A Hippie in the House of Mouse (Jim Henson at Disney, 1980)

[Pesterfield]

(in part triggered by the interactive movie Night Trap).

That thing went through development hell, perhaps a better focus could have it come out better. For instance I recall the baddies going from ninjas to vampires to maybe something else.

Disney being enthusiastic/excited about interactive movies and wanting to experiment with them.

If they do would they go live action, I could see arguments to keep it animated and/or Muppets. That they can probable get away with more cartoon violence being one of them.

Of course it's legal, why wouldn't it be?

Why do it if not for liability or tax reasons, wouldn't it be simpler for the studio to make the movies?

Because he seems to be more Deep South then Texas proper,

Right, Texas joined the Confederacy but they really have their own separate cultural identity.

 

[El Pip]

Why do it if not for liability or tax reasons, wouldn't it be simpler for the studio to make the movies?

Because there were a hell of a lot of people who were badly advised and signed up for percentage of the net. Stan Lee was on 10% of everything made with his characters and so were a lot of other comic book types, so of course every superhero movie uses this model. For the rest, well there are many subtle variations you can play on this to try and catch even people who sign up for a share of the gross.

To give a TL-related example, Disney tried to use similar trick on Celador when they licenced "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" for US TV. Cleador were on a percentage of gross revenue, so Disney just artifically reduced the fee their network paid to the LLC that was making the show, so the LLC's gross revenue dropped and so the payout to Celador was lower. Sadly, for Disney, Celador were not the backwater idiots that Eisner and Iger thought they were, so they worked it out and sued. Celador won and ended up with $320 million in damages and interest, which is enough for even Disney to go ouch at. That was one of the cases where the studio got caught and it went public, I am certain there are countless others were the studio either got away with it, did it better or got caught but both sides agreed to keep it quiet.

 

[Migrant_Coconut]

Fun fact, Peter Jackson got screwed out of $100 million (and the Tolkien Foundation got nothing) because they signed up for gross; officially, the LOTR trilogy's collective $2.991 billion box office is a net loss. So it's a great way to scam people out of their cut.

Of course, it's also a great way to scare off future deals, so I doubt Henson!Disney is doing much of that.

 

[Denliner]

Because he seems to be more Deep South then Texas proper,

Right, Texas joined the Confederacy but they really have their own separate cultural identity.

Fair enough. Then it's more likely that they will bring back the character for the Atlanta Olympics, even if it was for a limited time.

 

[Geekhis Khan]

I just discovered this hilarious ad collection, and now I think during the '96 Olympics he could be brought back, and potentially for a Disneytown in the south too.

Because he seems to be more Deep South then Texas proper,

Technically I believe that Henson was going for a Kentucky Colonel here, hence the title. Note the resemblance to Colonel Sanders. So I think that he's supposed to be from Kentucky.

Of course it's legal, why wouldn't it be?

Because you're setting up a paper company designed to fail and go bankrupt in less than five years specifically as a way of diverting revenue streams to a select group of insiders and then using said paper company to negotiate contracts in bad faith as a way to deny creative artists their fair share of the revenues gained as a direct result of their hard work and intellectual property?

And to all the other responses:

On renewables: yes, 1990s are an interesting time in renewable energy. A lot of the groundwork for what was to come was lain, but on a practical level it was still very costly. Skeptics had very good reasons to be skeptical about renewable energy in the 1990s. There's not too much hope of good profits without serious government incentives at this point, but there's private money to make in developing innovative technologies and selling the IP to larger companies. Ironically, there's potential profit in developing advanced green tech and selling them to fossil fuel companies so they can bury them. As of the mid 1990s the primary growth area will be wind and solar, as others have stated, and "Breeder Reactors" are the subject of active US Government research (the Integral Fast Reactor in Ohio comes to mind), but yea, not a profitable venture for private industry yet. Clinton and Gore killed the IFR in 1994 iOTL, which is ironic in hindsight given that Gore is pushing for exactly that type of tech right now to provide the base loading and surge power needed for a mostly renewable grid.

