Between Books - After Disney: Toil, Trouble, and the Transformation of America’s Favorite Media Company

There are a handful of great books that detail the fall of Ron Miller as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company and his replacement by Michael Eisner. These chronicles often include the role of Roy E. Disney in Miller’s removal and his chosen successor. These books often put Eisner front and center. What has really been missing is a book that outlines Miller’s career, the obstacles he sought to overcome, and the state of the Company during his time as CEO. Would it be cliche to say, until now?

After Disney: Toil, Trouble, and the Transformation of America’s Favorite Media Company by Neil O’Brien provides a study of Disney's corporate history through the Miller era. The text focuses heavily on animation and meets one of O’Brien’s stated goals of developing an oral history of Disney animation during this period. O’Brien walks us through the origins of Miller and Roy E. Disney, who were never close despite externally being seen as the faces of the company after the deaths of Walt and Roy O. Roy E. Disney early on leaves the stage as he sought to create new opportunities for himself creatively and in investments. Miller was faced with the challenge of leading a company in transition as the older animators that Disney films were based on aged but saw no one in-house to fill their creative leadership. The company then fostered the creation of a new Character Animation department at CalArts to mentor a new future Disney animation cadre, with members of that first class including legends like Brad Bird, Jerry Rees, and John Musker. The text gives us a case study, as we watch the old guard and new artists interacting in the development of animated features, especially the stalled The Black Cauldron. The book also discusses how Miller led the company and his attempt to evolve the studio, especially around live-action films with the creation of Touchstone Pictures which would allow more hard-hitting storytelling. Finally, the book discusses Roy E. Disney’s move to resign from the Board and leverage his shares to install Eisner and Frank Wells into Disney leadership. The book ends with the author noting the changes that went into effect during the Miller period, especially the training of new animators, which pushed forward an animation renaissance both internally and externally.

I have one minor gripe, the cover gives us the impression that this is a story of MIller vs Roy E. fighting for the soul of Disney. It’s really not, as Disney removed himself for much of this period as an employee. The real focus in this book is on culture and day-to-day under Miller. A more fitting cover to communicate what will occur in the book might have been Gurgi from The Black Cauldron as much of the tension around staffing, leadership, and storytelling are told through the lens of developing this movie It was the “Author’s Note” at the end that even more clarifies this, as O’Brien notes his desire to write an oral history of animation and his interest in the Lloyd Alexander stories. I will raise my hand and admit that I am of an age and fandom to have also been pulled into those books. I also find myself wanting to know more about why the film I wanted to see so badly didn’t work. So the recurring film and its development helped keep me engaged in Miller’s struggle in running a company and legacy left to him by his beloved father-in-law. But the story is not a duel between two businessmen, that I felt the cover provided me.

The discussion about The Black Cauldron is so strong, that I didn’t even mention the rise of Don Bluth’s star at the studio. This just shows that for readers there is not just one engaging story in this volume, but levels of complexity.

This really is a well-written and sourced book. I will argue that it’s also very well-balanced. While I did find a lot to admire about Miller as I read the book, I also felt like O’Brien didn’t attempt to romanticize him. And I personally think Miller, Eisener, and Roy E. are all figures that should be respected as Disney Legends as while they may not have always worked well together, they did all three leave important contributions to the company. They were people, and this is what O’Brien gives us, interesting people ranging from corporate leaders, to directors like Joe Hale, to even struggling animators like Glen Keane who lived through these interesting times of change. This is the type of story that reminds us that change happens, people are part of it, and we are people. 

 
After Disney: Toil, Trouble, and the Transformation of America’s Favorite Media Company by Neil O’Brien is one of my favorite Disney history books of 2025. O’Brien gives us a story about real people, with real feelings as they transition through changes in corporate culture and American storytelling. The use of The Black Cauldron as a story focus, really helped me stay engaged as it’s a movie release that confused me in its failure as someone who loved the Alexander stories as a child. And it allows the author through it’s long development to talk about the changing Disney corporate landscape. And I think best of all, it gives readers a well-balanced picture of Ron Miller who is often a quick note in Disney's corporate leadership history, hidden by the shadow of Walt Disney, Bob Iger, and Eisner. 

 

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Between Books - Not Just a Walk in the Park

Do you want to talk about the Disney navy? Did you hear about the time Disney almost bought an aircraft carrier?

Not Just a Walk in the Park: My Worldwide Disney Resorts Career by James B. Cora with Jeff Kurtti outlines the late Disney Legend’s life and career. Cora begins his tale with a story of immigrants. Cora’s family immigrated from Lebanon before his birth. This resulted in a circumstance where his complexion and culture made him feel out of place. Cora entered the Air Force after high school, and post-service balanced school (which he struggled with), and a job at Disneyland (which he flourished with). Cora would be noticed by Van France and Dick Nunis for his ability to train and organize. After ten years that saw Cora move between Disneyland and Retlaw, he was asked to help oversee the on-site development of Walt Disney World with an eye toward operations. This established Cora as a Disney projects expert which launched him into decades of international adventures with roles overseeing development at Tokyo Disneyland, Euro Disney, Tokyo DisneySea, and unbuilt concepts as the leading executive for Disneyland International. Cora would retire after 44 years of Disney projects, but in his later life, he continued to make himself busy mixing his project, operations, and storytelling expertise to continue to delight his audience despite significant health problems.

Honestly, I was not aware of much of Cora’s career. And his writing is clear, and to the point, and I imagine his tone. He writes a book that is not just about Disney, but also his family's legacy in the United States, his personal failures, and his attempts to hold to a strong operational standard. I found myself amused by stories that were best told by him, like a pitch to purchase a scrap aircraft carrier to create a mobile Disney park. Cora also had a great vantage point to compare the creation of Disney parks in Japan and France. Spoiler, he found the Japanese to be the superior group of managers to work with going so far as suggesting their staff and not Americans may be the best trainers abroad. His life gives us a view from the middle of the hierarchy in getting Disney projects made abroad and lessons on managing up. As someone who grew up in the Eisner era, I enjoyed the stories of Michael Eisner asking for medical advice, while neither Cora nor Eisner should have been working. And the tales of the supportive Frank Wells just help to make him even more endearing.

I recently had a conversation about networking. I don’t like it. I am just a little too introverted. And I would like to think that my work and effort are what I should be evaluated against. I really get the sense that this is how Cora saw life too. He was raised by his parents to be hardworking. He was proud of what he did. Cora points out Disney Legends, such as Marty Sklar, who knew better than him how to be political in the office. But I think it is likely this what you see is what you get, and what is get is pretty darn good, which led figures like Dick Nunis to rely on him. And Cora himself did not suffer fools. His text has several references to organizational tendencies that he felt lacked efficiency. And there are stories of executives who lacked the proper work ethic or Disney spirit. Not everyone liked Cora, he at one point was key in corporate layoffs. But at least in his writing he also showed a very human side of himself.

