Incredibly enough, that question can be answered in the world of animation. Two titanic rivals, each armed with talent and money in prestigious amounts, are bringing us the Showdown of the Ages. Disney Studios versus SKG Dreamworks! They're ready to rumble for pride, reputation, and your entertainment dollar! This one has it all: Moves! Countermoves! Allegations! Accusations! Hard feelings and past grudges! In short, everything that makes for a great rivalry. What is hilarious about this particular shootout is that both sides deny any rivalry at all. We are expected to believe this, even with the proof up on the movie screens. For those who know better (which includes everyone reading this), the contestants have chosen their weapons, and are taking deadly aim at each other with...a bunch of ants?
This classic shootout may or may not have originated as far back as 1988; it depends on whose side you wish to take. At that time, Disney briefly played around with an idea for an animated film involving ants. At one point the project was simply called Ants, and at another time, Army Ants, but whatever existed of it was soon forgotten in the Disney revival of 1989. An important component of that revival was Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was brought over from Paramount Studios in 1984 by newly-crowned Disney head Michael Eisner. Katzenberg would eventually jump-start the moribund animation department, which was on the verge of extinction after so many years in ascendancy.
Yet by 1994 there was bad blood aplenty between Eisner and Katzenberg; I omit the details here for the sake of brevity. Suffice it to say that Katzenberg resigned on August 23, 1994 and was off the Disney lot permanently by the end of September. His parting shot at Eisner was a $250 million lawsuit for breach of contract, indicating the depths that their animosity had reached. Katzenberg was around long enough, however, to see much of the work that Pixar was doing on Toy Story. It was just two days after Katzenberg's resignation that Pixar pitched a second story to Disney. On the strength of their impressive initial work with Toy Story, Pixar got an immediate green light from Disney executives. That story would eventually be known as A Bug's Life.
Katzenberg did more than make a soft landing after his acrimonious departure from Disney; he allied himself with mighty moguls Spielberg and Geffen to form SKG Dreamworks in October of 1994. It was certain at that very moment: Someday there would be an animated showdown between Disney and this powerful new entity. In 1995, the anticipation ended when SKG executive Nina Jacobson was intrigued by a pitch from PDI, a cutting-edge computer animation facility. They proposed to adapt a story about a neurotic, non-conformist ant; the original story was written by author Tim Johnson in 1991. Jacobson presented the proposal to Katzenberg, who gave the go-ahead to the feature that would become - you guessed it - Antz.
(1960. Richard Nixon stared balefully at the young Senator from Massachusetts and smiled to himself. He had slept badly and done little to ready himself for this debate, but he had nothing to worry about and less to fear; he was by far the more experienced candidate. John Kennedy, for his part, was cool, relaxed, and prepared; besides, he had shown an impressive ability to adapt to the exciting new medium of television. Kennedy had no doubt that he would handily show his opponent up in this, the first nationally televised debate in the history of the Presidency...)
When Pixar head Steve Jobs got word of the SKG work-in-progress, the executive saw Apple-red; Jobs was apparently convinced that Katzenberg, in an act of spite, had stolen the idea for an ant movie from his company. Citing the fact that A Bug's Life was no secret on the Disney lot while Katzenberg was still present, Jobs publicly assailed the former Disney exectutive to the point that Disney studio chief Joseph Roth had to rein Jobs in. To paraphrase another scandal: "What did Katzenberg know, and when did he know it?" According to Katzenberg, "Nothing" and "Never". Katzenberg denies any knowledge of the Bug's Life project and never heard of it until Antz, begun in 1996, was well into production. The respective directors of the projects, John Lasseter at Pixar and Eric Darnell/Tim Johnson at SKG, have wisely refrained from commenting on the issue.
(1975. Muhammad Ali paced his corner, feeling the canvas spring back beneath his agile legs. Here, in Manilla of all places, one of the most long-awaited showdowns in the history of American sports was only moments away. In the opposite corner stood Joe Frazier, his chiseled muscles highlighted by the flash of thousands of cameras. He was perhaps the only man on the planet capable of defeating Ali, and more than a few dollars had been placed on his mighty shoulders to do just that. A bell sharply reverberated above the noise of the crowd...)
