Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Claim That “Movies About Girls Don’t Work” Was Proven Wrong by One of Disney’s Biggest Hits

After a distinguished career spanning several decades, renowned director and animator John Musker is gradually preparing for retirement. At 70 years old, Musker played a pivotal role in revitalizing Disney during the late 80s and 90s, making him a key figure in animation history. Recently, he attended the Animayo International Summit in Gran Canaria to promote his new short film, I’m Hip!.

During the event, Musker spoke with El País about his early days at Disney and shared his thoughts on the current state of the company, a topic we’ve previously covered. He also recounted an intriguing anecdote about one of Disney’s greatest classics.

At the time, producing such films was more the exception than the rule. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the formidable president at the time, was opposed to making these kinds of movies—a decision that proved to be a significant misstep, as the film in question has since become a celebrated classic.

The film in question is The Little Mermaid—the animated classic that faced considerable resistance before becoming one of Disney’s biggest animated successes. Initially made on a modest budget of $40 million, the film went on to earn an impressive $235 million, a substantial sum back in 1989. Despite the controversy surrounding the live-action remake, the original animated version remains widely cherished.

However, as Musker revealed in the interview, Jeffrey Katzenberg was not initially impressed with the idea. He was initially hesitant to approve the project, as Musker recounted:

“Movies about girls don’t work. (…) The Little Mermaid will never best Oliver & Company. (…) The big eye-opener was when we had a preview. It played so well to a public audience, all ages, including adults. They decided they were doing two different ad campaigns. One was a silhouette of a mermaid, looking wistfully out. I think they saw there was a way to treat it a little more adult, classier. It has a lot of fun as a comedy.

But there’s an emotional story, not just silliness. I mean, the Hans Christian Andersen’s story was that. (…) Die Hard had been a box-office hit. So he came into the office saying, ‘We need The Little Mermaid to be more Die Hard. That’s how we got the second action sequence, with an Ursula who is as big as the building in Nakatomi Plaza.”

Source: El País

In terms of executive missteps, this was certainly a significant one. We’re just grateful that Katzenberg ultimately approved the project, as it has become one of Disney’s most beloved films.

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