Disney Pixar Case Memo

2597 Words11 Pages
For the better part of the last century one company has become synonymous with quality, wholesome animated movies for the whole family; Walt Disney Company. Disney had a string of movies in the 1990’s that were block buster smash hits. From 1991 to 2000, Disney had eight movies gross over 300 million in total box revenue. However, as the company moved into the new millennium, they became ever more reliant on revenues from its partner Pixar, who had outstanding box office revenues, averaging $537.8 million in box office revenues from 1995 to 2004. The lagging performance of Disney movies in the 2000’s combined with the combination of the outstanding performance of Pixar films left Disney with a decision to make: to purchase Pixar or to continue with their current partnership? Brief history of the firms: Walt Disney began his company in the 1930’s, and it was not long before he had created the first ever animated feature film. The 1934 release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the movie that set the standard for Disney, both because it was the first movie of its kind technologically, but also because it was the first time that Disney stocked store shelves with memorabilia around the time of the film’s release. This move would become a trademark of Disney operations. As the firm grew, generating ancillary revenues based on their movies became vital to the success of the company. Disney executives understood that it was the characters and stories that were the drivers for other business lines. People did not travel across to go to a Disney theme park because Disney was a great company, they went to these parks because they wanted to see the Disney characters from the stories they grew up with and love. Because of these driving factors for other revenues, Disney needed each and every animated film to be a success. If a movie was a failure then,
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