DISNEY JUGGLES AFTER FAILURE 'TREASURE PLANET' SINKS SCHUMACHER.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer BURBANK - The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co. announced Friday that television animation head David Stainton has been named president of Disney's feature film animation division, which is coming off the disastrous box office failure of ``Treasure Planet.'' Stainton replaces Tom Schumacher, who will now solely focus on his duties as president of Buena Vista Theatrical Worldwide, the division that oversees Disney's live stage productions around the world. Stainton's promotion is part of a major reorganization of Disney's animation units, which also includes the appointment of Barry Blumberg as president of television animation. Stainton, who has been with Disney in various roles since 1989, will be responsible for all Disney animated features as well as the previously separate units of Disney Video Premieres and DisneyToons products, which are being combined into one business unit. In a statement Friday, Stainton called Disney ``the gold standard in animation'' and said he was honored to be leading the feature film division, which has lost its stranglehold stran·gle·hold n. 1. Sports An illegal wrestling hold used to choke an opponent. 2. A force, influence, or action that restricts or suppresses freedom or progress. Also called throttlehold. on the animation field. ``We're going to build on our successes and will continue to search out the absolute best ideas, stories, and art to make movies worthy of the Disney legacy,'' he said. Although he has been head of Disney television animation for less than a year, Stainton's division has had a string of successes with direct-to- video sequels to Disney classics like ``Cinderella'' and ``Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale (type 425C -- search for a lost husband -- in the Aarne-Thompson classification). The first published version of the fairy tale was a meandering rendition by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in .'' The ``Peter Pan'' sequel ``Return to Neverland,'' was released theatrically in February and grossed $48 million, more than twice its $20 million budget. The executive shuffles come after months of speculation over the future of Schumacher within the animation division. Analysts said Friday that a change became imminent after the failure of ``Treasure Planet,'' which cost more than $140 million to make but has managed to gross just more than $34.7 million domestically since its late November release. ``It was evident then that Schumacher was going to go and focus on the theatrical division,'' said David Joyce David Joyce (26 February 1825 – 4 December 1904) was an American "lumber baron" and industrialist. His fortune was eventually inherited by Beatrice Joyce Kean who used it to establish the Joyce Foundation in 1948.[1] Early life David Joyce was born at Mt. , an analyst with Miami-based Guzman and Associates. ``He did spearhead the downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing and cost structure of the division, but they didn't have any of the true blockbusters like they did in the first half of the '90s like ``The Lion King'' and ``Beauty and the Beast,'' and ``Treasure Planet'' just did so much more poorly than any of the other ones.'' While Schumacher worked with Pixar Animation Studios on such successes as ``Monsters, Inc.,'' ``Toy Story'' and ``A Bug's Life,'' traditional animated fare created by Disney such as ``The Emperor's New Groove'' and ``Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' were costly disappointments. A notable exception was last summer's box office smash ``Lilo 1. (operating system) lilo - Linux Loader. 2. lilo - first-in first-out. & Stitch.'' Schumacher said in a statement that he was ``delighted'' to continue to be working at Disney and with Chairman Michael D. Eisner. Along with former Disney studio head Peter Schneider, Schumacher has produced the acclaimed Broadway musical hits ``The Lion King'' and ``Aida.'' ``The opportunity to relocate and focus on expanding Disney's already enormously successful roster of theatrical projects was irresistible and I couldn't be happier it worked out,'' he said. Blumberg will be responsible for producing television animation that will air globally and includes the ``ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. Kids'' programming block on Disney-owned ABC. He joined Disney's television animation unit in 1994 as director of development and has since held various positions with increased responsibility, helping to launch the popular ``Recess'' and ``Pepper Ann Pepper Ann is an animated series created by Sue Rose and shown in the United States on ABC. It debuted in 1997. Pepper Ann starred cartoon adolescents and charted their ups and downs at Hazelnut Middle School. ,'' and bringing the acclaimed series ``Kim Possible'' to the Disney Channel  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. last June. Blumberg will report to Anne Sweeney Anne Sweeney, born November 4, 1957, in Kingston, New York, is the Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney-ABC Television Group. Sweeney graduated from College of New Rochelle and Harvard University. She earned a BA degree and an Ed. M. degree. , president of ABC Cable Networks Group and Disney Channel Worldwide, as television animation has been moved to Disney's cable group. ``We are combining production and development with programming and distribution,'' said Walt Disney Co. President Robert Iger Robert A. "Bob" Iger (born February 10 1951) is head of the Walt Disney Company. He has been president since January 2000 and CEO since October 2005. Early Life Iger was born in Oceanside, New York. . ``This structure is optimal for creating successful television animation product for global distribution and for maximizing growth potential.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) STAINTON (2 -- color) BLUMBERG (3) SCHUMACHER |
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