Jeffrey Katzenberg: The rise of the man who changed the animation game
It came as a shock that another magnificent man, just as talented, a man with a vision, was handed the short end of the stick at Disney.
Jeffrey Katzenberg was given the boot at Disney despite having helped revive the animation empire. The man deserved a promotion and a raise, but they rewarded him with a pink slip. This goes to show that life isn't fair. However, his story doesn't end here. In fact, let's go back to the beginning.
Jeffrey got his start as an assistant in Paramount. Only a year later, he got promoted to working directly under Michael Eisner who valued him for his many skills including but not limited to his instincts, speed and work ethic.
Katzenberg took off like a rocket and produced hits like Grease, Beverly Hills Cop, and Saturday Night Fever. The man was on fire.
As 1984 rolled around, Michael embarked on Disney as CEO and boarded Jeffrey with him just as Disney animation was sinking. Stalled projects, low profits, the timing was perfect to make some serious waves. Katzenberg to the rescue!
He restructured the animation division and created a phenomenal hit: The Little Mermaid, a personal favorite of mine. And the hits just kept on coming!
Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King. Katzenberg didn't just salvage Disney animation, he flipped its script on its head changing the animation game.
Naturally, Katzenberg requested a share of the profits. Lo and behold, Eisner refused. The nerve on that guy. Instead of giving credit where credit is due, Disney fired Katzenberg, the home of dreams crushed Jeffrey's.
The animation phenom didn't stay out of the game for long. He soon teamed up with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen and co-founded Dreamworks SKG in 1994.
Disney's new worthy opponent was created and went on to release Shrek in 2001, an open satire of Disney. We can all agree that it was a smash hit, the Academy agreed as well. It gave the movie the first Oscar for Best Animated Feature, marking the industry officially shifting. Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and How to Train Your Dragon are some of the fun movies Dreamworks gave life to.
In 2016, Jeffrey made some serious bank. He sold Dreamworks Animation for 3.8 billion with his cut being 500 million dollars.
The Good Guy always wins, even if he was fired by the organization that sold us on fairytales. He rewrote the playbook that Once Upon a Time belonged to Disney. Dreams really do come true!
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Disney is the home of dreams and fairytales, it was built by the sheer determination and self-belief of one man who dared to pursue his dream, Walt Disney. It came as a shock that another magnificent man, just as talented, a man with a vision, was handed the short end of the stick at Disney. Jeffrey Katzenberg was given the boot at Disney despite having helped revive the animation empire. The man deserved a promotion and a raise, but they rewarded him with a pink slip. This goes to show that life isn't fair. However, his story doesn't end here. In fact, let's go back to the beginning. Jeffrey got his start as an assistant in Paramount. Only a year later, he got promoted to working directly under Michael Eisner who valued him for his many skills including but not limited to his instincts, speed and work ethic. Katzenberg took off like a rocket and produced hits like Grease, Beverly Hills Cop, and Saturday Night Fever. The man was on fire. As 1984 rolled around, Michael embarked on Disney as CEO and boarded Jeffrey with him just as Disney animation was sinking. Stalled projects, low profits, the timing was perfect to make some serious waves. Katzenberg to the rescue! He restructured the animation division and created a phenomenal hit: The Little Mermaid, a personal favorite of mine. And the hits just kept on coming! Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King. Katzenberg didn't just salvage Disney animation, he flipped its script on its head changing the animation game. Naturally, Katzenberg requested a share of the profits. Lo and behold, Eisner refused. The nerve on that guy. Instead of giving credit where credit is due, Disney fired Katzenberg, the home of dreams crushed Jeffrey's. The animation phenom didn't stay out of the game for long. He soon teamed up with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen and co-founded Dreamworks SKG in 1994. Disney's new worthy opponent was created and went on to release Shrek in 2001, an open satire of Disney. We can all agree that it was a smash hit, the Academy agreed as well. It gave the movie the first Oscar for Best Animated Feature, marking the industry officially shifting. Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, and How to Train Your Dragon are some of the fun movies Dreamworks gave life to. In 2016, Jeffrey made some serious bank. He sold Dreamworks Animation for 3.8 billion with his cut being 500 million dollars. The Good Guy always wins, even if he was fired by the organization that sold us on fairytales. He rewrote the playbook that Once Upon a Time belonged to Disney. Dreams really do come true!
