First Fruits of the Disney/Pixar Merger

It was while shuddering during a commercial announcing the release of "Bambi 2" on DVD, that I realized this article is big news. John Lassetter, former head of animation at Pixar, has used his new clout after the Disney/Pixar merger to kill the production of Toy Story 3. Anyone who has found themselves scratching their heads at such inexplicables as "Cinderella 2" knows that one of Disney's obsessions the last few years has been to put out dubious sequels to classic children's movies from the days of Walt Disney. Without consideration of whether a story exists to justify them, the films have been churned out like M&Ms at a candy factory to hold up Disney's bottom line. And to be fair, they have sold EXTREMELY well. But they also cheapen the existing films, and have given Disney even less incentive to produce good NEW films in the last decade. With a new team insisting on putting story first, it is actually possible we will see a Disney film out in the near future that is actually worth watching by more than just a few politically-correct cultural enforcers.