Just say no to "Gnomeo"

We knew there would be casualties when Disney acquired Pixar, but who imagined the first one would be Sir Elton John.

John, who with Tim Rice penned the great music for Disney's "Lion King," had pitched what can generously be called an oddity to the giant mouse, and was well on his way to production until the rodent apparently spit it up.

His creation, entitled "Gnomeo & Juliet," was to be an animated musical based - of course - on the bard's tragic romance and featuring - of course -little animated people in the main roles. Sound bizarre? Well, I thought so too until I read about a musical version of "Lord of the Rings" being staged in Toronto. Good grief.

On Monday, Disney abruptly announced that "Gnomeo" is no longer in production at the studio. This even after Sir Elton appeared at the Walt Disney Studios Showcase in September to promote the film and marked the occasion by playing "Crocodile Rock" on a trademark red piano.

All of this info, by the way, comes from the Hollywood Reporter via Entertainment Weekly.

On my end, I can't say this is anything but good news. Though I have loved many Disney animated films over the years, my favorites being "Pete's Dragon" and "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Pixar is clearly miles ahead of the curve in both creativity and technical prowess.

Logically, the more Disney backs Pixar's projects, the more often we will get them. Coming soon is "Cars," which looks fairly promising. Even better is the news that "Incredibles" director has been recruited to direct the upcoming "Ratatouille," a trippy-sounding tale about a mouse who wants to be a gourmet chef, I believe. All good stuff.

As for Sir Elton, well, I think his pocket book can take the hit.