Guy LaLiberte

Walt Disney

That quote started me thinking– is Guy Laliberté the Walt Disney of our times? (For those of you who don’t know, Guy is the CEO and basically founder/dictator of Cirque du Soleil. He had other partners, but he bought them out, risked everything he owned, and voila, he’s now a billionaire with a circus and entertainment empire. You can read more about him in this article from Forbes.

I think one could argue that Cirque du Soleil and Disney are in the same business– immersive entertainments for the whole family. They approach it from different aesthetics and different ends and with (perhaps) different goals in mind.
And they both certainly have the idea of legacy, empire, and creating something that is all of one cloth.

I think that one could certainly say that Cirque du Soleil is standing on the shoulders of Disney– ie, they didn’t have to reinvent a lot of that wheel. And although right now, Cirque du Soleil is primarily circus oriented entertainment– I think the time is not far off for cirque resorts, theme parks, and other properties (they already have had television programs)

Walt had a sweetness and an innocence about him that LaLiberte doesn’t seem to have– although Walt has been nearly canonized, so perhaps that sweetness is more of a manufactured after-taste that LaLiberte will have when he’s in the ground and nothing but his empire remains.

All of this makes me think of a great song by T-Bone Burnett called Hefner and Disney

The lyrics are below:

Somewhere between Never Neverland and Wonderland
In a land called Never Wonderland
There lived a beautiful wealthy young divorcee
With a checkered past and a bad memory
Who should probably remain nameless
And men travelled from far and wide and try to win her hand
And she took in stragglers from all over the known world

(But between you and me they were really dupes of the Wicked King
Who wanted to rob the children of their dreams)

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:
READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE

Expected to open in late 2009, the new environment will feature immersive rides and interactive attractions, as well as experiential shops and restaurants that will enable guests to sample fare from the wizarding world’s best known establishments. Also debuting will be a state-of-the-art attraction that will bring the magic, characters and stories of Harry Potter to life in an exciting way that guests have never before experienced.

“We are going to devote more time, more money, more expertise and more executive talent from throughout our entire organization and creative team – as well as from Warner Bros., our partners – to ensure that
this entire environment is second-to-none,” said Tom Williams, chairman and CEO, Universal Parks
and Resorts.

Brad Globe, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products, added: “In Universal, we found the right partner whose unparalleled commitment will ensure that this is a world class destination. Their track record of success and the consistently high level of entertainment at all of their parks gave us the confidence to know that they will meet—or exceed— the extremely high expectations we all have for this project.”

The Academy Award-winning production designer Stuart Craig, who has worked to bring the world of Harry Potter to life in all of the feature films to date, leads the creative design for the area to ensure it remains faithful to the look and feel of the films.

“Our primary goal is to make sure this experience is an authentic extension of Harry Potter’s world as it is portrayed in the books and films,” said Craig. “I am very excited to be working closely with the Universal Orlando team to bring the area to life.”

Read all the juicy Disney tidbits, and possible red herrings at

http://blueskydisney.blogspot.com/

His argument is that the vertical spaces at Disney were the hardest to design, and that there are false skylights all over Disney in the imagineers quest to control the environment. It’s hard to argue with his photographs and his well-reasoned analysis.

The only disappointing thing about this is that now I have to go back and read his entire blog to see what other gems I’m missing! And I’m already behind in my movie-going (haven’t seen Spiderman, or Pirates for that matter), my television watching, and my book-reading (not to forget my other Blogs-reading)

And let’s not forget that he’s got a great list of other Disney blogs for me to check out.

It’s going to be a LONG weekend!

In a recent article in the Orlando papers (READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE.) about a shakeup at Disney Imagineering (for those of you who don’t know, Imagineers are the guys at Disney that do all of the thinking work) One of the corporate types is quoted as saying, “We are in the immersive experience business; it’s no longer the parks and resorts business.” She also promises that Disney will create more “immersive experiences”-

I like this as a redefinition of Disney as a whole– except that I would say they are in the Experiences Business. They provide experiences for people. Sometimes they can be a little too prepackaged, or not without adventure and excitement (that’s often the complaint about Disney-fying Times Square– they put their squeaky clean all over a place that is more exciting when it’s dirty)

Anyway, I thought this was worth mentioning. Immersive Experience.

It’s a hard rope to walk on (the difference between being nostalgic and being fixated on the past) It’s even harder when you are a large corporate entity, and have shareholders demanding maximum utilization of assets.

I’m pretty sure this is all for the best, but am still a little sad for it.

There’s a great picture of Walt and somebody’s Grandfather planning out Fort Wilderness on the Disney Blog link above.

Well, the good news is I still have time. Or as they say, Disneyland wasn’t built in a day!

This in from the Wall Street Journal:

Disney Pulls Its Characters From Junk Food

Move Sets Limits on Fats, Sugar
And Calories in Product Tie-Ins;
Getting a Pass on Birthday Cakes

By MERISSA MARR and JANET ADAMY
October 17, 2006; Page D1

Seeking to promote more healthful eating habits among children, Mickey Mouse and his Walt Disney Co. friends are changing their diets.

Disney announced a companywide initiative to phase out the promotion of unhealthful foods to kids and eliminate artery-clogging trans fats from its theme-park menus and its licensed and promotional products. The Burbank, Calif., entertainment company said its characters and brands will be used only on child-focused products that meet certain guidelines in terms of calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar.

“A company such as ours, with the reach we have, has a responsibility because of how much we can influence people’s opinions and behavior,” says Disney CEO Robert Iger. He adds: “There’s also a business opportunity here.”

While the plan is the most extensive yet by a media company to address concerns over marketing to children, it stops short of tackling the thorny subject of food makers advertising unhealthful products directly to kids on Disney media outlets. Disney doesn’t run advertising on the Disney Channel but does carry sponsor messages, which will be covered by the new guidelines. Disney does carry advertising on its kids’ programming block on the ABC television network and its Toon Disney cable channel.

Here’s an excerpt:

Amateur plushy porn featuring the world’s most famous mouse and his pals has found its way to the Internet … again. Video of a furry, bisexual, incestuous, interspecies orgy at EuroDisney was quickly taken down after being posted to YouTube yesterday, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail (via Defamer). In it, Minnie is the pivot mouse in a furry three-way with Goofy and a giant snowman. Goofy gets similarly freaky with a pair of nut-gobbling chipmunks.

Not to be outdone, the Chairman of the Board, Mickey Mouse himself, gets frosty, sloppy seconds from the snowy stud. Thought to be shot on a hidden camera, a French voice can be heard announcing “Disneyland à l’arriére plan, il fait chaud!”

Translation: “Disneyland backstage, it’s hot!”

VIDEO LINK:

SEE THE ACTION

Shakeup at Disney:
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co on Thursday said it has promoted 27-year Disney veteran Meg Gilbert Crofton to president of the Walt Disney World Resort. The company also elevated 10-year Disney veteran Jim Lewis to president of Disney Vacation Club. Both Crofton and Lewis will report to Al Weiss, president of Worldwide Operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Crofton, 52, takes over for Weiss, who moved to his newly created post as part of Disney’s company-wide emphasis on taking a global approach to its businesses.