In November 1993, Lasseter and his Pixar team presented the first half of their movie to Disney executives, including Katzenberg. However, Peter Schneider, who was skeptical about outsourcing Disney's animation, criticized the film's quality and halted production. Katzenberg, in agreement with Schneider, expressed confusion over the film's problems, prompting Schumacher to clarify that the creative direction had shifted away from the original vision.

Schumacher highlighted that the filmmakers were now adhering to Katzenberg's notes, which detracted from their authentic storytelling and creativity. This situation illustrates the conflict between artistic freedom and executive oversight, ultimately impacting the quality of the animated project they were working on.