TheFiresideCEO 233mation was the product of a two-part strategy. First, it successfully
rereleased the great classics in old and new venues—in theaters and
then on the Disney Channel and on home video. Second, Disney
bolstered its motion picture animation organization. That effort was
a splash, producing such phenomenal productions asWho Framed
Roger Rabbit?, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin,
The Lion King,andPocahantas. These efforts continued through the
1990s withTarzan, a smash hit which weighs in as the second most
successful animated film Disney ever released.
These blockbusters tower alongside such brand-name Disney
characters as Mickey Mouse and help define Disney as a family-
oriented company. That enables it to avoid dependency on the hit-
or-miss business orientation shackling many other studios. Film-
making is a high-risk industry: Millions can be invested in a film
with no assurance of any return. That is why most major movie
studios release a dozen or more films per year, betting that the hits
will offset the misses (a practice not unlike that of dot-com specu-
lators in the late 1990s and early 2000s).
Disney’s strategy for overcoming these industry conditions is to
concentrate on cost control and selectivity. Two applications follow.
First, Disney emphasizes its family-oriented brand identification.
This creates a special niche that largely liberates Disney from the
hit-or-miss strategy. Second, that emphasis also gives Disney an op-
erating edge in the live-action film (and television) business, allowing
successes such asFather of the Bride, The Hand That Rocks the
Cradle,andSister Act(plus scores of others too numerous to men-
tion, but thin kofToy Story, Armageddon, The Horse Whisperer,and
Good Will Hunting).
The television business is even tougher than the motion picture
business, but again, Disney leverages its animation strengths to over-
come industry challenges. The Disney Channel is a major vehicle
for animation and a major competitive advantage for Disney in the
television business, with subscriber increases generally outpacing
those at competitor channels. Even before it acquired ABC in 1995,
Disney placed numerous successful shows with the networks, in-
cludingHome Improvement, Golden Girls,andEmpty Nest. It later
scored knockout points with the ABC hitWho Wants to Be a Mil-
lionaire?, which Eisner says “transcended being a mere television
show and has entered into the culture.”
If magic is the essence of Disney, Mickey Mouse is its manifes-
tation. Mickey’s prominence leads Eisner to explore the intriguing