Harry here... Our Disney Watchdog, Jim Hill is focusing his laser-gaze at The Walt Disney Corporation and shaking his head in disgust... And frankly, this is something I've been quite concerned about privately. I love ebay, it is a home away from home for collectors like me, but I have to wonder if the people running the studios really understand what selling key props means... A couple of weeks ago the Rocketeer JetPack was up for sale... I stared in horror... How could anyone sell the Rocketeer JetPack? In the same Auction they were selling off the costumes to TRON, as well as some magnificient furniture from the 20,000 Leagues Beneath The Sea's Nautilus... the piano stool that Captain Nemo sat upon while playing that wondrous pipe-organ. Sigh... As Indiana Jones says, "This belongs in a museum!" Sure I own props... I have the arm-chair from TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE that Marilyn Burns is tied to in the dinner scene.... I have a prop from the Skull Island Natives in KING KONG (1933).... along with a few other items... The preservation of film history by the studios has long been considered to be insignificant and unworthy of keeping. Thus it is possible to own Errol Flynn's sword from THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.... Spielberg can own the original ROSEBUD sled... But that belongs in a museum... ROSEBUD shouldn't be owned by some guy for his own private display... That IS FILM HISTORY! It is the centerpiece of a museum somewhere... Sigh, read on and learn...
Harry --
Came across an odd little story tonight that I thought might interest AICN readers. Given your love of sci-fi and film history -- I thought you'd be interested to hear about this:
The executives who run the Walt Disney Company love to give the public the impression that their corporation is this well oiled machine. That every division of Mickey's vast media empire works in perfect synchronization with every other arm of the company so that each new product/project that the Mouse Factory pumps out gets the best possible shot at reaching its target audience *AND* (more importantly) making a couple of bucks. "Synergy" is the term they use to describe this phenomenon, or so I've been told.
And there are times that the Mouse Machine admittedly does work with amazing efficiency. I mean, just at the enormously effective promotional campaign that the Walt Disney Company put together for "Pearl Harbor." From that very first trailer that hit theaters back in November to all those TV commercials where Martin Sheen does the voice-over to the cover of "Newsweek" to last night's premiere aboard that aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. John C. Stennis -- Mickey's marketing staff did a masterful job of promoting this project. Right now, there isn't a man, woman or child alive in North America that doesn't know "Pearl Harbor" is "Coming to a theater near you" this Friday.
It's at moments like this that Disney actually does earn its reputation for being this all seeing, all knowing super corporation. But then there are the other times when it's pretty obvious that Steamboat Willie is asleep at the wheel.
Case in point: On June 15th, Walt Disney Studios will be releasing "Atlantis: The Lost Empire." This is really a ground-breaking project for Disney Feature Animation, Harry. For "A:TLE" is supposed to be a straight action-adventure, an epic film in the grand tradition of Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and "The Island at the Top of the World." Or so says Disney's promotional staff.
Well, if you follow this link (CLICK HERE TO BEHOLD THE HYPERION!!!), you'll discover that "grand tradition" evidently doesn't mean as much to the Mouse as it used to, Harry. Just weeks before "Atlantis" hits theaters, Mickey is selling off the Hyperion.
That's right, kids. The Hyperion. That beautiful red & gold airship that Professor Ivarsson (David Hartman) and Sir Anthony Ross (Donald Sinden) flew up into the Arctic. In their desperate search for Sir Anthony's son, these intrepid explorers encountered a lost viking colony, tried to out-run some molten lava, battled killer whales ... in addition to discovering the whaler El Dorado, the fabled place " where the whales go to die ..."
Okay, okay. I'll admit it. "Islands" ain't exactly great cinema. The picture's really just a "20,000 Leagues" wanna-be, just like the studio's 1979 release, "The Black Hole." That said, there's still no denying that this 1974 Walt Disney Production has a certain cheesy charm.
Plus it's also pretty obvious that "Islands" -- and the Hyperion in particular -- still has some big-time fans inside the Walt Disney Company. I mean, just look at that full-sized replica of the airship that Master Imagineer Tony Baxter had built and installed in Disneyland Paris' DiscoveryLand. And what about Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale, Don Hahn and the rest of the "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" production team. These guys must have a major soft spot when it comes to this Disney dirigible.
