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Very cool article about John Lassiter, the Pixar director, taking the lead on making better toys.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,6966310.story
No detail seems to be too mundane for Lasseter, who after years focusing on Pixar is extending his reach to Walt Disney Co.'s merchandise juggernaut. Immersing himself in the toy-making process, he has visited a plant in Hong Kong to observe how workers applied paint to "Toy Story" Buzz Lightyear figures. The father of five boys has also spent hours in Mattel's showrooms, studying the Disney Princess line, to better understand what little girls want.
The filmmaker is bringing his taskmaster persistence to Disney consumer products, pressing for better-quality toys in a business associated with sometimes shoddy and opportunistic merchandise.
One of the first things Lasseter did was call for an end to "label slapping," in which a toy maker uses a popular movie title to sell generic toys that are otherwise unrelated to the film.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,6966310.story
No detail seems to be too mundane for Lasseter, who after years focusing on Pixar is extending his reach to Walt Disney Co.'s merchandise juggernaut. Immersing himself in the toy-making process, he has visited a plant in Hong Kong to observe how workers applied paint to "Toy Story" Buzz Lightyear figures. The father of five boys has also spent hours in Mattel's showrooms, studying the Disney Princess line, to better understand what little girls want.
The filmmaker is bringing his taskmaster persistence to Disney consumer products, pressing for better-quality toys in a business associated with sometimes shoddy and opportunistic merchandise.
One of the first things Lasseter did was call for an end to "label slapping," in which a toy maker uses a popular movie title to sell generic toys that are otherwise unrelated to the film.
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