Disney to Stop Production of DVD-Only Sequels

Those of us who were still absorbed in the ongoing saga of the little mermaid are in for a grave disappointment, because Disney has just announced that it will stop producing DVD-only animated sequels. The new decision reflects some of the recent shake-ups at Disney: Sharon Morrill, longtime president of DisneyToon studios, has been removed; DisneyToon will now become part of Walt Disney Feature Animation and report directly to Animation President Ed Catmull and former Pixar Animation exec John Lasseter. (Catmull and Lasseter assumed roles at Disney after the company bought Pixar for $7.4 million in stock last year). DVD-only sequels have proved lucrative for the company in the past, but Steve Jobs (the former Pixar CEO who new runs Apple Inc. and has a spot on Disney's board) has declared them "embarrassing": "We feel sick about Disney doing sequels," he said. Lasseter, too, has frequently voiced his disdain for sequels in general, although his anti-sequel convictions are called into question by the fact that he is currently working on Toy Story 3.