Disney Purchases Pixar…Finally

So, how much does it cost to give a Mouse a Woody. How bout a Buzz? Try $7.4 billion and near controlling interest.

With Tuesday morning’s coffee came the news that the Walt Disney
Company and Pixar Animation Studios had reached an agreement to once
again work as a team in creating animated features. Pixar’s
distribution deal with the mouse house was set to expire following this
summer’s release of “Cars” after something of a bitter battle over
creative control and influence forced upon Pixar from the Michael
Eisner regime.

According to Pixar studio head Steve Jobs, the
deal will allow the two companies to “collaborate without the barriers
that come from two different companies with two different sets of
shareholders” allowing filmmakers to focus on “creating innovative
stories, characters and films that delight millions of people around
the world.”

The purchase puts Jobs on the Disney board and
gives him the single largest independent share holding to the company.
In addition, John Lasseter, acclaimed as one of the most creative minds
at Pixar will be named as chief creative officer and Pixar president Ed
Catmull will serve as the prez for the combined studios (affectionately
referred to as ‘Dixar’ buy our circle of geeks). Current Disney CEO
Robert Iger has hoped for a truce since he grabbed the spot from Eisner
a few years ago. He adds that the deal “significantly enhances Disney
animation, which is a critical creative engine for driving growth.”

By and large, us fans are happy to see that with Pixar’s perfect box
office record, Disney could be back on top of the animation stack in no
time. We’re looking forward to “Cars” this year and the rumored 2008
feature “Ratatouille”. A bright future lay ahead, but a statment by
Jobs cast a faint shadow on that happy valley saying that the company
felt strongly about making sequels to some of its previous hits.

Sequels?!?! No bad, Jobs. Bad!