Disney to cut back on cartoon capers

Walt Disney is planning major cutbacks in its feature animation unit, with dozens of jobs to be axed and salaries to be slashed by between 30% and 50%.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Disney executives have held meetings with department heads, animation supervisors and directors to discuss the high labour and production costs associated with animation.

Disney president Robert Iger told the newspaper that all units, including animation, are being asked to devise 'efficiencies' to increase profitability. He denied that the animation division is retrenching, saying that it has "a full slate of films planned through 2006".

Without commenting on pay cuts, Mr Iger acknowledged that the competition that drove up the salaries for animators a few years ago has now dissipated.

The success of the Lion King in 1994 generated more than £700 million in profit for Disney and led other studios to seek workers for newly-started animation units.

It is unclear how many animation jobs may be lost. It is estimated that Disney has about 2,000 animation employees at its facilities in California, Florida and Paris.

Disney is already cutting 4,000 jobs in the US in an attempt to boost profits and to appease investors. The company has recently been favouring animated films with smaller budgets that have the potential to reap bigger profits.

In one recent meeting, executives noted that The Tigger Movie, based on the AA Milne character, was made at a cost of £4.5 million, but grossed £51 million at the box office and generated £55 million in video revenue.

Disney executives also said in one of their meetings that the last traditional animated feature that performed well at the box office and in ancillary markets was the 1995 release of Pocahontas.

The company will release the animated film Atlantis in June.