No Fairy Tale Ending

Pixar announced today that it is ending negotiations with the Walt Disney Co. Disney will release two more Pixar productions, but the partnership that delivered such box office and critical successes as Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo will end in 2006. Although analysts call this a blow to Disney, Slate’s Chris Suellentrop argued in a June 2003 “Assessment” that Pixar needs Disney, too: “By remaining in a partnership with Disney, Pixar can control the legacy that it has created—Pixar creatives must shudder at the thought of hack straight-to-video Toy Story sequels, which Eisner has basically threatened to create if Pixar walks.”