Don't believe me? Next month, when you're watching "Atlantis," pay particularly close attention to the balloon that Helga Sinclair (voiced by Claudia Christian) and Commander Rourke (James Garner) use to make their ascent inside the volcano. Do the colors and styling used on this vehicle look familiar? They should. That's because "A:TLE" 's art department went out of their way to make this balloon look as much like the Hyperion as possible.
But I guess all that doesn't matter now, because the Hyperion's up for sale. And this is the really-for-real Hyperion, folks. One of the 9 foot long models that was built back in 1973 and actually used in the production of the film. This particular airship has been on display in Disney Studios' prop warehouse for decades now. Disneyana dweebs could always be counted on to squeal with delight whenever they spotted it hanging down from the rafters.
Of course, this model of the Hyperion is just one of the many props that the Walt Disney Company currently has up for bid at its official "Disney Auctions" site. Were you to poke around the site's "Movie & Television Props" list, you'd find that the Mouse is also selling off items from "Mary Poppins," "Bedknobs & Broomsticks" as well as the studio's woefully under-appreciated 1991 release, "The Rocketeer."
Now it seems somewhat hypocritical for a company that makes such a big deal about promoting and protecting its heritage (Remember all those limited edition "75 Years of Magic" items that the Mouse put up for sale at the Disney Store two years ago? Or -- better yet -- how about the "100 Years of Magic" promotion that Mickey will unveiling this October so that the Walt Disney World resort can cash in on the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's birth?) to be selling off its old costumes and props just to make a few bucks.
Of course, to hear the folks who actually work at "Disney Auctions" tell it, they'll maintain that the Walt Disney Company has warehouse after warehouse loaded up with this sort of crap. And no one but a hardcore Disney dweeb and/or maybe a film historian is really going to give a rat's ass if the company sells off a few of the original Mousketeers costumes, a parade float from Disneyland or the robots that were used in "The Black Hole." (These last three were actual items that have been put up for bid by the "Disney Auctions" staff in the not-too-distant past ... ) This people actually feel like they're doing a service for the Disney corporation. After all, it clears up storage space around the lot. Plus it puts a few bucks in Mickey's pocket. So where's the harm?
Well ... Given that very few people who work at the Walt Disney Company these days are over the age of 30, I doubt that there's many people who recall the infamous MGM auction of 1970. That's when -- in order to make a few bucks -- Then head of MGM James Aubrey ordered that the studio's incredible collection of props and costumes be sold off at auction. That's why Dorothy's ruby slippers, George Pal's Time Machine as well as thousands of other priceless pieces of Hollywood's past ended up being scattered to the four winds ... This is also why many Tinsel Town veterans still spit and curse whenever Aubrey's name is mentioned.
The people who are currently managing the "Disney Auctions" website run the risk of becoming this generation's James Aubreys. I mean, do these folks really want to be remembered as the bozos who randomly sold off important pieces of Disney heritage just Eisner had a few more bucks to make outside acquisitions with?
Okay, okay. I know. It's expensive to run a multi-national corporation. And the money that the Walt Disney Company needs to finally buy the Muppets (There were several reports last month that the Mouse had allegedly offered the Kirch Group $300 million for Kermit & Co. But there's been no further word as to whether this deal is still a go) and/or Pixar (Just last week, Variety suggested that the Mouse could snatch up Pixar for a mere $1.74 billion. Yeah, right. Like Eisner would ever really persuade Steve Jobs to sell ... ) has to come from somewhere.
But do they really have to sell off the Hyperion?
If you follow the previously mentioned link, you'll find a total of nine very cool pictures of this model -- including a couple that show the incredible detailing on the miniature gondola (which has a very tiny little figure of Capt. Brieux inside, standing at the wheel) which evidently fell off a few years ago.
There is one bit of good news, though, Harry. The bidding on the Hyperion currently stands at $1500 and -- according to the message that's currently posted on this "Disney Auction" page -- the reserve on this item has yet to be met.
Here's hoping that the reserve on this piece never gets met and the Hyperion can stay safely berthed in Disney's prop warehouse in Burbank forever... Where it can continue to inspire future generations of Imagineers and animators who honestly do believe in the "grand tradition" of movies like "20,000 Leagues" and "Islands."
Otherwise ... Well, it's just scary to think that Disney's heritage is currently in the hands of accountants. People who didn't think with their hearts or their heads. Just their wallets.
Jim Hill
