Universal Studios Lot, Universal City, CA
May 16, 1979
Michael Eisner sank into a cushioned seat, and flipped through the script to
Woody Woodpecker in his hand. It was good, certainly, just not quite on the level of
Mickey Mousecapade. But it was an acceptable start to rebuilding Universal's animated division, one that would hopefully lead to a long, lustrous line of successes in the cartoon field.
Woody Woodpecker wasn't coming until November, though. That was a long way away. And even though Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, and the other animators were doing some good work, it wasn't standing up to Don Bluth's Disney masterpieces, relying a little too much on cheap laughs. So, in the meantime, he'd have to focus on
Alien, which was coming in... what, eleven days? Even though it was a horror movie, it was being billed as Universal's attempt to show up
Star Wars. Hopefully that would get more people, even kids, in the theaters, even though it was being rated R by the MPAA.
"My son definitely won't be seeing it..." he muttered, remembering the first screening Universal execs had seen. Grown men had literally ran out of the theater in disgust and fear when that alien baby ripped out of someone's stomach. But hey, he couldn't be held responsible for parental decisions on the part of the audience. And what's a few complaint letters next to all those box office returns?
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Walt Disney's Office, Burbank, CA
May 18, 1979
Stan Lee sat fidgeting in the chair outside of Walt Disney's office. It had no back support, and felt about a million years old, ready to splinter under his weight and collapse to the floor. His briefcase, bursting with papers, lay by his side. Finally, after what felt like hours, the door opened.
"...and thanks, George.
Raiders is gonna do gangbusters at the box office, I wouldn't worry about
Alien."
George Lucas exited the room, casting a glance at Stan Lee. "Oh... didn't expect to see you here."
"Well... I can't say I did either."
"How are the
Star Wars comics going? They in good hands? I haven't had very much time recently to keep up with them, what with
Raiders and all," said the director.
"Yeah, they're going strong. Basically saved Marvel from an untimely end."
"So what are you doing here?"
"George, keep on moving. I've gotta meet with Stan now, you two can talk later. My flight back to Japan is in a few hours and won't wait for chitchat!" exclaimed Walt, sticking his head out the doorway. After Lucas reluctantly left, the older man turned to his guest. "Stan! Come in, come in!"
Two legends in their own right, neither sat down when they entered, preferring to stand. "You were quite cryptic in why you wanted to meet me, Stan," said Walt, leaning against the wall.
Stan Lee nodded. "I wanted to see if you were interested in Marvel, first. And judging by your desk..." Stan pointed to the pile of Marvel comic books nearby. "You've done your research."
"Yep. One of my younger animators overheard me talking about you coming in, and he graciously let me borrow his whole comic book collection. Most of that's Spider-Man and the X-Men and the Avengers, but there are a few issues Superman and the Flash, too."
"Anyways," said Stan. "Marvel is owned by the company Cadence Industries, who also owns DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, this one animation group here in Burbank. You should be familiar with them, I think they did the lightsaber effects for
Star Wars."
"Yes, I do remember George talking about them," replied Walt.
"Well, we're currently thinking of creating some animated television shows based on our comic book characters, and the animation will be done through them. We just need a network to put them on. And I figured I should start asking around sooner rather than later, so, here I am."
The movie mogul furrowed his brow. "So, what you're saying is, something like Spider-Man and the Hulk on the Disney Channel?"
"
Exactly that. I really admire you, Walt. You're so in control of your company and yourself that you can do whatever you want, whatever idea comes to mind. Me, I have to work through a mess of companies, negotiations, and assholes in suits yelling about 'Money! Money! Money!'"
Walt chuckled. "Oh, I didn't get here very easily. Not easily at all. Don't worry, your time will come."
Stan Lee grinned mischievously. "Hopefully. Anyways, what do you think of Marvel on the Disney Channel?"
"I think it's a
marvelous idea, Stan. We could always use some more content, and the stuff of your caliber never disappoints. Hey, um, listen, I have to catch a plane to Tokyo, I'm sorry to cut this short but I need to go."
"I understand. Before you leave, though, can I have your word that if you do want to work with, you'll call as soon as possible?" pestered Stan.
"Of course!" said Walt. "This just may be the start of a great alliance. Like one of your team-up comics."
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Namco Headquarters, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
May 19, 1979
Walt Disney cracked his knuckles as the opening prompt, "We are the Galaxians/Mission: Destroy Aliens", flashed on the screen of the arcade cabinet.
Galaxian, while not totally finished, had been assembled into a very early-stage (but working) prototype by the wizards here at Namco.
Unlike Atari/Taito's
Space Invaders,
Galaxian was in full-color. It moved more quickly, and the lack of any form of barrier separating the aliens from the ship increased the difficulty and made players fleet with their finger movements. There were no sound affects, nor music, at this point, just the base game.
"Ohhoho!" exclaimed Walt, as an alien made a
kamikaze dive for his ship. In a stunning show of great reaction time for his age, the older man deftly avoided the beast and returned to blasting away at his foes.
After a few short minutes, Walt was drained of all his lives and broke out into laughter at the sight of the "GAME OVER" screen. "Mister Disney?" asked Masaya Nakamura, who had taken the time out of his day to come and give the American a tour. "Is something wrong? Why are you laughing?"
Tears brimming in his eyes, Walt turned with a big, childlike grin plastered onto his face towards the Japanese businessman. "I keep on saying this every time I play a new game, but I mean this seriously when I say it: this game,
Galaxian? It's the best one ever made."
"So... do we have a deal?" questioned Nakamura. "Are you willing to ditribute this game for us in the United States?"
"Nakamura-san, I'll distribute your entire video game
library in the United States. Of course we'll bring over
Galaxian! And if you can keep this level of quality up, we'll bring over any other game you want us to after that!"