Not Just a Walk in the Park: My Worldwide Disney Resorts Career had been on my to-read list for around a year. I’m really glad that I added it to my Between Books. Sure, it’s not a book filled with excitement and artistic lessons. And there is a lot about operations and career building, which I appreciated. But most of all while I am getting older in Betweenland, it reminded me that I have a lot to still contribute. And that everything behind me, can lead me to situations where I can still give to others.

Thank You, Mr. Cora!


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Between Books - The Imagineering Story

 

It’s a brick!

Don’t get me wrong, bricks are good. Bricks give us firm foundations.  

When I ordered The Imagineering Story, I saw the 700-plus pages and had a thought. It’s an oversized art book? That many pages just have to be filled with a lot of pictures, definitely more than text. It will definitely be artful, fun, and light.

There are five pages of pictures…and all in the front of the book!

Stop thinking art books, and start thinking 700-page fiction fantasy or thriller because this book is just as wild of a ride as any of those! And it is all words my friend!

The Imagineering Story: The Official Biography of Walt Disney Imagineering by Leslie Iwerks is more than a companion to the Disney+ series of the same name. She documents the actions of Walt Disney Imagineering from Walt Disney to the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. She draws a line of artists, creators, and business people who shared a common mission, “to create fun.” Iwerks provides a deep narrative that moves from park to park and milestone to milestone for Disney creatives. While giving us a history of things and events she adds multi-page biographies of Imagineers that often includes how they were recruited by Imagineering and their impact on an important project. The writing is clear, detailed, and consistent. And while it is not an academic press, it is clear that Disney sees this volume as exactly what the title claims “the official biography.”

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty. Iwerks overall keeps a calm tone. It is one that neither gets too high nor too low, it is honest and consistent. So while readers may come up against names that give them internal frustration, Iwerks avoids name-calling and dirt-digging. Everything is neither always good and never always bad. It is just frank here are the facts. It is likely this tone that allowed her to talk about some low points in Imagineering history in both the book and series in a Disney-sanctioned program. Let’s be honest, Disney does have a tendency to paint a rosy at all times picture. And Iwerks does not have to run away from the bad times for employees and the parks. I am still shocked that Michael Eisner was given such a big role in her series, and I am all for it. In the end, Iwerks can go places that maybe Disney marketing may not have preferred because to be blunt she wasn’t looking to flame anyone, she’s just providing facts.

Personally, I really liked her biographies of Imagineers. And yes as expected we get our Tony Baxters and Kevin Raffetys and other well-known figures. But I must admit, I was shockingly under informed of the career of Disney Legend, and guest star of The Mandalorian, Wing Chao. These biographies also answered questions for me about some Imagineers I saw in the program. For example, Doris Woodward was a new to me Imagineer, and Iwerks has time on the page to give us the background on this key leader for Shanghai Disney. And maybe these biographical asides were my favorite part as they allowed me to connect with people.

As Disney fans, we have dreamed about staying overnight in a Disney park. In the United States, we dream of winning an in-park suite for the night. Or we daydream of getting locked in by accident. Internationally, we may have the opportunity to stay in a Disney hotel in a park. But in 2011, 70,000 guests were marooned in Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea after a devastating earthquake and national tragedy. This is not how I would like to be staying overnight in a park, especially with cold temperatures. And Iwerks’ retelling of this incident has stuck with me. It shows that we may not know everything and The Imagineering Story has so much Disney history something that you’ve never read about is going to be in here. And Iwerks’ clear writing creates drama and tension.

The biggest personal issue I have with the book is a lack of an index and a lack of cited sources. Lack of index is likely my biggest future problem. This book is huge. And really one does need a map to go back and find content for future projects. Even writing this review required me to dig to confirm content a little harder than I really wanted to. Have I mentioned this book is huge? The lack of citations I am going to give her a pass on. Iwerks is a filmmaker, not a historian. I have a history background and I like to see the work. Iwerks relied heavily on interviews and internal sources and when quoting someone she always gives you the speaker in the text. She had access to the Disney Archives and most of all the people who lived the creations. We must remember that Iwerks is the granddaughter of Mickey Mouse’s co-creator and the daughter of a Disney film legend. Disney Legend could be the family crest! She is more focused on telling a story of creating fun, and her lack of citations keeps moving the story she’s telling forward of creativity and innovation.

In 2023, we enter the one-hundredth year of the Walt Disney Company. The Imagineering Story is the beginning of a book program to support this milestone. And Leslie Iwerks gives us the first good brick in the magical year’s foundation.

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Between Books - Inside the Disney Marketing Machine

It has become a family tradition to watch the Disney parade on ABC on Christmas day.  During this two hour presentation, viewers see a parade filmed primarily from Walt Disney World on a network owned by Disney with hosts employed by ABC and Disney cable networks which highlights the parks in-between video snippets about Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Aulani, Disney films, and everything else you  can think of made by the mouse.  If Synergy, a much maligned work for marketing integration, had a showcase this parade would be it! 

Inside the Disney Marketing Machine: In the Era of Michael Eisner & Frank Wells by Lorraine Santoli outlines the author’s experiences within Disney marketing and publicity efforts beginning in 1978.  Santoli moved to California planning to be a script writer but finding a very different career in Disney marketing.  She would eventually move into the position of manager of Corporate Synergy and Special Projects.   In this role she would market Disney to Disney!   Santoli would interact with numerous Disney legends including Charlie Ridgeway, Jack Lindquist, Frank Wells and the synergy champion Michael Eisner.  Santoli outlines a number of her projects marketing Disney parks and creating synergy experiences.   Her synergy discussion provides in-depth detail on how she was able to build and support a highly effective synergy machine. 

Overall, I found Inside the Disney Marketing Machine easy to read, enjoyable and helpful.  One of the important lessons that one finds in Santoli’s writing is the power of personal relationships within the workplace.  It is the relationships that she created throughout Disney including those between others that made synergy work.  As a professional, one reads of catered breakfasts and some may think “why do you need to bribe employees to do their job?”  Seriously I have heard this complaint in the last month.  But really Santoli was creating connections which fostered teamwork through networking, the treats were just the tool.  Stronger connections were forged within the company and units were more willing to work with each other.  The second part of her dastardly plan was really information sharing.  Due to the relationships she had created in the diverse company, key champions would give attention to her targeted messages and best of all act on them.  These are key business lessons that we can all learn from; the power of relationship and information.  Most professionals can likely reflect on projects that broke down due to a lack of networking and communication.  And much of that breakdown is often based on when people do no read and act on messages.   

Though as a Cyclone fan I do need to remind everyone that Iowa State University (Go Cyclones!) and the University of Iowa are two very different schools.  Of course, I assume only a minority of readers are ISU alumni who take a certain pride in their school’s unique Disney connection!  But sadly this reviewer had his cardinal and gold socks on when he read her accounting of the Mickey Mouse cornfield.   

