A New CEO
Michael Eisner
In 1984, Sid Bass bought 18.7 percent of The Walt Disney Company. Using his new power, Bass and the board decided to replace Ron Miller and Card Walker with Michael Eisner as CEO, and Frank Wells as president, both previously from Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. One of the first thing Eisner did as CEO was using home video markets and expanding cable to establish a long-term deal with Showtime Networks to sign deals using Disney films and shows. One of the biggest achievements for Disney in the late 80's was when they began limited releases of it's previous films on video tape.
Disney Animation Returns
As for the Walt Disney Animation Studios in the late 80's, they first released Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988, which was about a cartoon rabbit named Roger Rabbit who's only hope to prove his innocence of being accused of murder falls into the hands of a cartoon-hating detective, played by Bob Hoskins. Their second release was The Little Mermaid in 1989, based on the fairy tale of the same name. The Little Mermaid is credited for bringing back life into the art of Disney Animated films, after many commercial failures produced by Disney. Both films enjoyed extreme critical and commercial successes. Disney moved to first place in box office receipts by 1988.
Park Expansions
In the early parts of the 1990's, Eisner and his partners planned "The Disney Decade", which was to feature expansions to parks, new parks around the world, new media investments, and new films. The expansions and additions to the parks included Disneyland Paris, MGM Studios in Walt Disney World (now renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios) and Disney California Adventure Park in Disneyland.
The Disney Decade
The Walt Disney Animation Studios were huge in the 90's, releasing animated films regarded as some of the best of all time. In 1991, Disney released The Beauty and the Beast, which was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. In 1992, they released Aladdin, which ended up being the most successful film of 1992, earning over $504 million worldwide. The Lion King released in 1994, which earned two Academy Awards for its achievements in music, which was composed by Elton John, and featured an original score by Hans Zimmer. The Lion King is the highest grossing hand-drawn film in history, earning over $951 million worldwide as of 2011, and is the 17th-highest-grossing feature film. Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash in 1994, and The Lion King is dedicated to his memory. Finally, in 1995, Disney released Pocahontas, which was the first Disney animated feature film based on a real historic character. It too won the Academy Awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Music Score.
Media Sources
In 1994, Eisner attempted to purchase NBC, but the deal failed. Disney acquired other media sources during the 90's, including a merger with ABC in 1995 which brought broadcast network ABC, including ESPN networks and A&E Television Networks into the Disney fold. In 1999, Disney began their cruise line with the Disney Magic and a sister ship, Disney Wonder. Disney also purchased two professional sports teams, the Anaheim Angels and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
Layoffs
2000 brought a 9% increase in revenue and 39% net income. Also in 2000, The Walt Disney Animation Studios had massive layoffs, which brought the number of staff down to 600. The 9/11 attacks brought a complete halt on vacation travel and led to a recession. Disney soon converted Walt Disney Feature Animation into a CGI studio, selling off its animation equipment and bringing even more layoffs.
"Save Disney" Campaign
Roy E. Disney
The "Save Disney" campaign began in 2003. Eisner did not want the board to renominate Roy E. Disney as a board director, the son of Disney co-founder Roy O. Disney. Eisner cited that Roy's age of 72 as a required retirement age. Board member Stanley Gold responded to this by resigning from the board, and urged the other board members to oust Eisner. Eisner was accused of turning the Walt Disney Company into a "rapacious, soul-less company". Pixar Animation Studios began looking for another distributer in 2004 after its 12-year contract with Disney. Their relationship was damaged over issues of money and control with Eisner. After some high-budget movies failed at the box office, Eisner gave up his board chairmanship. On September 30th 2005, Eisner resigned as a member of the board of directors and as an executive.