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NEWS > BUSINESS > DISNEY PONDERING LAWSUIT AGAINST COLORADO BALLOON BOY
DISNEY PONDERING LAWSUIT AGAINST COLORADO BALLOON BOY
October 16 2009
Hollywood, CA – The drama and excitement surrounding the disappearance of a 6-year old Colorado boy fell thudding to the ground late on Thursday. Initially parents and authorities believed that the boy had been trapped in the basket of a homemade
hot air balloon which took flight across the state. When the balloon finally landed the boy was nowhere to be found and a search of the family home found him hiding in the attic. Though the discovery brought great relief to all involved Disney and Pixar officials are not quite as happy.
At issue is the similarity of the event to the plotline of their latest animated hit ‘UP’ which depicted an old man and his young stowaway taking to the skies in a homemade house/air balloon. The film was a box office smash for the studio this summer but its impending DVD release has been put into peril by the real life copycat. Though initially the free press resulting from the incident might seem like a boon to the studio, Disney has long had a reputation for being heavy handed in their promotion and the un-family friendly nature of the real life incident, prompting the studio to start preparing a suit against the family.
“We at Disney in no way support the incident that occurred today in Colorado. We want to assure all families and young fans that we in no way condone the creation and/or utilization of homemade hot air balloons and our film, UP, was not meant to imply or intimate any such endorsement along those lines,” said the studio in a statement. “We are grateful that this situation has had a happy ending and that this young child is healthy at home but we have no choice but to keep all of our options open regarding this situaion. We will be watching future goings-ons and will act appropriately.”
‘UP’ is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 11. The studio is reportedly considering a delay but is waiting out the current situation to assess any such action.
“Often when real life incidents coincide with the release of a film it does nothing but good things for the release but this situation is fundamentally different. Because the picture has already been released and seen by millions, and this incident was a small scale personal type of situation, it could be seen a copycat behaviour which could put the studio at serious risk,” said Scrape TV Legal analyst Gabe Hawthorne. “That is no doubt why they have lawyered up. I’m sure they are anticipating action by the family and by being aggressive they could dissuade any lawyers from taking the case. I doubt their intention is the actually sue the family though that could change if the DVD release falls below expectations. Disney is the one studio that isn’t going to take that lying down.”
It should be noted in Colorado incident did not involve a floating house. The balloon involved was carrying a traditional hot-air basket with none of amenities present in the average household.
“The biggest concern for the studio should be other potential copycats. Many people wouldn’t have thought about doing this but now that a six-year old kind of tried it I’m sure many more people have the idea somewhere in their head. The home release of the movie will likely only make things worse,” continued Hawthorne. “Though the reality of this incident might only be tangentially related it is perception that really matters. It is what other people think that could spawn similar incidents that could put the studio into real hot water. If they strangle it down now it will make future incidents a whole lot less likely.”
The studio faced lawsuits in 2006 over the release of the film ‘Cars’ and copycat incidents in Florida and Idaho.
William Ashford, Business Correspondent
NEWS > BUSINESS > DISNEY PONDERING LAWSUIT AGAINST COLORADO BALLOON BOY
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