Inside the Disney Marketing Machine is an excellent account of the founding of Disney’s highly effective synergy campaign.  Santoli teaches readers how to market within a company and the results of increased integration, cooperation and profits.  Santoli takes us from the ground up as synergy was created from scratch within Disney.  And we can all learn valuable lessons about relationship building from her experience, especially since we can still see synergy’s tremendous results today for Disney.   And of course, Disney fans will love looking at the synergy machine from the inside of the mouse. 

Review Copy Provided by Theme Park Press 

Between Books - From Disneyland's Tom Sawyer to Diseny Legend

From Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend: The Adventures of Tom Nabbe by Tom Nabbe outlines a Disney career that arches over 5 decades.  Nabbe was there on opening day at Disneyland, standing in the crowd as invited guests entered the park.  The youngster would actually get to enter the park that first day though he would not be able to ride his favorite ride.  Nabbe’s history with the park actually started earlier as he relocated to Anaheim and was lucky enough to watch the park grow up from the orange groves it replaced.  The boy started in the park selling newspapers and would eventually be hired by Walt Disney to be the first Tom Sawyer walk around character for Tom Sawyer’s Island.  Nabbe would spend several summers in this role, until he became too old to play the role.  He would then move into other jobs at Disneyland, eventually after a stint in the Marines, entering a management track.  His career would then take him to new and unexpected places which included relocating to Orlando and providing supervision in portions of the Magic Kingdom Park.  He would later move into distribution services managing warehouses that helped build Epcot, supply Walt Disney World, and support expansion under Michael Eisner, and even Disneyland Paris.  Along with his Disney history, Nabbe provides information about his personal and family life.  The book ends with an essay by Keith Murdock, the second Tom Sawyer who filled the role after Nabbe became too old.

I really liked From Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend.  I flew through the book as I found Nabbe’s recollections interesting and in an easy to read tone.  I felt like I was listening to him tell stories about his time with Disney and even found his later accounts of warehouse work to be highly interesting.  I am thrilled this Disney Legend’s thoughts are captured for fans like me to enjoy.

Sometimes I find Nabbe’s Disneyland hard to imagine.  He goes into some depth on the fishing that occurred from the dock on Tom Sawyer Island.  In today’s legal minded society what I read was honestly hard to comprehend, but it happened.  I just cannot see any lawyer today allowing a company to let a teenage boy supervise adults and kids by himself on an attraction.  And I cannot comprehend that any lawyer would sign off on untrained guests swinging a line with a hook near other guests within the park.  And this does not even include the sanitation issues with fish in the Rivers of America dying due to the results of the catch and release program.  Yes, this is a different time and park then I have ever known.

Tom Nabbe was a company man.  He was hired by the man with his name on the door!  His story filled with love and dedication to his job and family both entertains and inspires.  Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer to Disney Legend is sure to delight those who wish to remember the early days of Disneyland or the creation of Walt Disney World as they lazily sit by the river with their line dangling in the water.   

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Between Books - Mouse in Transition

I am a big fan of Waking Sleeping Beauty.  But I have yet to pick up a book that covers this era of decline and rise in depth from the animation point of view until now.  Steve Hulett provides readers an inside look at part of this period with his memoir which details the decline of Disney feature animation.

Mouse in Transition: An Insiders Look at Disney Feature Animation by Steve Hulett details the author's tenure as a writer for Walt Disney Productions.  Hulett was hired on, perhaps as a legacy, in the 1970's and continued into the 1980's working on features and other assigned animation products.  Hulett takes her readers through becoming part of the Story team which included veterans who had worked with Walt Disney and new young artists looking to shake things up in what was at times an old boys unit.  Through Hulett's eyes we participate in Woolie Reitherman's marathon (and frustrating) story meetings.  The reader joins Hulett as he collaborates with Ken Anderson on a feature film and learns about Anderson's personal desires and failings.  And Hulett discusses the beginning of the Michael Eisner era as new leadership takes over the House of Mouse.  Eventually Hulett finds himself on the outside of the Disney gates.  The text is full of office politics and personalities as Hulett outlines his good and bad times at the Studio.  The book concludes with appendixes that include Hulett's interviews for a Pinocchio article, the completed article and short biographies of the animation staff he worked with. 

There are several things that Mouse in Transition make clear for me as a reader.   First, it takes a whole village to write a Disney animation feature!  The movies that Hulett discusses in production include The Great Mouse Detective and Fox and the Hound and he talks about his efforts on these films taking what seems like months into years.  But Hulett is also not the only one working on these films, as seen by Reitherman's mammoth story meetings.  And several people contributed to the final stories of the animated films between writers, story artists, directors, producers, animators and the kid in the mail room (okay maybe not him, but remember a lot of staff started in Traffic).  During a strike, Hulett an experienced animation writer attempted to find writing projects in television.  He was denied out of concerns he could not keep to the pace needed on the small screen.  Basically, they worried he could not write quick enough because of the leisurely pace animated features provide.  Second, there was a lot of office politics both before and after Eisner's entry into the House of Mouse.  Some artists like Pete Young became experts on how to balance their own creativity with inter-office squabbles.  Others did not do as well.  But working at Disney with longevity required learning how to play a game that not everyone was up to.

Mouse in Transition: An Insiders Look at Disney Feature Animation by Steve Hulett showcases a Disney animated feature department that has been on the decline.  The price of production had gone drastically up.  The quality of the pictures had become stale.  And a massive change was about to begin as the old guard stepped down for a new wave of artists like John Musker, who wrote the introduction.  Hulett shows his readers the state of a studio in decline.  Sadly for us, Hulett had moved on before his cohorts could fully raise the studio to new heights of creativity under the Eisner leadership.

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Between Books - Universal vs. Disney: The Unofficial Guide to American Theme Park's Greatest Rivalry

 

I have a general philosophy about a Disney vacation.  Why leave property?  I take long vacations where I spend nearly all of my time if not all under the Disney umbrella.  But during my last trip I did discover that I could have some fun without being in the Disney zone at all times.  So I am beginning to ask myself if there might be things in the entrainment industry outside of Disney that I would consider sampling.  But would I ever consider visiting Disney's biggest theme park rival?

