02-22-07 A Tale of Two Tinker Bells

[Chuck Oberleitner]

A Tale of Two Tinker Bells

By C. W. Oberleitner
February 22, 2007

Last week, Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment, the Disney Company’s direct-to-video distribution arm, announced that the long anticipated Tinker Bell movie “will arrive worldwide in fall 2008.” Now comes word that, even as the movie struggles to make that three-month window, two powerful Disney animation executives are tugging at the iconic fairy’s wings in an effort to get their version of her story made.

Read the full story here >>

[merlinjones]

I've long been hoping Morrill (the micromanaging "visionary" of dreck-to-video sequels) would self-destruct under Lasseter's quality supervision.

It's far past time for a sea-change in this division, which has done no favors for the classic characters, traditional animation and Walt Disney legacy.

Go, John!!!

[Gone2Disneyland]

That was an incredible story. Thanks, Chuck. Call me naive, tho'. I hadn't really heard any stories like this about DisneyToon. But to run a labor-intensive project on parallel paths like this, and without being open about it, reads as just about one person on a power-trip IMO. Sad it happened. Glad to hear it's (apparently) over.

[tinkermonkey]

According to sources, Morrill is very close to the Tinker Bell project, having worked closely with Disney Consumer Products from the beginning on the “synergy” required between the two divisions to successfully launch the Disney Fairies franchise.

Here's the thing - how is it synergy??? When the Disney Fairies line was released it was with a selection of fairies that are also included in the wonderful book Tinker Bell and the Quest for the Egg. These characters have spun off into their own books and dolls found at Target, Toys R Us and The Disney Store. Each fairy has their own talent and such.

Enter the movie and instead of using any of these now well established characters, they will be using different fairies with the same talents as the ones the girls have come to know. My daughter, (the "Tinker" in tinkermonkey) a lifelong lover of all things Neverland, is very frustrated with the movie because of the new characters and the lack of the original group of fairies.

Who knows, perhaps Morill's version included the original fairies from Quest for the Egg. We'll never know.

[tcsnwhite]

hmmm, as an outsider- who would a trust?

an incredible, consistent, and gifted storyteller and leader?

or an "executive" I know nothing about?

[figment1986]

brilliant article.. surprised that sort of thing is still happening in this day of age...

oh, and one tinny thing in your article..

For nearly 50 years, millions more have cheered as she files high above Cinderella’s castle during Disneyland’s fireworks display

otherwise brilliant article.

[Chuck Oberleitner]

Figment,

Thanks for the heads up. Three of us read these stories before they are posted. Since it's been up the story has been downloaded thousands of times and you're the first person to make me aware of this really dumb error.

What was I thinking?

I've corrected the story. Thanks again.

C