Such a Deal

There were plenty of critics who thought Diz Co. way over-paid for Pixar, but there were plenty of others who argued at Disney, with its own animation business under stress, really had no choice but to make a deal with Steve Jobs.

It seems to have worked out okay. And Disney's two other corporate purchase, first Marvel and then the Lucas Company, appear to have been considerably more than okay:

Star Wars’ $4 Billion Price Tag Was the Deal of the Century

... Once you add up all those movie tickets, action figures, and limited-edition Coffee-mate creamers, billions will come back to replace the billions spent.

Just how do those billions stack up, though? While the exact math is fuzzy, the long-term picture is clear. Disney immediately started making money on an investment that will continue to pay off in a huge way—likely for years to come. ...

Now that the first movie has opened, I think it's clear that the movies to come ... and all the affiliated merchandise ... will make Diz Co. major profits.

There are many old-timers who think it's awful what the House that Walt build has become. It's no longer small and cozy like it was in the forties, fifties and early sixties. It has long-since stopped being pure Disney, but the company stopped being that about fifteen minutes after Walt was put into his crypt at Forest Lawn.

Nothing, after all, remains the same.

But if the veterans who long for the "old Disney" would relax and learn to let go of ancient emotional attachments, to simply accept that Diz Co. is now a keeper of different entertainment brands, and that the company as the Founder's instrument to carry out a creative vision is dead and buried, they will feel a lot better.