Disney?

[KennethE]

Has this "Jack and the Beanstalk" been confirmed by multiple trustworthy sources? It sounds promising, but I haven't heard of this project until now. "Joe Jump" had been dead for quite some time. Pixar's "Newt" is dead too.

And the saddest news of all, "Snow Queen" had been cancelled after it had been rescued from development heck. I do hope Disney continues their traditional animation plans after "Winnie the Pooh."

[DisneyJedi]

Has this "Jack and the Beanstalk" been confirmed by multiple trustworthy sources? It sounds promising, but I haven't heard of this project until now. "Joe Jump" had been dead for quite some time. Pixar's "Newt" is dead too.

And the saddest news of all, "Snow Queen" had been cancelled after it had been rescued from development heck. I do hope Disney continues their traditional animation plans after "Winnie the Pooh."

Actually, Newt and Snow Queen were shelved due to production complications, unless I'm mistaken. Somehow, I think I can understand Newt, but I'm a little more mad about TSQ.

[Flanger-Hanger]

Don't know if this goes best here, but it sure is interesting!:

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/20 ... isney.html

[Goliath]

Don't know if this goes best here, but it sure is interesting!:

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/20 ... isney.html

What's that sound I keep hearing?

...

Oh never mind, it's just Walt weeping.

[Flanger-Hanger]

Reflecting on the article, it doesn't really seem to me that somehow Disney is changing. In movie business logic what i the point in spending alot of money if you're not sure if you can get it back? The franchise logic is nothing new to Disney or Hollywood and I wouldn't expect the "bread and butter" pictures to go away any time soon. Its far easier for them to turn a profit anyway.

The only thing of concern to me is how will the "Disney blockbuster" attitude affect The Black Hole's content. Tron's box office performance will no doubt have an affect on it too.

The only thing different now is that 2-D animation seems to be going into limbo.

[Duckburger]

Yeah, this article was posted in the Proposal on dvd/blu-ray thread too. I'll just copy-paste my comment from there.

So basically, the movies become commercials to sell the merchandise. My question is how long will it take before movie-goers start to tire of 60 to 90 minutes commercials. Someone needs to remind Iger that the Walt Disney Studios is primarily a MOVIE studio. Not some merchandise cash-cow.

Now don't get me wrong, I like those mass big-budget special effect films like Alice in Wonderland, Tron Legacy and Prince of Persia. But if that means we'll only get 5/6 movies each year... who all have big merchandise deals, and that's it. Yeah, not so keen on that.

In other news, I can't wait for "National Treasure 171/2: Get A Nicolas Cage Cut-Out Free At Best Buy"

[WDWLocal]

The only thing different now is that 2-D animation seems to be going into limbo.

No, it is not!

[Goliath]

@ Flanger-Hanger:

The difference is that, in Walt's days, he would make a film because he wanted to make a film. He wanted to tell a story and that's why a film was made. The merchandise was only a logical result of the film being made, but a result nonetheless, and not the starting point. This article suggests that nowadays, merchandise is the starting point, and merchandising possibilities dictate whether or not a film can be made. The irony in all this is of course that the article is about sequels, and the cheap, awful quick-cash-in dtv sequels are another example of money before movies. Walt risked millions of dollars in debt to make his films. That's why I said Walt is weeping.

Of course it's not only Disney doing this. It's the whole industry. This whole process, in which merchandising has become more important than the movies (at least in Hollywood), exploded in the 1990's. Jurrassic Park is one of the best-known examples. The film features a scene in which JP-merchandise is shown! It was mocking its own film. Basically it was saying to the audience: "psst, this is really one big commercial". And more and more films are becoming one big commercial. Awful movies like Transformers for example are only made with one purpose: to sell stuff!

If you wanna see an American movie worth watching these days (one that's being made with integrity and passion), you have to avoid Hollywood like the plague.

[Goliath]

The only thing different now is that 2-D animation seems to be going into limbo.

No, it is not!

Yes it is!

