Post #210257 by aquarj on Wed, Jan 25, 2006 11:30 AM

This makes a lot of sense to me. Since the standing contract with Pixar ended, Disney was heading for a situation of being in competition with Pixar in the future. The human assets at Pixar, including not just the managerial and directorial "brain trust" but also the entire creative workforce, represents great value for any company aiming to produce good animation features. So what are the strategic options when you're going to be competing with another company that seems to have a certain magic that you'd like to duplicate? Try to woo their people away, try to copy their methods, or just buy them! That last option is very appealing, because you automatically get both the people and the methods.

So I suspect the Disney "surrender" of the animation studio is not so much like snipping it off and handing it to another company, but more like a strategic way to get that division some new leadership with a better track record of success. But I hope it's not followed by a round of cost-cutting "synergies" that kill off the creative magic at Pixar now through layoffs, moves, or whatever.

-Randy