Lost in the Plot

A very interesting feature on the relationship between Pixar and Disney over at the New York Times. Firstly, there’s mention of Princess and the Frog (I hadn’t seen the above promotional image before) and the retooling of Chris Sander’s American Dog into Bolt, which, quite frankly, doesn’t look all that promising. Especially interesting in the feature, though, are mentions of Pixar’s two-films-a-year output starting in 2011, their sequel production (and offshore outsourcing) ramping up with Toy Story 3 and the now-confirmed Cars 2, and the uncertain forecasts for Wall-E’s box office performance. I’m still a believer in the integrity of their process, stories and art, though some of these growth directions make me nervous. I can only hope they’re not aiming for this kind of thing-

By contrast, the competing DreamWorks Animation has received applause for its coming “Kung Fu Panda,” featuring the vocal talents of Jack Black and Angelina Jolie. Ingrid Chung, a media analyst at Goldman Sachs, said recently that she found the film’s concept and execution “strong enough to create a franchise.” When it came to Pixar, Ms. Chung declined to comment.

And the Goldman Sachs media analysts have it right, since a franchise is exactly what Dreamworks wants. Maybe I’m a snob, but starting a franchise makes me think of Dunkin’ Donuts, not film.

Read ‘Disney and Pixar - The Power of the Prenup‘ at NYTimes.com.

Also of interest is a recent Variety article on the slated films from Disney and Pixar through 2012.