jgeek(b3)

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Rotten Disney Movies?

So the big news out of Disney-ville since D23 is the firing of Dick Cook by Bob Iger. Here’s a great LA Times recap of the carnage: LINK

So the real question is: how good a job was Dick Cook doing? It’s nice that he started on the Monorail and worked his way up through the ranks. That meant he was able to survive bureaucracy and Disney politics for almost 40 years, but did that make him the right man for the job?

I decided to use two current popular online barometers (Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic) to see how the world’s movie critics have rated recent Disney live action films.

2009

G-Force: 24% (RT), 41 (MC)

Hannah Montana* 44% (RT), 47 (MC)

Race to Witch Mountain 42% (RT), 52 (MC)

Jonas Brothers: 3D Concert* 22% (RT), 45 (MC)

2008

Bedtime Stories 24% (RT), 33 (MC)

High School Musical 3: Senior Year* 66% (RT), 57 (MC)

Morning Light 29% (RT), 51 (MC)

Beverly Hills Chihuahua 40% (RT), 41 (MC)

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 66% (RT), 62 (MC)

College Road Trip 12% (RT), 36 (MC)

2007

National Treasure: Book of Secrets 31% (RT), 48 (MC)

The Game Plan 27% (RT), 44 (MC)

Underdog 14% (RT), 37 (MC)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End 45% (RT), 50 (MC)

Bridge to Terabithia 85% (RT), 74 (MC)

2006

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause 13% (RT), 32 (MC)

Invincible 70% (RT), 63 (MC)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest 53% (RT), 53 (MC)

The Shaggy Dog  27% (RT), 43 (MC)

Eight Below  71% (RT), 64 (MC)

Roving Mars - IMAX - 70% (RT), 58 (MC)

Glory Road 56% (RT), 58 (MC)

2005

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe 75% (RT), 75 (MC)

Greatest Game Ever Played  62% (RT), 55 (MC)

Sky High 72% (RT), 62 (MC)

Herbie: Fully Loaded 41% (RT), 47 (MC)

Ice Princess 52% (RT), 55 (MC)

The Pacifier 21% (RT), 30 (MC)

Aliens of the Deep- IMAX - 82% (RT), 71 (MC)

2004

National Treasure 44% (RT), 39 (MC)

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement 26% (RT) ,43 (MC)

Around the World in 80 Days 30% (RT), 49 (MC)

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen 13% (RT), 33 (MC)

Miracle 79% (RT), 68 (MC)

2003

Young Black Stallion - IMAX - 42% (RT), 51 (MC)

The Haunted Mansion 13% (RT), 34 (MC)

The Lizzie McGuire Movie* 40% (RT), 56 (MC)

Freaky Friday 88% (RT), 70% (MC)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 78% (RT), 64 (MC)

Holes 77% (RT), 71 (MC)

* Disney Channel crossover movies

Verdict:

In 2003, Disney films put together 3 quality releases (averaging 70 or better) in a row. Since then, they’ve averaged less than one good movie per year, according to critics.

John Lasseter made the statement recently that “quality is the best business plan.” It’s no coincidence that Pixar movies score in the 90s on these same websites.

Clearly, Dick Cook did not make quality a priority in his movie division. This list is full of re-treaded sequels and stars that would never make a top 10 list of “family friendly” entertainers. The surprising thing is not that Cook was let go, but that he lasted as long as he did.

Whoever takes over Disney feature films needs to figure out what business they’re in (hint: family friendly entertainment), develop some original ideas, and make quality a priority. I promise to take a 3 year old boy out to the movies if they do.

Books that rock my world

Here are some books I’ve been reading that were not only enjoyable, but also changed the way I view the world in fundamental ways.

The Old Testament by God - Been reading in the OT all year. Linking the history of Israel together from Adam to David has really been eye opening. I’ve read the stories separately before, but something gets lost in translation when you do that. Also, the ESV Online Study Bible is awesome for notes, maps, and making sense of things.

The Pixar Touch by David Price and The Pixar Story (video) - Changed the way I look at my job and made John Lasseter and Ed Catmull two of my personal heroes. “The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art.” That goes for making good websites too.

What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis- The world is a different place since Google came on the scene. If you work in technology and don’t understand this, you’re flying blind. “Find a problem and come up with new solutions.” I love that.