Michael Eisner's Office, Universal City, CA
March 30, 1980
"Walt Disney's getting cocky. He didn't put out an animated movie last year, and let us and
Woody Woodpecker reap the rewards. That's a big mistake on his part," said Michael Eisner, a smirk on his lips.
"And what do you want us to do about that?"
Eisner turned and faced the four filmmakers on the other side of his desk. Fellow 'Killer Diller' Don Simpson and his producer partner, Jerry Bruckheimer, were to his left, while animators Tex Avery and Gary Goldman (one of the only animators Universal had been able to poach from Disney) sat to his right.
"I want
you to take advantage of that. Don, Jerry, you keep working on
The Legend of the Lone Ranger. Make me the best damn Western I've ever seen."
Bruckheimer nodded. "We're working on that. We've reached a deal with Clayton Moore, he agreed to stop wearing the Lone Ranger costume in public in exchange for being put on payroll and officially promoting the film with us."
"Yeesh," wheezed Eisner. "The whole point of this movie it to move
away from Moore as the Ranger's face. What other options do we have?"
Don Simpson shrugged. "We could take him to court."
"And enrage everyone over the age of thirty? Moore was their childhood heroes. You take someone like him to court, and box office numbers are in the toilet. Call him, and tell him he's got the job."
Eisner then shifted his attention to the animators. "As for you..." he said, pulling out a well-worn book and sliding it across the desktop, "...I want animation to start adapting
this."
Tex Avery flipped the book around. "
Thumbelina? Sure, that's an okay fairy tale. When do you want it out? Next summer?"
"Christmas," replied Eisner.
"So... next Christmas, you mean?" asked Goldman.
"What? No,
this Christmas."
Avery balked. "That's not
nearly enough time to--"
Eisner raised his hand. "No, don't tell me what you can't do. Eight months is more than enough time to crank out an animated movie. And, for future reference, I'd like you to know that Universal Pictures will be releasing at least one fully-animated feature film annually. To keep ahead of Disney's curve."
Tex Avery opened his mouth to protest, then swallowed his words. Best not to upset a dragon like Mike Eisner.
--------------------------------
Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, CA
April 5, 1980
Tony Baxter took in the intricate miniature of Discovery Bay. It was like nothing he'd ever seen. The model was incredibly detailed, right down to little figurines in Victorian clothing and the boats bobbing in the painted waves. The airship
Hyperion was suspended from the ceiling by invisible plastic strings and tethered to the world below by a thick, coiled rope. Mountains streaked with veins of gold and silver towered over the steampunk paradise, begging the inhabitants below to take up a pickaxe and a hot air balloon to find their fortunes.
"It's amazing, isn't it?"
Tony whirled around, and his eyes settled on Roy Disney, who had just entered the room.
"Discovery Bay right there is worth almost a million dollars. Most of the building interiors are modeled, the train and steamboat both work, and there's real gold in them hills," said Roy, picking up a bronze statuette of an old sea captain and examining it.
"Seriously?" exclaimed Tony, mouth agape. "Why is it so..."
"Lavish? Walt Disney spares no expense, Tony. You should know that by now. Plus," he continued, "he's always had a thing for miniatures. That's what his idea for Disneyland started out as: intricate miniatures on a train that would travel the country, and people could pay to climb aboard at stops and look at the models in detail. 'Course, his ideas outgrew what a train could hold."
"They became Mickey Mouse Park, right?" asked Tony. "It was supposed to be where the LucasArts building is nowadays, across the street."
"Yes, but even then, he was still
obsessed with miniatures. I take it you've seen the original ideas for Disneyland? The first maps of the park?"
Tony shook his head.
"
Really?" pressed Roy, eyebrows raised in surprise and suspicion. "Well, anyways, there was this land to be between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland that was all about miniatures. I'm not exactly sure why he dropped it, but eventually it morphed into the Storybookland Canal Boats I'm Fantasyland."
"Interesting. I never knew Walt was so into miniatures," said Tony.
Roy set down the statue. "You learn something new every day, I suppose. ...Sometimes I think that the only reason he decided to make
The Discovery Bay Chronicles was to build these sets."
"That, and getting me to trade Discovery Bay in Disneyland for Discoveryland in EuroDisney."
"Yes, that too."
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as the two men fiddled with various aspects of Discovery Bay. Then, Roy spoke up again. "You know, if it wasn't for Walt, I'd be languishing in some veteran's hospital right now."
Tony furrowed his brow. "What... do you mean?"
"I got tuberculosis at the tail end of World War One. Military honorably discharged me, and sent me to some hospital in LA. Said I could probably never leave a hospital again. Then one day, Walt comes and visits. He's all excited--you know how he gets--and he's just going on and on about this new deal he's got with Margaret J. Winkler for the
Alice comedies, and that he's going to found an animation studio and wants me to be his partner."
"What did you say?"
"Well I'm standing here right now, aren't I?"
"...Right."
Roy sighed. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, I'm getting old. I'm almost a decade older than Walt, and I've got a lot longer of a medical history than him. But you're young, and Walt really likes you. So, if you're ever in a situation where I'm not around, and Walt wants to make a very,
very unwise financial decision... don't let him do it."
Tony nodded.
"Though, be careful. He once fired a guy on the spot who said building a ride with pirate ships dangling from the ceiling was 'impossible'."
The silence returned again.
"I'm sorry," apologized Roy. "I'm speaking like a man with a terminal disease--which I do
not have, let me make myself very clear. I was just thinking of the studio's future last night... and I'd like to be able to sleep normally again, you know?"
"Yeah," said Tony nervously. "Yeah, I do."
