BURBANK – Walt Disney Studios did something on Wednesday night that’s slightly unusual in Hollywood. They celebrated the renovation of the Walt Disney Animation Studios (building) with an evening reception. Normally, this sort of event would be held during the daytime and likely just for employees. Maybe there would be some sweets and non-alcoholic drinks, but that would be it. In this case, however, the changes studio president Ed Catmull and chief creative officer John Lasseter have overseen dictated a higher profile soiree.
Originally opened in 1994, the building on Riverside Drive has been iconic because of the magician’s hat from “Fantasia” being incorporated into its design. It’s become a local landmark seen by tens of thousands of drivers every day passing by on the nearby 134 freeway. Inside was a different story and Lasseter and Catmull brought on architect Thomas Robinson whose changes were twofold. He significantly increased the open spaces of the building (a signature of Pixar’s Emeryville headquarters) and made the magician’s hat (which at one time only housed the office of Roy E. Disney) into an integral part of the building by making it the centerpiece stairway to the second floor. Moreover, the interior design has been augmented with permanent displays such as “The 10 Year Legacy” and “The 55 Hallway” which features art from all 55 of the studio’s feature films.*
*And the awards trophy case in the picture accompanying this article is also slightly impressive.
These changes may not seem like much to the average movie fan, but Walt Disney Animation Studios’ head honchos want to foster even more creative successes such as “Tangled,” “Big Hero 6,” “Wreck-it-Ralph” and this year’s potential Best Animated Film winner, “Zootopia.” Disney stockholders might squirm at Catmull’s mantra for the studio, but they may be the only ones to disagree with
“If you make the film right you make an impact. It’s not actually about the money here, it’s about having an impact in the world and having the films be significant,” Catmull says in remarks before the assembled guests. “So, commercial success does mean something but it’s a belief that follows from making good movies.”
Catmull continues, “It’s a group that has kept on growing and it’s got a very distinctive personality. Obviously, I can tell you we also work with Pixar and I can tell you, it’s completely different here. And we take enormous pride in the difference, but we also take pride that people here want to make a difference in the world. “
Lasseter believes the changes will help create more “random encounters that make a great deal of difference” in a creative environment.
“A studio is not its building. A studio is its people,” Lasseter says. “10 years ago when Ed and I walked into this studio as its new leaders we didn’t know what we would find. What we found was a group of tremendous artists of tremendous talent. All driven by one thing, and it’s the same reason why I do what I do for a living. With my short time on Earth I’ve chosen to do one thing and that is to entertain people in the world the way Walt Disney entertained us. No one in history has entertained people around the world like Walt Disney, to fill your heart with joy.”
It wasn’t easy being the newcomers from Pixar, but Lasseter has a story you have heard him tell before about the studio’s morale when he arrived, but it’s worth repeating.
“I’ll never forget the comment of one artist who talked to me that first day,” Lasseter says. “They said, ‘John, you don’t know what it’s like to work for four years and put your heart and soul into a film and the day the film opens no one mentions it again. That broke my heart and Ed and I took that and we were determined to give the artists at this studio a feeling of success like we have experienced at Pixar. We kept saying, ‘One good success will heal this studio.’ And so when that happened we were so incredibly proud. And it’s like we lit a fire in these people that kept growing, year after year, film after film. If you look at the tremendous success that has come after the fire got lit by these artists it is breathtaking.”
A remarkable 93 years old the studio is in the middle of another creative peak with the release this year of the aforementioned “Zootopia” and “Moana”, which arrives in theaters later this month.
“I think this year we are so proud of ‘Zooptia.’ It said something and people got that message,” Lasseter says. “‘Moana,’ when you see it, it says something special. It celebrates this incredible group of people in the South Pacific, in Oceana. They are the greatest navigators who have ever lived on this earth. And that history was nearly taken from them. So, this celebrates that.”
Also on hand to celebrate were Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn, “Moana” director Ron Clements, “Zootopia” co-director Byron Howard, “Big Hero 6” directors Don Hall & Chris Williams, upcoming “Gigantic” directors Nathan Greno and Meg LeFauve as well as Disney legends Richard Sherman, Burny Mattinson and Eric Goldberg.