As interesting as these allegations are, they serve as mere table-setters for the next round of ballistics. SKG's animated epic Prince Of Egypt, Katzenberg's most prized project and possibly the most serious challenge to Disney's animation studio ever produced, was slated to open in November of 1998. Disney decided to release A Bug's Life November 25th, a solid declaration of war. Pixar later claimed that Katzenberg sued for peace by offering to postpone Antz in return for a rescheduling of A Bug's Life.
Evidently, Katzenberg was not in so supplicant a mood; somehow, Antz was rushed through production so quickly that the final film took only two and a half years to produce. SKG scheduled it to open in October of 1998 (which it did), beating "A Bug's Life" to the screen as the first animated ant picture. Considering the head start that Pixar had, this is more than impressive. Revenge for the placement of A Bug's Life? Katzenberg denies this allegation as well, stating that he had no interest in mauling the Mouse; the movie just came together quickly. Rivalry or not? You, dear readers, make the call.
(1898. Caleb Bradham was enjoying modest success with his new tonic, "Brad's Drink". It needed a snappier name, of course; "Pepsi-Cola", or something like that. There was a lot of money to be made in the burgeoning tonic market, thought Bradham eagerly. Just look at what Asa Chandler had done with that elixir, Coca-Cola, after he bought it from the late Dr. Pemberton. Surely there was room for more than one tonic on the market and besides, a little competition never hurt anyone, right?...)
If there was no fear of retaliation, then SKG obviously moved Prince of Egypt back to December 18th reflecting a preference for months which begin with "D". Or perhaps by reasoning that Christmas is the perfect time to release a movie detailing the travails and truimphs of Moses and the Hebrews. (Actually March or April would have been a better time, to coincide with the Jewish commemoration of Passover, a commemoration that many Christians have also adopted. But then again, what do I know? -- Webkeeper) Taking a lesson from Rameses, Disney decided not to send A Bug's Life in further pursuit of Katzenberg's biblical epic. Instead, Disney slated their remake of the 1949 cheesefest Mighty Joe Young (Cheesefest? Mighty Joe Young showcased some of Ray Harryhausen's finest work! -- Webkeeper) for December 18th. If this date sounds familiar, it should. After some consideration, Disney finally shoved "Mighty Joe Young" back one week. This left only two animated films to go virtually head-to-head: Antz and A Bug's Life.
At the time of this writing, a comparison of critical reviews and box-office loot is not available; I can only say that Antz is a serviceable film, although I found the plot (most noticeably the final exposition) unduly rushed. This may unconsciously reflect the decision to speed up production and may make Antz an early critical casualty in going up against A Bug's Life. The CGI was frankly remarkable, especially in the ability to manipulate expressive facial movements. I do not care for a chitin-and-formic acid Woody Allen any more than I care for the flesh-and-blood version, but the film acquits itself fairly well, if short of greatness.
The real point is, we have a face-off, whether both sides admit it or not. Since Disney typically schedules its major animated releases for the summer and SKG may well be locked into a holiday season production cycle, this may be as good as it gets, at least for awhile. This is what it's all about, readers: On one level, an open showdown under the highly bendable rules of free-market capitalism; on another level, a battle for artistic and imaginative supremacy. And one fact is undeniable: Both contest-ants are very good at what they do, despite the fact that Disney has history and experience on its side. Best of all, this is only Round One. May each studio use this competition as a springboard and inspiration to produce better and more sophisticated animated features. My greatest hope is that over time, the current animosity between the two studios will mellows to a hard-fought but good-natured rivalry based on mutual respect and the goal of winning our hearts.
(1939. Walt Disney peered at his watch and finally allowed himself to relax. Sitting back in the plush theater seat, he arched an eyebrow, and allowed himself a tight grin as he folded his hands into his lap. Disney had entered the moviehouse with a little trepidation; the Fleischer brothers had always been his greatest rival. Even though Max and Dave had won droves of fans with the humor of their earthy, bawdy cartoons, Disney easily held the edge in technique and style. But for this new film, Gulliver's Travels, the Fleischers were armed with a new, state-of-the-art studio and some very talented animators...some of whom had been in Walt's stable only a short time before. One-third of the way through the feature, however, the worrying stopped. "We can do better than that with our second string", thought Walt with considerable satisfaction. He thought of how well Pinocchio was shaping up, and it occured to him that he faced no serious competition from any animation studio in existence. It was good to be the very best. Maybe it would go on forever...)
NEXT MONTH: A holiday tradition continues with the annual piece of silly fan fiction from yours truly.
Dr. Toon awaits your commentary on this month's column.
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