Roy Disney Slams Eisner, Again

The war continues between Disney chairman Michael Eisner and the son of the company's son. Walt Disney says Disney has closed its Florida animation studio with 260 employees. The Florida studio was responsible for two of Disney's latest hand-drawn movies, "Lilo & Stitch" and "Brother Bear," while Disney's pipeline of new animated movies is focused on computer-animated work.

Disney said the closure of the unit was aimed in part at focusing production in Burbank, Calif., which has about 600 animation employees and also is Disney's corporate base.

But the move did not sit well with Roy Disney, who recently resigned from the company's board, complaining that Eisner was the cause of the company's woes.

Disney issued a statement today saying "Closure of the Walt Disney Florida Feature Animation facility is yet another example of Michael Eisner's de-emphasis of creativity and total indifference to the impact his decisions have on the people who helped to make the company great."

Disney continued: "Once again, the Eisner regime has emphasized short-term gains over long-term value. The drain of talent over the past several years from the company's feature animation department in Orlando, Burbank, Paris and Tokyo has been absolutely gut-wrenching. People are being asked to leave because management – particularly Michael – can't figure out what to do with them. That certainly is not the fault of the talent. It is the fault of the so-called strategic thinkers at headquarters."

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