What the late ROBIN WILLIAMS can teach us about warning signs about executive's actions

How about something to enlighten my day before my 27th Birthday on Friday December 13 2024.

By telling you readers a very interesting tell-all of the late Robin Williams and his major fight with Disney's Executive over his GENIE Character in Aladdin.

We all know the story about how Robin Williams had an internal conflict with the MOUSE HOUSE back in the Early to Mid 90s that made him so mad that he refused to work on RETURN OF JAFAR as well as the Tv Series....

and therefore, the role of the Genie was given to DAN CASTELLANETA,

Voice of Homer Simpson.

the story behind it all is far more complicated than it really lets on.

It all started with Robin Williams' success in the wake of the TOUCHSTONE film

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM in 1987.

After Disney(They created TOUCHSTONE) was impressed with Williams' portrayal of ADRIAN CRONAUER, Williams decided to accept the role with the SAG pay of $75,000 instead of his usual asking price of $8 Million.

With the condition that his character take up no more than 25% of the advertising as well as avoid using his image and name within said advertising due to the impending December 1992 release of his live-action film TOYS.

AND THAT MEANT HIS VOICE COULD NOT BE USED IN MARKETING!!!

…

Boy oh Boy did the Mouse House not listen to his request.

Compared to others like Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, etc

… with exceptions like the Late Douglas Steele,

Robin Williams was a huge name in Hollywood.

And seeing that films from others wouldn’t match up to the giant that the Mouse House, the marketing department decided to undergo a backdoor operation which is to use his voice for Marketing.

That includes the trailers, Tv Spots, tie-in toys like those from McDonald’s, and a Sega Mega drive/Genesis game.

Robin Williams was PISSED!!!

The sheer fact that the MOUSE HOUSE deliberately disobeyed his request just because of his image being the draw for Aladdin's success was enough to want him to not work with the MOUSE HOUSE in any further projects.

And the MOUSE HOUSE's attempts to apologize by offering Williams a Picasso painting backfired spectacularly due to not only viewing at as a shrewd attempt to defend the actions related to marketing but the painting clashed with Williams’ choice of decor in his house.

After that episode, Williams refused to work on the JAFAR sequel and Tv series which resulted in him losing his Genie Character to Dan Castellaneta.

It was only with the departure of Jeffery Katzenberg, his defection to DREAMWORKS, and being subsequently replaced with Joe Roth that the relationship was mended with a public apology which allowed Robin to reprise his Genie Character in the 1996 film

ALADDIN AND THE KING OF THEIVES.

But these are definitely interesting tell-alls about the dangers of working with executives who are bound to ignore your demands in favor of Marketing regardless if your competing work is doomed to fail...

*COUGH*TOYS(1992)*COUGH*.........

You learn something everyday, and you do you research and suddenly, 

the messy history makes all the more sense when you realize how it conspired.