Universal vs. Disney: The Unofficial Guide to American Theme Parks' Great Rivalry by Sam Gennawey details the foundation and expansion of Disney's theme park rival.  Universal's introduction to entertainment actually goes back to December 3, 1913, when Carl Laemmle opened his film studio to the public allowing them to see movies being made.  In 1915, Laemmle expanded his lot Universal Studio even further and began to stage a fake disaster for those who took the studio tour.  In 1958, Music Corporation of America (MCA) would purchase the Universal Studio lot and the studio tour would grow under the leadership of Lew Wasserman and his associates such as Jay Stein.  The MCA team would regularly work to create attractions that could attract locals and repeat business whie making the best commercial possible.  However, MCA saw their tour as an attraction that complimented not competed with Disneyland.  With the expansion of Disney into Florida in the 1970's, the Universal team looked to build a production studio and studio tour that could again complement Disney theme parks.  However, with the naming of Michael Eisner as Disney CEO, Disney announced their own movie theme park, which would become Disney-MGM Studios with attractions that seemed to duplicate Universal's plans for a Florida park.   With Disney's own announced park, the Universal team began a quest to build a park to challenge Disney with partners like Steven Spielberg.  The quest would not be easy as MCA changed hands through corporate sales.  Gennewey discusses Universal's failures, delays and eventual success in building a theme park that could rival Disney with Universal Orlando. 

I really enjoy Sam Gennawey books, and his books always come across as serious history to me.  His use of footnotes and extensive research makes it clear that his books are a step beyond the typical book directed for Disney fans but are also books that could be used by academic historians.  Universal vs. Disney is the kind of book that could be used in a theme park history course, and probably will be in the future.  And it has the tone of an academic monograph.  His writing is clear and easy to understand.  My chief criticism of his writing is that his chapters tend to stop abruptly.  I really wish he had provided a summary paragraph that captures the tone or theme of his chapters.   It would provide the reader both a review, but a sense of closure and likely foreshadowing of what is to come. 

One of the things that I really hoped for was a discussion of the Universal Orlando contract licensing Marvel characters.  As a Marvel Disney fan this contract fascinates me since you can see Captain America at the competition and not on Disney property.  Gennawey does give over five pages to the discussion of Marvel, but the majority of this information is about attraction development especially The Amazing Spider-Man: A Web Slinging 3-D Ride and not contracts.  And the Disney purchase of Marvel and the limitations in place for Disney's use of Marvel properties is not detailed.  I would have liked to see mention of the Avengers themed monorail for example.  I assume that this conversation was limited by two things.  First, Universal vs. Disney really is a book about the Universal theme parks.  And honestly that felt like a good choice to me so Gennawey did not have to repeat material from books including his own The Disneyland Story.  Since my knowledge of Universal and MCA history is quite small the book felt new and fresh to me.  Second. I doubt that the details that I want about the Universal/Marvel contract are really available for public review.     

As I mentioned, there is not as much Disney history as I expected.  Disney's presence is always there throughout the book, but Disney is a supporting actor not the co-star of the book.  Disneyland and Walt Disney World is discussed as a complimentary and different type of attraction; a theme park not a studio tour.  And until Eisner's arrival at Disney, Universal was really not attempting to promote themselves as the same type of experience as what Disney offered.  But Eisner really did serve as a catalyst for two entertainment companies.  While his leadership was taking Disney to new places, the image of him as a villain was taking Universal into the theme park industry with the hope of challenging Disney and embarrassing Eisner personally.  Eventually the Wizarding World of Harry Potter would finally reach a level of theming beyond Disney's high standards, forcing Disney to go to new places years after Eisner was no longer with Disney. 

Mistakes were made.  If Universal had the proposed Knight Rider/A-Team stunt show they hoped for, it would have had me through the gates years ago.  Sadly the show would never be.  And perhaps it was mistake on my part never visiting a Universal theme park.   Universal vs. Disney has shown me a history of a theme park that started four decades before Disneyland opened.  And I can truly say that I know understand how Disney both positively and negatively influenced the development of a non-Disney park.  

 

Review Copy Provided by Keen Communications

Between Books - Dream It! Do It!

Disney fans have long anticipated the collection of legendary Imagineer Marty Sklar’s memories into a book. Sklar having a career that spanned the opening of Disneyland to retirement in 2009, has literally seen it all. And in many cases he was a participant. Yes, this is a book that Disney fans wanted and called for!

Dream It! Do It!: My Half-Century Creating Disney Magic Kingdoms by Marty Sklar captures the legend’s Disney memories. Sklar’s memoir covers his pre-Disney life and his long and distinguished Disney career. He is not able to cover every aspect of his Disney years, but he does give significant time to parks development including Walt Disney World, Epcot, and Euro Disney (or Disneyland Paris). He gives an insider look at presentations and creative sessions that helped build the parks we love. And most excitedly for Disney fans some reminisces include Walt Disney, for who Sklar wrote. Along with his memories, Sklar also includes business insights with a selection of quotes from Imagineering’s Conference Room walls and Mickey’s Ten Commandments and its expansion.

I am going to call this a mixed review for me. Honestly, I found the text hard for me to get into. And this made me more frustrated as I read. I really wanted to be drawn into it. The sad thing is I cannot explain why it was hard for me to break into book, which also frustrates. In the end all I can say is it did not draw me in the way I wanted it to. Also, the book reprints several stories that many Disney fans have already read or heard elsewhere. So every page does not provide new content to mull over, with some being Sklar putting in his pages stories told by others about him or by him elsewhere. But on the flip side there is plenty of new content for a Disney fan to enjoy. And it is amazingly honest content. I am shocked about the characterizations made about other Disney figures such as Dick Nunis and Roy E. Disney in the pages of a Disney Editions offering. Honestly, it makes one wonder why Disney Legal blocked the Ward Kimball biography! And the honesty is refreshing and good.

As I said, this text gives Sklar’s very honest opinions. And with Sklar having been on the the creative side it should not be shocking that he felt tension with Dick Nunis in Operations. But what was shocking to me was how far Sklar’s editors let him go in painting of Nunis of well…a bully! A comment about how Nunis abandoned Ron Miller definitely caught my attention though it was only a small line. And Sklar definitely chooses Michael Eisner in the struggle between the CEO and Roy E. Disney. But Sklar’s insights into Disney’s lack of creative input will make one think.

One thing I am glad that Sklar weighed in on was the Walt/Roy comparisons with the Eisner/Frank Wells relationship. Sklar interacted with both pairs. And he argues the relationship was not the same. With the Walt and Roy O. Disney dynamic, Roy provided little to no feedback on creative issues. Roy did not attend story meetings. Roy stayed within his business sphere. For Eisner’s tenure however it was a frequent occurrence that Wells attended creative meetings and would provide creative input. So the comparison breaks down as Wells used his years in Hollywood to serve as a sounding board on matters beyond the business. In short with Eisner and Wells the lines were more fuzzy.
Dream It! Do It! by Marty Sklar is a Between Books must have for Disney fans. And it is for the insights, opinions and perceptive that this Disney Legend brings. However, this is a book you need for the content, not because you cannot put it down.

