to elicit the reactions i had as well as my fellow classmates above. I wonder if there was an incident which made her "difficult". I'd like to hear the other side of the story.
Oh dear. That's scary. I was so hopeful for Disney after they merged with Pixar and John Lasseter became creative head. I guess you can only live by Lasseter's creedence if you're higher-up in the chain of commands. Please Disney, I want to believe you're not an evil company. I want to believe you're interested in art and storytelling. This come first and foremost from your people. Treat them right.
For every interesting or cool thing I hear about the non-movie sides of Disney, I hear several thousand horror stories about how they treat and deal with their staff. Working for Disney should be like relizing a dream, not suddenly walking into a nightmare. It's a franchise that's whole income is based around looking and being the best, so one would assume that they would treat the people who try to make them look the best with a little bit more respect. The entry does say that at least for one of the fired employees they had had some failures as a designer, but that seemed like it would be offset by things like re-designing Space Mountain. I've never heard anything good about how Disney treats their more technical employees, which is a shame since jobs like being an Imagineer seem like just incredibly awesome jobs.
7 comments:
Hiring/firing practices in Disney recently really have me questioning what the goals of Disney currently are. Theatrically and cinematically, they seem to be focusing on the past. Disney is continuing to revive old movies, stories, and cartoons and is having mixed success, while not creating much that is new. How many movies can be turned into big flashy musicals? All of them apparently. The purpose of the Imagineers is to look to the future of the company and innovate new designs and concepts. Taking away their top leadership may help pave ways for young and fresh ideas, but will likely result in general unease among the workers about their own job stability.
Once again - a company that is centered around monopoly (old stuff) and vertical integration (new stuff) has to focus very little on actual quality. To my mind, Disney has lost most of its reputation for artistic integrity and has become infamous for marketing its movies, shows, and stars into commercial success and suing as many people as they can. Things like this just re-emphasize how much they've transitioned from art producers into another corporate monster.
Poor Walt Disney must be turning in his grave....granted he has been for the past 20 years at least. It's sad to see the company that has created some of my fondest childhood memories is now more concerned with owning rights and making money rather than great storytelling. Disney's having more drama and breakups than most celebrity couples. I honestly can't remember the last original Disney film that was actually memorable and not a remake trying to harbor in old fans.I don't know if the firing of these imagineers has anything to do with this decay of Disney, but it certainly doesn't improve the image.
I agree with mrstien. I feel that the fact that Disney is more concerned at this level more about the legal rights of its property than telling a good story. On the other hand, the firing of these people is not necessarily a bad thing. As with all theatrical practicies, it is important that various takes and aspects be considered. While these faithful Imagineers have spent much of thier lives working for this one conmpany, this might have hindered the company by closing them off to new ideas and creative inspiration. By this shuffle of employment, it is importnat to see that Disney is opening a new chapter in thier entertainment and theatrical venues.
I think its horrible that Disney is no longer considering quality a main priority. Ms. Edwards was with the company for 21 years! How can you just off someone who they placed the responsibility of building the president to? I'm sure that she costs more than a recent sculpture graduate, but the quality and detail of the work would not be the same. She has devoted her life to improving disney, and its not right that she is disposed of.
On the other hand, this article is very slanted to elicit the reactions i had as well as my fellow classmates above. I wonder if there was an incident which made her "difficult". I'd like to hear the other side of the story.
Oh dear. That's scary. I was so hopeful for Disney after they merged with Pixar and John Lasseter became creative head. I guess you can only live by Lasseter's creedence if you're higher-up in the chain of commands. Please Disney, I want to believe you're not an evil company. I want to believe you're interested in art and storytelling. This come first and foremost from your people. Treat them right.
For every interesting or cool thing I hear about the non-movie sides of Disney, I hear several thousand horror stories about how they treat and deal with their staff. Working for Disney should be like relizing a dream, not suddenly walking into a nightmare. It's a franchise that's whole income is based around looking and being the best, so one would assume that they would treat the people who try to make them look the best with a little bit more respect. The entry does say that at least for one of the fired employees they had had some failures as a designer, but that seemed like it would be offset by things like re-designing Space Mountain. I've never heard anything good about how Disney treats their more technical employees, which is a shame since jobs like being an Imagineer seem like just incredibly awesome jobs.
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