On Aladdin, they're following the Ashman Plan, so yes, "Proud of your Boy" is the big show-stopper. You'll also get such gems as "High Adventure" and "Princesses Get their Way", the latter of which is pretty much sure to get covered by every Pop and Hip-Hop Diva of the 2000s. "A Whole New World" on the other hand will never exist, alas. You win some, you lose some.

Oh, and other Disney animation plans to be revealed this weekend!

 

[Plateosaurus]

Technically I believe that Henson was going for a Kentucky Colonel here, hence the title. Note the resemblance to Colonel Sanders. So I think that he's supposed to be from Kentucky.

Well I'm no southerner, but I'm quite sure Georgians would view anything from Kentucky at best with disdain, likely due to football rivalries.

On the subject of renewable energy, has anyone discussed the trend of corn ethanol? It was a trend back in the 2000's, and the seeds of it were planted in the 90's.

Everybody's waiting for Aladdin and William's Genies most of all, and so am I!

 

[TheKennedyMachine.]

"A Whole New World" on the other hand will never exist, alas. You win some, you lose some.

Must you crush my hopes and dreams?

Next you’ll tell is that we won’t get Monsters Inc— ... oh no.

 

[Plateosaurus]

Next you’ll tell is that we won’t get Monsters Inc— ... oh no.

Or even Pixar for that matter. Honestly, I think that's looking increasingly likely ITTL.

Oh well, TTL me will likely like something else, and so will you.

 

[Igeo654]

Or even Pixar for that matter. Honestly, I think that's looking increasingly likely ITTL.

Oh well, TTL me will likely like something else, and so will you.

If there is a Pixar, It'll be most likely founded by Steve Jobs and a bunch of different animators, pretty much become ing like a 90s Dreamworks to Disney.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

I thought Disney already own the ITTL version of Piece because it was made in house?

 

[FellowTraveller5]

On the subject of renewable energy, has anyone discussed the trend of corn ethanol? It was a trend back in the 2000's, and the seeds of it were planted in the 90's.

Frankly, I think corn ethanol is a lousy idea. There is SO MUCH energy invested in the crop, between fertilizers and farm equipment, that I think it's an overall loss.

 

[Geekhis Khan]

The core of what became Pixar iOTL is the Disney Digital Division (3D) iTTL. Lasseter, Ranft, and crew work for Disney, in other words. Stay tuned to see what stays and what goes of the "Pixar Canon".

In general (as I've said before) not everything from OTL will appear iTTL, but not everything will get completely butterflied, though there will be changes, some subtle, some profound.

 

[Denliner]

On Aladdin, they're following the Ashman Plan, so yes, "Proud of your Boy" is the big show-stopper. You'll also get such gems as "High Adventure" and "Princesses Get their Way", the latter of which is pretty much sure to get covered by every Pop and Hip-Hop Diva of the 2000s. "A Whole New World" on the other hand will never exist, alas. You win some, you lose some.

Makes sense that "A Whole New World" doesn't exist, since Aladdin and Jasmine's romance has been butterflied in favor of Abbi, but I wished it could've been adapted for ITTL somehow for Aladdin and Abbi. Oh well.

I seriously cannot wait to see what's next with Aladdin!

 

[GrahamB]

If they do an Aladdin animated series like they did OTL I can readily see Al and Abbi forming a solid adventure couple with their financial backer/'employer' Princess (later Sultana?) Jasmine.

 

[Migrant_Coconut]

So basically OTL but with more Sadira?

 

[wietze]

and considering who this timeline is about - today would have been Jim Henson's 85th Birthday

#jimhensonbirthday - Explore

explore #jimhensonbirthday at Facebook

www.facebook.com

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

and considering who this timeline is about - today would have been Jim Henson's 85th Birthday

Well than Happy Birthday Jim:

 

[Plateosaurus]

Happy birthday to him, Jim! May his works be cherished further!

 

[CountDVB]

Happy birthday, Jim.

 

[Workable Goblin]

On the subject of renewable energy, has anyone discussed the trend of corn ethanol? It was a trend back in the 2000's, and the seeds of it were planted in the 90's.

I did mention it somewhat sidewise—I said that biofuels might be profitable and then clarified that I meant liquid biofuels, then alluded to the criticisms FellowTraveller5 mentioned. I was certainly thinking of corn there.