The brand managers at Georgia-Pacific were not about to budge. They agreed that Brawny Man, the plaid-shirted character adorning millions of paper-towel rolls, could come to life and share a moment with Mr. Clean. But their Angel Soft Baby, who had sold countless reams of toilet tissue, could never be displaced from her perch in the clouds.

Such concessions were typical of the two years spent negotiating for more than 80 food-industry characters to appear in “Foodfight!,” a computer-animated movie that was announced in 2000 by Threshold Entertainment. The company’s chief executive and chairman, Larry Kasanoff, proclaimed the project, featuring a voice cast led by Charlie Sheen and Eva Longoria, would help make Threshold’s animation arm “the next-generation Pixar.”

He predicted a huge $100 million tie-in merchandising campaign, with the film being promoted by partners like Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. There would be “Foodfight!” Web episodes, storybooks, plush toys and possibly a live stage show, “Foodfight on Ice.”

That final notion was prescient. Despite Mr. Kasanoff’s track record — a producer on “True Lies,” he was a onetime partner of James Cameron and had control over much of the lucrative “Mortal Kombat” multimedia franchise — “Foodfight!” failed to make a 2002 release, as well as anticipated 2005, 2006 and 2007 dates.