Oswald Opines - End of the Einser Era

For me my Between Book obsession started with Disney War. And it is also a book that helped open my eyes to the story behind the story within Disney. In the end, Disney is a business no matter how much we want to vilify or glorify the magic. The following are just a few of the insights I have picked up on my reading of the Eisner era:

• It’s Never Just Business: When reviewing the business choices made by Disney Board Members, staff and stockholders it becomes clear that emotions are an equation that has to be taken into consideration. I think one incident that brought this forward to me is Roy E. Disney’s agreement to return to the Board after his first resignation if Card Walker was moved off of the Executive Committee of the Board. Walker, a Walt man, was someone who had criticized Disney in the past behind his back and had marginalized him. As part of the agreement to bring the Roy side of the family back to the Board, Disney agreed but required that Walker’s influence would be lessened. The idiot nephew had a hard time forgetting the mockery of the past. And so this business decision was made exclusively on emotion not business needs. This is just one of the many decisions during the Eisner era based on emotions not logic. Another great example would be Michael Eisner’s refusal to not pay Jeffrey Katzenberg his bonus instead of settling for a much lower price.

• Team of Rivals: Disney’s success during the Eisner ear was not built on the backs of one man but several. Michael Eisner may have been a creative genius, but he needed a Frank Wells to provide business know how. And despite any faults he may have displayed, Eisner needed Katzenberg to push and harass the studio staff to complete quality productions. Katzenberg was a force of nature that no one fully replaced at the Studio. And it took Roy E. Disney to help preserve animation as a unit within the company in the face of new leaders who did not see the business sense to retain animation. Much like the Allied high command during World War II, a group that distrusted each other but mostly retained their posts during the war, the Disney team was one based on tension, genius and stability. And once the stability was rocked by Wells’ death the tension increased and the genius evaporated. Disney was very lucky that during half of the Eisner era they had a hard working smart leadership who did not self-destruct sooner because all of the ingredients were needed to move the company forward.

• Pointing Fingers: Everyone was to blame, and I mean everyone. There is a tendency to paint Wells as a saint. But it is his lack of documentation that lead to the debacle of the Katzenberg law suit. Likewise as prickly a personality as Katzenberg could be, Eisner was unclear and failed to provide proper praise to his Studio head (a tendency Katzenberg also shared). I grew up seeing Uncle Mike as a hero. I did not see the Eisner, until now, who ruined a friendship with Michael Ovitz through poor communication and lack of purpose. Now I realize that he was human and should be both praised and criticized for the decisions he made.

• Fingerprints: Eisner’s fingerprints are all over the company today. Before the Eisner/Wells era the company was seen as a family studio with some theme parks. During the Eisner era movie production was expanded, new theme parks were built in the United States and abroad, property management became a key business, and the first acquisitions were added in companies like ABC. The Disney that we have today that is strong and diverse must be attributed to the foundational leadership of Micheal Eisner.

• Teammates: Disney leadership works best when there is a strong creative leader and a strong business leader. This is the model that Walt and Roy O. established. And Disney’s renaissance during the Eisner Era, even with their failures, was kicked off again by the partnership of Eisner and Wells. I ask myself if we are there today and if the model has changed with Bob Iger as the business leader and John Lasseter, Kathleen Kennedy, and Kevin Fiege as creative leaders?

For me the Michael Eisner Era is still a special time in Disney history. I never had Uncle Walt! But Eisner did fill that role for my generation. I am not ready, even reading about all of his warts, to jettison Eisner’s place in Disney history. Instead, I think I will continue to enjoy the advancements Michael Eisner brought to Disney, while attempting to avoid as much as possible the mistakes he made.

Nobody is perfect after all!

Between Books - The Keys to the Kingdom

The Keys to the Kingdom: How Michael Eisner Lost His Grip by Kim Masters outlines the show business career of Michael Eisner including how his tenure at Disney began to disintegrate. Written while Eisner was still entrenched in Disney leadership, the book does not chronicle the complete fall of the CEO/President but does show the missteps he took that eventually led to his fall. The book is not a complete story but a highly dense and dispassionate description of Eisner’s leadership.

Masters focuses on the career of Michael Eisner. So compared to other books on the Eisner Era there is less information about the Board decisions that led to Eisner’s rise to leadership. Instead more space is given to his roles at ABC, where he developed Happy Days, and Paramount Pictures, which like his time at Disney did not end on good terms. Masters then goes into great detail on Eisner’s time at Disney especially the film slates that he developed with Jeffrey Katzenberg. The book concludes with a lengthy discussion of the Katzenberg-Eisner breakup and the compensation dispute that emerged.

With a subtitle that includes, “Lost His Grip” I expected the book to be extremely slanted against Eisner. Instead I found it to be dispassionate and factual. Yes there are a lot of failures detailed but they seem to be more fact and figures than the judgment expected from the title. It really is the Katzenberg-Eisner relationship that the book does document in great depth, including narrations of compensation trial proceedings. One cannot help but feel confused and saddened as the discussion breaks into he said/he said recollections with the one man who may have been able to end this issue, Frank Wells, deceased. And of course no one wanted to disparage Wells’ character. One cannot ignore the irony that Eisner who made sure to get his payout from Paramount immediately in a check that cleared the bank while he waited, blocked Katzenberg from receiving his contractually guaranteed bonus.

Detail is really the strong point of this very dense book. From the compensation trial to the fatal helicopter crash that took Frank Wells’ life there is lots of depth in this book. It does have a smaller focus than a book like Disney War. But what it does cover is done in great great detail and adds to books that discuss wider timeframes.

Between Books - Prince of the Magic Kingdom

Joe Flower in Prince of the Magic Kingdom: Michael Eisner and the Re-Making of Disney provides a positive account of Eisner’s early Disney tenure. However, the book does not add much to the story of Michael Eisner at Disney. And as a text filled with factual errors and fallacies, this book is my least favorite account of the Eisner Era!

Prince of the Magic Kingdom is a pretty straightforward book. In 300 pages, Flower provides a background chapter on Walt Disney and his formation and expansion of his company. He provides a short biography of Eisner from childhood to Paramount. This is followed by the story of how Eisner and Frank Wells came into Disney leadership. The Flower discusses in several chapters Eisner’s first seven years at Disney. This is followed by a discussion of problems during the Eisner Era. He concludes with a prediction that the Eisner/Disney story will have a happy ending!

There are two things I find really difficult to deal with in this book. They are facts and assumptions. Erroneous facts include but are not limited to that there is no forced perspective in Walt Disney World, that the movie Howard the Duck was animated in the same way as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and that the Hollywood focused theme park in Florida is the Disney-MGM Studio Tour (shortened in the index to Studio Tour). Flower is the only author that I have read who has shortened Stanley Gold’s name to Stan Gold. And on page 12 he states that Roy O. Disney was 13 years older than Walt, and 8 years on page 51 (the correct age gap). The second issue is assumptions. These include that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen, that Roy O. Disney served as an obstacle to all of Walt Disney’s endeavors, that Michael Eisner revived Julia Roberts’ career in Pretty Woman (her 6th film released in her first 3 years of big screen stardom), and so many more that just put my teeth on edge.