[Flanger-Hanger]

Of course it's not only Disney doing this. It's the whole industry. This whole process, in which merchandising has become more important than the movies (at least in Hollywood), exploded in the 1990's. Jurrassic Park is one of the best-known examples. The film features a scene in which JP-merchandise is shown! It was mocking its own film. Basically it was saying to the audience: "psst, this is really one big commercial". And more and more films are becoming one big commercial. Awful movies like Transformers for example are only made with one purpose: to sell stuff!

Considering Transformers was based on a toyline and that even the 1986 movie was an excuse to kill off the old toys and show off the new ones, that's a given. But yes, product placement and the like is becoming more rampant. I'd also say that MB's Transformer films were bound to be bad, product placement or not.

As mentioned in the article, a large part of this thinking is that blockbuster films are costing so much these days. When I think of a film like District 9 which cost $30 million to make and had effects no less impressive than some $200+ million blockbuster I have to wonder who is getting paid what sum. There's probably more to it than that such as the size of the crew, but even Disney animator's themselves acting like "Hollywood Royalty" helped to drive up the cost of post-Lion King films. The potential advertising space of product placement is also quite appealing to an industry who is always looking to find ways to put their image out there.

The more you spend on a movie the harder it is to make your investment back. That's why The Proposal doesn't need a doll line or sets of pajamas.
However, it is sad that a large portion of film making is based on it.

If you wanna see an American movie worth watching these days (one that's being made with integrity and passion), you have to avoid Hollywood like the plague.

I still like The Dark Knight, Princess and the Frog and some Pixar stuff.

[Elladorine]

Merchandise has always had a say in how many shows and movies are produced and which concepts are greenlit. The easiest example I can think of is The Flintstones. They were originally going to have a son named Rocky but the tables were turned when someone realized that baby girl dolls would sell better than baby boy dolls.

We used to have whole shows completely generated around existing toys (i.e. Hot Wheels) and even characters created specifically to sell products (Linus the Lionhearted). Even though the laws were changed in 1969 to prevent children's show characters to appear within ads of the same program, shows continued to be built around marketable toys/concepts in the following decades (Strawberry Shortcake, He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, My Little Pony, Rubik the Amazing Cube, etc.).

And we've had product placement for years. How noble was it for Superman to advertize cigarettes in the 80's? Yes, Jurassic Park was making fun of the concept, as did Wayne's World. The thing is, I don't think Disney's been particularly guilty of basing their entertainment on potential products or tie-ins until recently (aside from sponsorship at Disneyland, but that's a different story altogether); it seemed to be more of an after-thought.

The times, they are a-changin.'

[WDWLocal]

Yes it is!

No, it is not and you know that it's not!

You're one of the worst and most mean-spirited members here.

[Giygas]

You're one of the worst and most mean-spirited members here.

Ouch.

I didn't know you could receive that title simply by saying, "There haven't been many 2D films within the past couple of years".

[Wonderlicious]

You're one of the worst and most mean-spirited members here.

Ouch.

I didn't know you could receive that title simply by saying, "There haven't been many 2D films within the past couple of years".

Plus, whilst I'm not a mod, what WDWLocal has said is technically is a bit of a personal remark...

[Super Aurora]

Yes it is!

No, it is not and you know that it's not!

You're one of the worst and most mean-spirited members here.

[Duckburger]

I will raise your "Bawwwww!" with my "Waaahmbulance".



Remember kids, personal insults are never the answer. Or else the Waaahmbulance will get you, they - like the police - will find you.

[blackcauldron85]

I just right-click-saved both of those pictures. What is the crying bunny from?

[Goliath]

Yes, it is!

No, it is not and you know that it's not!

You're one of the worst and most mean-spirited members here.

[Super Aurora]

I just right-click-saved both of those pictures. What is the crying bunny from?

I forgot what comic it was from But I know how it first came to used. A lot of people(myself including) from 4chan and other places hates furries and that was used to mock them.

[blackcauldron85]

Oh, ok...that's a little weird, but it's good to know! Thanks!