# Despite Earlier Statements to the Contrary, Disney Forced Jersey Jack Pinball to Use Toy Story 4 **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2022-09-19 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/despite-earlier-statements-to-the-contrary-disney-forced-jersey-jack-pinball-to-use-toy-story-4 --- ## Analysis According to Knapp Arcade's analysis of a Jersey Jack Pinball Twitch stream, Project Manager Peter Dorn revealed that Disney mandated Jersey Jack use Toy Story 4 as the theme, contradicting earlier JJP statements that suggested the company chose the film. Dorn stated Disney has absolute authority over licensed properties and JJP 'didn't really have a choice' in the film selection. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Peter Dorn stated Disney directed Jersey Jack to make Toy Story 4 specifically, not that JJP chose it — _Direct quote from Peter Dorn at 50-minute mark of Jersey Jack Twitch broadcast: 'Disney has the absolute right to tell us what to do with that game. So when we were directed to do Toy Story 4, that's what we had to do. With that license we didn't really have a choice.'_ - [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack previously implied they could choose any Toy Story film but selected Toy Story 4 — _Knapp Arcade author's interpretation of 'previous statements': 'it was strongly implied that the company had the ability to create the pinball machine around any of the Toy Story movies but chose to go with Toy Story 4'_ - [HIGH] Disney retains absolute creative control over how Jersey Jack develops licensed properties — _Peter Dorn quote: 'Disney has the absolute right to tell us what to do with that game'_ ### Notable Quotes > "Toy Story is a phenomenal license to have. Disney has the absolute right to tell us what to do with that game. So when we were directed to do Toy Story 4, that's what we had to do. With that license we didn't really have a choice." > — **Peter Dorn, Project Manager at Jersey Jack Pinball**, 50:00 > _Direct evidence that Disney mandated the Toy Story 4 theme choice, contradicting JJP's earlier messaging that implied they had selected the film. Reveals the power dynamic and constraints of major IP licensing deals in pinball._ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Pinball game manufacturer; created Toy Story 4 game under Disney's direction | | Disney | company | IP licensor that mandated Jersey Jack produce Toy Story 4 rather than allowing choice of Toy Story film | | Toy Story 4 | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game based on Pixar film; revealed to be Disney-mandated choice rather than JJP's selection | | Peter Dorn | person | Project Manager at Jersey Jack Pinball; revealed on Twitch stream that Disney directed the Toy Story 4 choice | | Knapp Arcade | organization | Pinball industry analysis/media outlet; author analyzed JJP Twitch broadcast and detected contradiction in messaging | ### Topics - **Primary:** Licensing constraints and IP control, Jersey Jack Pinball messaging and transparency, Toy Story 4 game theme selection - **Secondary:** Disney's power over pinball licensees ### Sentiment **Negative** (-0.65) — The tone is investigative and critical. Knapp Arcade highlights a discrepancy between JJP's prior statements and the actual situation, suggesting JJP may have been misleading the community. The framing emphasizes Disney's control and JJP's lack of choice, which carries negative implications for game design autonomy. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Major IP licensors like Disney exercise significant control over licensed pinball game development, limiting manufacturer autonomy in creative decisions (confidence: high) — Disney's ability to 'direct' JJP on which film to use, with JJP stating they had no choice in the matter - **[community_signal]** Discrepancy between JJP's earlier statements suggesting choice in film selection and the revealed truth that Disney mandated Toy Story 4 (confidence: high) — Knapp Arcade explicitly notes prior statements 'strongly implied' JJP chose the film, but Dorn's statement reveals this was misleading - **[licensing_signal]** Disney exercised mandatory creative control over film selection for Toy Story pinball, contradicting JJP's implied messaging that the company chose Toy Story 4 (confidence: high) — Peter Dorn quote: 'when we were directed to do Toy Story 4, that's what we had to do. With that license we didn't really have a choice.' --- ## Transcript I was away at my son's first college Parents Weekend this weekend, so I've been catching up on the happenings in the hobby over the past couple of days. Last night, I watched the great stream that the Jersey Jack team did of the Company's newest game, Toy Story 4 on the Flip N Out Twitch Channel Friday night. Here's the first piece of interesting information that I have been able to extract from it... At the 50 minute mark in the broadcast, Peter Dorn, Project Manager at Jersey Jack stated the following: "Toy Story is a phenomenal license to have. Disney has the absolute right to tell us what to do with that game. So when we were directed to do Toy Story 4, that's what we had to do. With that license we didn't really have a choice." In previous statements on the subject, it was strongly implied that the company had the ability to create the pinball machine around any of the Toy Story movies but chose to go with Toy Story 4. That definitely does not seem to be the case. Here's a link to the Twitch broadcast with lots of great gameplay of Toy Story 4 for anyone who wants to check it out: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1592937841?t=00h49m48s _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 6b1b5de9-7a75-4a31-9795-8bd8a265324c*