DISNEY DISMANTLES ANIMATION FACILITY.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

BURBANK - The Walt Disney Co. has closed its Florida animation facility, leaving most of its 260 employees out of work in a further sign that the brand of hand-drawn animation Disney was built on has been eclipsed by computer animation.

Disney Feature Animation President David Stainton said Monday that animation creative and production activities will now be concentrated in Burbank.

``This difficult decision was based on what is best strategically for our business in both the short and long term,'' Stainton said in a statement. ``Having the entire animation group working together in Burbank under one roof will further enhance our filmmaking process.''

The move was widely expected after the studio abandoned its plans for the traditionally animated project ``A Few Good Ghosts'' last November. ``Ghosts'' was to have been produced at the Orlando facility, where the 2002 summer hit ``Lilo & Stitch'' was made, as was the current release ``Brother Bear.''

After peaking with more than 2,000 employees in 1997, Disney's animation unit has been downsizing steadily with outlying offices in Tokyo and Paris being shut down prior to Orlando's closure.

While the hand-drawn ``Lilo & Stitch'' grossed $145.7 million, the biggest animated hits released by Disney since the 1990s have been of the 3-D computer generated variety produced by Pixar Animation Studios. They include the summer smash ``Finding Nemo,'' which has grossed $339.7 million to date, as well as ``Monsters, Inc.,'' ``Toy Story'' and ``Toy Story 2.''

In contrast, the traditionally animated ``Treasure Planet'' was an expensive box office disaster for Disney in 2002 and ``Brother Bear'' has grossed a solid, but not spectacular, $82.1 million to date.

``They have to be more efficient in the new world of animation,'' said media analyst David Joyce of Miami-based Guzman and Co. ``Disney has a whole new generation of kids now who are perfectly comfortable watching the digital animation as opposed to the traditional cel animation.''

Disney is in talks with Pixar to extend their distribution agreement beyond the remaining two films in production, ``The Incredibles'' and ``Cars,'' but sealing a deal has so far been elusive.

The closure of the Orlando facility was blasted Monday by Roy E. Disney, who placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Disney Chairman and CEO Michael D. Eisner.

``The drain of talent over the past several years from the company's feature animation department in Orlando, Burbank, Paris and Tokyo has been absolutely gut-wrenching,'' said the nephew of founder Walt Disney, who recently resigned as chairman of the animation department and from Disney's board of directors.

``People are being asked to leave because management, particularly Michael, can't figure out what to do with them,'' Disney charged.

The Burbank facility currently employs 600 people, including artists and other professionals. Among the projects in production there are the computer-animated ``Chicken Little,'' slated to hit theaters next year, and ``A Day With Wilbur Robinson,'' which is based on William Joyce's book.

Eisner discussed ``Chicken Little'' and the state of Disney animation during a speech at a Smith Barney conference in Phoenix just last week.

``All our movies since 'The Great Mouse Detective' in 1986 have increasingly used digital technology, employing technology we innovated with Pixar,'' Eisner said. ``Now, we have developed the next generation of computer animation, which we will unveil with 'Chicken Little.'''

Eisner also said Disney's television animation business is extending the life of the company's animated franchises. A total of 15 direct-to-video sequels have been produced since 1994, some of which have produced triple-digit returns. Eisner cited ``Lilo & Stitch,'' which, a year after its theatrical release, was followed by the home-video ``Stitch: The Movie'' and the ``Lilo & Stitch'' series on the Disney Channel.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com