Trends Bring Fall of Empire

Two and half years ago, Phil Roman was the toast of the cartoon community, an animator who built a $33-million publicly traded company out of artistic flair and a bootstraps business ethos. The shows produced by his North Hollywood studio, Film Roman Inc., including “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill,” were among television’s biggest animated hits.

But last month, Roman, 68, stepped down from the company he founded 15 years ago--a victim, industry observers said, of the increasingly cutthroat nature of the animation business.

Observers say Roman’s departure reflects the shift away from classical cel animation--Roman’s first job was drawing pictures for Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty”--to computer graphics and from entrepreneurs running animation houses to Wall Street types.

“Phil’s resignation marks the end of an era,” said Michael Hirsh, the co-chief executive of Toronto-based Nelvana, an independent animation company. “Phil has been a giant among studio heads in this business. It’s kind of sad that his company is called Film Roman and now he’s leaving.”

Last week, Roman launched a new business in Studio City, Phil Roman Entertainment, a five-person boutique that will specialize in classical, hand-drawn animation.

Roman could not comment on his new business or why he left Film Roman because of an agreement he made with the management of his former company, said his assistant, Melinda Hall.

The problems for Phil Roman started shortly after Film Roman went public in October 1996. A few months later, Disney bought ABC, starting a trend of vertical integration in the animation business in which networks turn to studio partners to supply animation needs. That leaves companies like Film Roman, which grew from 15 employees to 330, with fewer outlets for their product and more competition from big companies.

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The next blow came in September 1997, when UPN canceled a show that Film Roman was producing, “The Blues Brothers: The Animated Series,” and Film Roman took a $2-million loss. The same month, Roman was replaced as chairman by David Pritchard, a former executive at Chase Manhattan Bank and HBO. Roman, who had won six Emmy awards for his cartoons, was relegated to creative director. His job was to meet with artists, screen storyboards, set the creative tone for the company and find the next “Simpsons.”

The company’s stock price, meanwhile, fell from its initial value of $10 to about $1 a share last year. It closed Monday at $2.13.

Friends of Roman’s said he had become increasingly disillusioned with corporate cartoon-making and itched to return to drawing.

“Phil never set out to have the biggest company in town,” said Bill Schultz, who worked closely with Roman as an executive vice president at Film Roman before becoming an independent producer. “Phil’s love is classical animation, and there’s no doubt that the landscape of the animation business has changed.”

Roman, the son of immigrant grape farmers, came to Los Angeles 50 years ago to draw cartoons. He founded Film Roman in 1984 with a contract to make “Garfield” specials.

Film Roman will keep its name for now, said Pritchard, adding that the company plans to expand the use of computer graphics and possibly co-produce an animated feature film.

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And thanks to Bart Simpson and his lovably pathetic family, even if Film Roman someday changes its name, Phil Roman won’t be forgotten.

“One of the most important trends on TV is the expansion of prime-time cartoons,” said Nelvana’s Hirsch. “Phil will be remembered for being part of the team that brought to life some of the best prime-time shows ever. He set the standards for what is possible.”