Additionally troubling to me is that this book at times feels like a title about Imagineer Randy Bright and not Eisner. Flower uses numerous Bright quotes, who was likely one of the few insiders to speak to him. These quotes begin to make it feel like this book is not about Eisner but about edifying Bright. More sources could really have been helpful. There are enough factual errors and bad interpretation that some of his statements really require a source to back his facts that I have not seen elsewhere. He does cite Storming the Magic Kingdom as his source for chapter six, which is great because the chapter reads like a summary of that better researched and written book.

Flower’s biography is written seven years into the Eisner/Wells era. So none of the “bad” choices have happened yet and Eisner was still the hit of Hollywood. And Wells was still in the leadership partnership. With this being said, Flower’s writing comes off as the writing of a fan, not a journalist or impartial historian. I think the use of the word Prince in the title says it all. Flower writes as someone who is a fan and his attempt at the end of the book to be more critical of Eisner fails. This is especially true since some of the warts he provides were not directly related to Eisner. While other books written later in Eisner’s career are highly critical, following the wave of the day. Flower is on the other end of the criticism spectrum and at times it feels like Eisner could do no wrong. And as noted he does incorrectly predict that Eisner would have a happy ending at Disney!

Of all the Michael Eisner related books that I have read recently, Prince of the Magic Kingdom is honestly the one I would avoid. There are factual errors and author assumptions that one should simply steer clear of. When I think of those quickly written biographies of Disney stars of the moment, much like we saw with the Jonas Brothers, I see Prince of the Magic Kingdom as the Eisner equivalent!

Between Books - Camp

Former Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner recounts his nostalgia for a key portion of his childhood in Camp. Eisner’s family has a long standing relationship with Camp Keeywaydin in Vermont, a camp for boys that teaches canoeing, sports and other lifetime skills. Eisner tells the story of Camp Keeywaydin through the lens of several people. First, he tells his story with the camp from the first day his father introduced the camp to him and invited him to follow his footsteps as a camper. Second, he tells the story of two Orange County, California, youth who travel across country to leave their urban home for the wilds of Vermont. Third he tells the story of Alfred “Waboos” Hare, the late co-owner and camp director of Camp Keeywaydin who spent the majority of his life from childhood to his death at age 96 in 2011 investing in young people through his support of the camp. Eisner weaves between these stories in trying to provide a picture of the importance of camp experiences in the development of young people.

Camp is a love letter. Eisner was greatly impacted by his years at Camp Keeywaydin as both a camper and staff and believes that Waboos helped shape Eisner into the man that he became. Additionally, Camp was written as a distraction as it was composed during a time in which Eisner was under fire as the leader of the Walt Disney Company. So Eisner’s focus is firmly on Camp Keeywaydin with only a few glancing references to Disney properties. Eisner does succeed in sharing his love of the camp experience and his belief that it helped shape him and others into becoming men. For the Disney fan who is looking to understand Michael Eisner better, one will be satisfied. But for the Disney fan wanting more of the inside story of Disney leadership, one will be greatly disappointed.

The story itself is somewhat uneven. Eisner weaves between the story of several campers including himself. The chapters are not exactly in parallel throughout the book and each camper does not receive equal time in Eisner’s presentation. The writing however is very clear and easy to read. Eisner uses stories from camp to help demonstrate how adult values, such as honor, were taught through experiences at Camp Keeywaydin.

In the final analysis Camp helps readers to better understand the passions of author Michael Eisner. However, it does not provide great insight into the entertainment industry or Disney history. My most shocking revelation in the book was that Eisner’s son Breck directed the move Sahara, which I love! Those interested in the outdoors and the camp experience will likely enjoy this book. As a former camp counselor I honestly found it shocking that I never related any of my own experiences with Eisner’s. But those wanting to dig into the Disney experience will likely be disappointed.

Between Books - Work in Progress

Work in Progress: Risking Failure, Surviving Success by Michael Eisner with Tony Schwartz covers the life and career of the former Disney CEO and President up until 1998 when Eisner was still under Disney employment. The book covers Eisner’s family and childhood, college years, and his early days in the entertainment business. The text outlines Eisner’s career at ABC and how he rose to a place of prominence where he caught the eye of key Disney stakeholders who proposed the partnership of Eisner as CEO and Frank Wells as President to help revive the Walt Disney Company in 1984. The authors then detail the key decisions that Eisner and Wells made in film, television, and theme parks to spark a renaissance of Disney creative content. Eisner describes his reaction to Wells’ death in 1994 and the interpersonal problems that emerged with head of Disney film production Jeffrey Katzenberg and Wells’ replacement Michael Ovitz. The book closes with Disney acquiring its own television network ABC and a statement by Eisner that he was entering a period of remaking Disney again. Ironically, one of the executives mentioned in those final pages Bob Iger would have a key role in this revisioning and leadership after Eisner’s departure.

The first question as one looks at the cover is what does “with” mean for the authorship of this book. The book is written from Eisner’s point of view. And Eisner recorded tapes of himself speaking on his life for Schwartz to use when crafting the book. Additionally, Schwartz both interviewed Eisner and Eisner associates, even following Eisner around as he went through his daily Disney duties. The heavy lifting of crafting the paragraphs and sentences was completed by Schwartz. But this is still Eisner’s book. The book contains his opinions, his memories and his perspective. And it is Eisner who had final approval.

Work in Progress is a very straight forward narrative that is shaped by Eisner’s opinions. So as a historian, one must note that pro-Eisner bias the book contains. The book was relatively slow reading for me as it moved from event to event. But I think a big part of the pacing was the formatting. The type is relatively small and each page is packed with words. So, I would warn you do not expect to go racing through this book.

Yes, this is Eisner’s book. So in those disagreements that he had with Katzenberg and Ovitz, it is his side of the story that makes the pages. I have my own opinions with both circumstances whom was more to blame in each of these dysfunctional relationships. But I think almost everyone would have to agree all parties had some blame. The sad thing is Eisner makes it clear throughout the book that his partnership with Katzenberg and his friendship with Ovitz were relationships he valued. Yet they were shattered. I do believe from my reading that Eisner did have a roll in these relationships moving into a downward spiral, but Eisner presents himself as relatively blameless. For example, I would find it difficult to present Katzenberg as the good guy in their disagreement due to his prickly and driven personality. But perhaps Eisner did not clearly communicate, which is not found in these pages. Additionally, Eisner clearly in Katzenberg’s settlement after leaving the company exhibited resentment. But these interchanges are not found in Work in Progress.

