#jeffrey katzenberg

Production cels from the “undead” sequence from The Black Cauldron that were ultimately cut out by demand from newly appointed chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. 12 minutes in total were cut from The Black Cauldron, and the full version of this more graphic “undead” sequence has never been released.

“When they started having screenings for the public at the studio theater to gather their reactions to our rough cut film, I remembered the window at the end of the hallway where Walt would sometimes stand looking out over his studio while checking people’s reaction as they left a screening… I knew that the ‘un-dead’ section would most likely be revolting to some in the audience who would not expect to see a bunch of rotted corpses slowly fermenting… in a Disney animated feature…

“Right on cue, the doors opened and a mom was angrily leaving with her two wailing children in tow. She was followed by another, and soon there was a sizable exodus of crying kids and upset parents fleeing from the theater… Afterwards as the directors and producer met, they didn’t need to read the ARI cards to admit that particular problem and the un-dead sections were quickly cut down and in some cases cut out completely. Unfortunately those simple cuts could not repair the rips in the fabric of the storyline or magically make the film the fantasy epic it should have been.” - Michael Peraza, layout artist on The Black Cauldron

photo sources [x] [x]
research sources [x] [x]

for anonymous

First pic: Jeffrey Katzenberg & Michael Eisner; second pic: Ron Clements, Pete Young & Steve Hulett; third pic: Ron Clements, Jodi Benson & John Musker

Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner were brought from Paramount to Disney in 1984, and they brought with them the concept of the “Gong Show.” At Paramount, they would hold pitch meetings in which everyone was given the opportunity to give ideas for future movie projects. The first Katzenberg and Eisner Gong Show at Disney was held in 1985. It was at this Gong Show that Ron Clements and John Musker first pitched two ideas that would eventually come to fruition: an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island in space.

But the belle of the ball in this meeting was Pete Young, who pitched the idea of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist except instead of human orphans, they would be cats and dogs. Back at Paramount, Katzenberg had wanted to do a contemporary version of the musical Oliver! (based on the same novel). Oliver & Company would go on to the be the first film from Walt Disney Animation Studios under the new management of Katzenberg and Eisner. Young worked on the story, but unfortunately, he passed away in October of that year at the age of 37.

photo sources [x] [x] [x]
research sources [x] [x]

for@ellensenergyadventure