Tagged With: Disney

If Disneys decade long battle over the merchandising rights to WINNIE THE POOH wasnt enough, Walt Disney Co. is now in a legal wrangling with a U.K. children's hospital over the copyright to J. M. Barrie's classic novel, PETER PAN, reports THE LONDON TELEGRAPH.

Disney president Robert Iger said on Wednesday that a renewed deal between the house that Walt built and Pixar Animation Studios was "unlikely, reports REUTERS. He added that partnerships like the one Disney had with Pixar to distribute its films often "outgrow one another."

"If it's not Pixar, it will be someone else," Iger told an audience at the Royal Television Society's international conference in London.

Disney Online has unleashed pets called Doodles in Toontown (www.toontown.com), the award-winning, massively multiplayer 3D online game for families. With this latest extension of the game, members of Toontown can adopt a variety of outrageous creatures to play with and raise as pets.

Doodles are available now for adoption in exchange for jellybeans, the currency of Toontown online. They can be found at newly unveiled Pet Shops located in each of the Toontown neighborhood playgrounds.

Walt Disney Co.s ceo Michael Eisner has announced that he is stepping down from his post when his contract expires in Sept. 2006, reports the WALL STREET JOURNAL. This move ends Eisners two-decade reign at the mega-corporation and comes six months after former board members Stanley Gold and Roy Disney tried to oust him from the firm. Gold and Disneys efforts did lead to Eisner being removed as chairman. Disney president Robert Iger is Eisners "preferred choice" to succeed him.

As part of the LA Short Film Festival, Disney will be previewing some of the classic shorts featured in the fourth wave of WALT DISNEY TREASURES, which will arrive in stores Dec. 7, 2004. The restored classic films include SHANGHAIED, MICKEYS STEAM-ROLLER, MICKEYS KANGAROO, LEND A PAW, DOG WATCH and SQUATTERS RIGHTS. The three new two-disk collections will include restored episodes of week one of THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB, THE COMPLETE PLUTO VOLUME ONE and MICKEY MOUSE IN BLACK & WHITE VOLUME TWO.

The Walt Disney Company has unveiled the Disney Dream Desk PC, a new personal computer geared to tap into the growing children market.

"We've traveled a long way since that first Mickey writing tablet hit the market in 1929" said Bob Iger, Disney president/coo. "At the core of Disney is our mission to entertain and enlighten audiences through products that spark the imagination. With the launch of the Disney Dream Desk, a computer designed with kids in mind, we've developed a tool box for children to unleash their imaginations and expand their minds."