I do find that one figure that Eisner provides full praise for is the late Frank Wells. As a kid, I had no idea who Frank Wells was. Unlike Eisner, Wells did not enter my home on a weekly basis. He truly was the silent partner of a vibrant partnership, one that left a lasting mark on Disney’s legacy. If Eisner was attempting to fill the role of Walt Disney as a creative voice, Wells was filling the shoes of Roy O. Disney providing the financial and business expertise. Eisner makes it clear that he relied on Wells and was devastated by his death. And the neutral reader can wonder if Eisner was able to react professionally appropriate to his death as he attempted to balance stock holder needs with his own personal grieving. Readers must wonder if the negative picture of Eisner that some have today would have been different if the Eisner/Wells team had continued into the future as the two planned.

Another figure who receives praise through the book is Roy E. Disney. Eisner and Wells would have looked to Disney as one of the figures who helped land them the jobs of a lifetime. And professionally, he was a figure who helped link their leadership team to the Disney brothers. Eisner argues throughout the book that Roy E. Disney was a key figure in understanding both the Disney culture and animation. But one must wonder if the praise would be tempered by Eisner due to Disney’s role in pushing him out of Disney management after the publication of this book.

There are two projects that Eisner provides deep detail on that were failures. First, Eisner discusses in depth, often justifying, the development of Euro Disneyland. While Eisner’s early Disney career may have been marked by successes, Euro Disneyland was clearly an early financial failure due to cost overruns. Eisner makes the case for why Disney needed to pursue the European Park and notes some of the obstacles like French thoughts on the American park that they had to overcome. Though many of us Disney fans may dream of visiting this park and its take on classic Disney attractions, we must remember that it was a huge financial risk. Probably more interesting for me is his discussion of Disney’s America. For a park that was never built, Eisner shares much of the planning of this failed park. Eisner clearly believed in the concept and wished to see the Virginia park make it past the blue sky stage. The reaction from the affluent community and historians to Disney’s potential treatment of history is a fascinating tale for those who have immersed themselves in this discipline.

Work in Progress is not a quick read. It is a biased read. And regardless of the marketing blurbs on the book cover, it’s not a business how to book. For fans of biography and Disney, this is probably a must read. And those who were kids during Eisner’s years as Disney CEO may find this interesting. But it is probably not something that the general public would find great interest in. It cannot stand alone as the definitive work of the Eisner regime, though it does an excellent job of representing the Eisner viewpoint of these vibrant years.

Between Books - Disney War

I think it is pretty safe to say that I enjoy the book Disney War by James B. Stewart. Disney War was my gateway book that opened the door to all my Disney book craziness. And it is one of my top five Disney books, one that recommend to even non-Disney fans on a constant basis.

Disney War tells the story of the rise and fall of the Eisner era at the Walt Disney Company. Stewart details the roll of Roy E. Disney in rebelling against Disney leadership which had been under his cousin by marriage, Ron Miller, and advocated for new leadership in Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. Stewart then details the rise of Disney under the new leadership team. With the death of Frank Wells and the disruption of the relationship between Eisner and Katzenberg and the legal proceedings that followed, Eisner began to lose his shine with Disney stockholders including Roy E. Disney. Stewart then outlines Roy E. Disney’s Save Disney campaign which would eventually lead to Eisner stepping down. Ironically the man who helped orchestrate the Eisner Era would also help to close it.

Disney War is one of my top five Disney history books. One of the biggest reasons for this is Stewart does an excellent job of weaving a story. It is as story that involves both the artistic nature of the company, including Howard Ashman’s impact, building of a movie slate, acquisition of ABC, tales of board meetings and the fight between Eisner and Katzenberg. Stewart draws you into the story and I found it difficult to put it down! And it is a book that I have recommended several times and have found even casual Disney fans to enjoy!

I read this book before I was Between Disney. So for me it was an eye opener. I had an impression of Eisner in my mind that this book rocked. I had heard on podcasts some criticizing Eisner but did not understand that potshots they sent his direction. While I did not come to share their opinion, I did begin to understand why Eisner’s decision –making was being criticized. And it introduced me to the silent partner of Frank Wells, who I found attractive to me in the same way I was attracted to the personality of Roy O. Disney when reading books about Walt Disney. And the story of how the relationship between Eisner and Katzenberg disintegrated into chaos is fascinating.

The hero of this book to me in many ways is Roy E. Disney. It is he who would “save” the company his father helped found. And with the rise of a new leadership hierarchy, it is his voice that helped preserve animation. I think that fans are not aware of how close Eisner was of shuttering that unit. And in the end it was Disney again whose voice led to the end of the Eisner era. Though he never held the top post himself within the company, Roy E. Disney’s voice was one that could not be ignored.

Disney War continues to remain one of my favorite Disney books. And I will continue to recommend this text which can be purchased at a Between Books friendly price on the secondary market. If you are a Disney fan, you need to read this book!

Between Books - Storming the Magic Kingdom

Storming the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, the Raiders, and the Battle for Disney by John Taylor outlines a time when Disney’s fortunes did not look as bright as they do today. The long-term future of Walt Disney Productions in 1984 was in fact very much in doubt with questions of leadership and even if the company could be held together. And at the center of it all was the struggle between the heirs of Walt and Roy O. Disney and the future of their creation.

The majority of the action takes place in the board and conference rooms of 1984. With an undervalued stock and questions of leadership, corporate raider Saul Steinberg saw an opportunity in Disney stock. Steinberg potentially could have considered purchasing the company and liquidating the component parts for a massive profit. In an effort to defend the Disney legacy the company leadership explored a number of options including increasing the amount of stock available, a stock purchase of the land development company Arvida and the eventual paying of Greenmail (purchasing stock at above the market price) to Steinberg to eliminate his desires to purchase Disney. With the threat of a takeover eliminated however the company became embroiled in a leadership tug of war between the supportors of Walt’s corporate heir and son-in –law Ron Miller and Roy’s heir Roy E. Disney. In the end, the Roy side of the family would win out with the removal of Miller as Disney’s CEO and the hiring of Michael Eisner as CEO and Frank Wells as President.

This is a really enjoyable book. Now, it’s a book filled with behind the scenes details about stock purchases, proxy votes and board meetings. But Taylor does a good job in making those of us who do not discuss corporate finance on a daily basis educated to the realities of this world. And despite the fact that Storming the Magic Kingdom is an institutional history, Taylor helps bring the personalities of those in his pages alive. I could not help but feel saddened as Ron Miller faced the harsh reality that a company that he had spent his entire adult life at, that was his family’s legacy, no longer wished him to lead them into the future. Any Disney fan, regardless of business background, can pick up this volume, understand it, and might even find themselves learning better how the stock market works!

Really a big lesson for me in this book is that business is about people and personalities. I think that Roy E. Disney, who I do admire, is a good example of this fact. Throughout his Disney career he was marginalized by others. Some spoke of him as the idiot nephew. And I believe some may have forgotten that his father was a co-found of Disney. The fact that Roy E. Disney had a long history of being around and working in entertainment did make him comfortable with forming his own ideas for the company. These ideas were largely ignored! The fact that he was soft-spoken also led some to think that he was unintelligent. Instead he, and I, believed himself to be an intelligent man and a guardian of the Disney tradition. And Roy E. Disney believed change was part of his Uncle’s legacy. What one wonders is what could have happened if Roy E. Disney’s voice had been heard instead of mocked in the 1970s. Additionally, his cousin by marriage was seen by some as the handsome and entitled heir. Instead, in these pages he comes off as a man who has not been fully prepared for the role he has, but also another man who saw innovation as part of the Disney tradition and was concerned with expanding the business of his late father-in-law’s creation. Again, one can play what if’s if the Walt and Ron sides of the family could have come together. Disney history shows that the company runs best with two leaders with clear roles (Walt and Roy, Michael and Frank), could Ron and Roy E have led the company into a new renaissance together instead of waiting for the Eisner Era? Instead we now study a bad situation where all sides honestly must take a share of the blame.

Another proof of personality winning out or at least equaling is Roy E. Disney’s lawyer Stanley Gold and Arvida owner Sid Bass. With the purchase of Arvida, Bass became a substantial Disney stockholder. The fact that the two men found common interests allowed the two to build a friendship. That friendship would be a key to the alliance lead by Roy E. Disney to remove Miller and put their chosen management team into place.

Storming the Magic Kingdom is a fascinating story of the evolution of the Walt Disney Company. At the beginning of the tale the company was firmly in the hands of the intellectual heirs of Walt Disney. After attempts to raid the company and then placing through stockholder pressure a new leadership team was put into place with outsiders Eisner and Wells. That change led to a new peak of Disney entertainment and financial gains. But most of all Storming the Kingdom is a story about how business is really about people.

Oswald Opines - Eisner Era Prelude

Eisner and His Kingdom

I have said this a few times, I am too young for Uncle Walt and what I remember is Uncle Mike.  One of the things that shocked me when I took my first steps into the Disney community was the strong opinions around Michael Eisner.  The often harsh things I heard about this former Disney CEO and President did not align with my memory.  And I was not paying attention during the unpleasantness that surrounded his departure.  Why I kept asking was "everyone" so mean to Michael?

Then I read Disney War!  We will talk about this book later, but what I will mention now is it made it clear to me that the Eisner Era was not all puppies and unicorns.  There were real issues, and these issues both lead to Eisner's departure and the negative feelings directed at him.  I will not say that I agree with those opinions.  But I will say I understand better now what happened to make fans so polarized around him. 

Betweenland over the next few weeks is going to experience an Eisner takeover.  Here we will explore a number of books that chronicle the Eisner era.  And at the conclusion I will share my opinions that have been formed with spending months within these books. 

I hope you enjoy this journey with me and will share your opinions or changing opinions on this important Disney figure.

Between Books - The Pixar Touch

David Price in The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company details the origins, struggles, and successes of Pixar Animation Studios until its 2006 purchase by the Walt Disney Company.  Price begins his story with college student Ed Catmull who wanted to be an animator but determined that he had limited drawing talent.  The highly intelligent Catmull instead threw himself into computers and became determined to use computers to create animation.  In 1972, he created a graduate film in which he animated his hand.  The video was both simple and revolutionary in showing the potential available in computer animation.  Catmull became recognized as a leader in computer graphics and professionally tied himself to like minded Alvy Ray Smith in the quest to improve computer animation with a shared goal of an animated feature.  Eventually Catmull and Smith found themselves drawn to Lucasfilm, working on computer systems and graphics for the George Lucas’ production company.  While at Lucasfilm, Catmull and Smith recruited a third revolutionary figure, former Disney animator John Lasseter who provided the animation skill needed to create convincing character animation.  Catmull, Smith and Lasseter hid their efforts to achieve their common goal of an animated feature with Lucasfilm, who chose to sell Catmull’s computer unit off or shut down their operation.  They reached out to former Apple executive Steve Jobs who was attracted to the hardware potential in his new acquisition.  Still Catmull lead his team with the goal of animation, despite Jobs’ apprehension.  After years of being a financial lose, Jobs’ incorporated Pixar Animated Studios found enough success with commercials and short films to partner with Disney to complete and distribute an animated feature, Toy Story, which filled with character and innovative animation began an instant hit and classic film.  Price then outlines the problems in the Pixar-Disney relationship including friction between Jobs and Disney CEO Michael Eisner which was leading to an eventual end to their partnership.  Instead of a lasting schism, new Disney leadership under Bob Iger led to the Disney acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios.  This purchase lead to Lasseter becoming Disney’s and Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, including Walt Disney Imagineering, and Catmull being named President of Walt Disney Animation Studios, along with Pixar.  The disgraced Disney animator and the boy who could not draw had become the guiding forces behind the world’s most prestigious animation organization.   

Price does an excellent job of presenting the details of a complex story.  He makes it clear that the leadership of Pixar were always united around a common vision, making an animated movie.  While others may have seen them as computer hardware or software group, the Pixar leaders regardless of their company name, were always dedicated to a common cause.  With their vision not aligned to their owners at times, leaders like Catmull had to make hard decisions or be partially dishonest to do things like add John Lasseter to the payroll.  And Price makes to clear how that vision was shared with others, with Lasseter at one point rejecting a return to Disney in order to make history in the Pixar ranks. 

I was also shocked how my opinions of some within the Pixar story changed.  I had pictured Jobs as a benevolent leader who guarded the Pixar staff from economic forces with his own personal fortune so they could evolve towards making an animated feature.  Price instead gives us a picture of Jobs who is at times more adversary than benefactor, with figures like Catmull protecting the Pixar staff and at times unsuccessfully.  Additionally, Price shows that Jobs was a late comer to the dream of an animated film.  And I found my already high opinion of Catmull being further extended as one realizes the opportunities he turned down for short gain that resulted in his and Pixar’s success in achieving their dream.

The Pixar Touch is well written and engaging.  It is not a fictional thriller, but a straight forward and highly accessible read.  It may be considered a business book, but it is one that any Pixar or animation fan can read and enjoy.  Price takes the time to explain highly technical points, especially around software and hardware, that those not in the information technology realm would not readily know.  And he does a good job explaining these to the common man.  The book clearly demonstrates the power of vision to technical and business leaders.  Additionally, it is well researched based on interviews and primary and secondary sources. 

The Pixar Touch is an engaging and educational book.  It shows how the power of vision and the determination to follow it through can make something clearly amazing.  It is a must read for animation fans, those interested in the history of computing, and Disney enthusiasts.  Those wishing to explore the history of Pixar should begin with The Pixar Touch.