What advice do you guys have for Disney?
I just got the Beauty and the Beast blur ray and that is a HOT look!
But you know what Disney needs to do? They really need to go ahead and release Hercules and Tarzan on Blu Ray. In fact, they might as well go ahead and release a box set of the Renaissance collection. I'd wait outside Best Buy for that.
What suggestions do you all have for Disney?
Your advice for Disney
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tlc38tlc38
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I don't really have "advice" for Disney, cause my 2 cents worth isn't gonna amount to a hill of pinto beans. But, I would like to see some of the older DACs come out on Blu-ray (The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, etc.).
Walmart: the perfect place to shop for a headache at a discount price.
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Scarred4life
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Disneyphile
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ajmrowland
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singerguy04
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Give us 2-disc Collector's Editions of each DAC, complete with a strong making-of and bonus features. Even with a very limited release per film, I don't see how this would be a waste of time or money on the company's part.
Or in the very least increase the collectibility somehow of each film by creating a separate iron case or something that could be a mail in offer for the film after it's purchase.
Or in the very least increase the collectibility somehow of each film by creating a separate iron case or something that could be a mail in offer for the film after it's purchase.
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AladdinFan
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VagueSimplicity
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agreed! if they did a mail in, it would have to be available to customers outside the USA as well.singerguy04 wrote:Give us 2-disc Collector's Editions of each DAC, complete with a strong making-of and bonus features. Even with a very limited release per film, I don't see how this would be a waste of time or money on the company's part.
Or in the very least increase the collectibility somehow of each film by creating a separate iron case or something that could be a mail in offer for the film after it's purchase.
i quite enjoy most or the sequels... it would be neat to see them boxed with the original in a standard case.
big kid at heart
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singerguy04
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For a little while the Disney Movie Club was re-releasing some films in a tine like the treasure sets, where the entire previous package would sit inside the silver snap together tin. The tin could feature a pic of a original theatrical poster or something centered on the front. Something like that would be really awesome as a mail in offer if they didn't want to do the ironpacks and steelbooks that Best Buy and Futureshop get.
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jpanimation
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Mickeyfan1990
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My advice to Disney:
-Listen to the fans on DVD releases, see what they want
-Continue making Disney shorts
-Instead of making a Playhouse Disney channel, make a channel featuring Diseny shows from 50's-mid 00's and call it Disney Retro
-If you're going to make a Playhouse Disney channel, at least add the classic Playhouse Disney shows (Amazing Animals, PB&J, Rolie Polie Olie, etc.)
-Listen to the fans on DVD releases, see what they want
-Continue making Disney shorts
-Instead of making a Playhouse Disney channel, make a channel featuring Diseny shows from 50's-mid 00's and call it Disney Retro
-If you're going to make a Playhouse Disney channel, at least add the classic Playhouse Disney shows (Amazing Animals, PB&J, Rolie Polie Olie, etc.)
I agree about killing the sequels.. it's so unfortunate how terrible the majority of them are. It really ruins the memory of the original movies, you know? I would also love a Renaissance box set! 
That would be pretty amazing regardless of the price. I'd really like for Disney to keep their animation department strong and continue making wonderful films. I'm not crazy about the whole surge of teen related live actions [Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life, ect.] but if it's paying the bills and keeps Disney in a place where they can experiment creatively in other departments, then I'm all for it. I'd just really like for them to give all their animated films equal treatment, regardless of success.
That would be pretty amazing regardless of the price. I'd really like for Disney to keep their animation department strong and continue making wonderful films. I'm not crazy about the whole surge of teen related live actions [Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life, ect.] but if it's paying the bills and keeps Disney in a place where they can experiment creatively in other departments, then I'm all for it. I'd just really like for them to give all their animated films equal treatment, regardless of success.-
Escapay
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I've been writing this for the past couple hours, so I may have repeated some advice. I know this is an online forum and my suggestions won't even make it to the Walt Disney Company mailroom, but since they do read the forums on occasion (members BVHE-Rep and WaltDisneyPictures are living proof), if they happen to stumble upon this, then my long rambling that follows will have been worth it...
Suggestion #1: Better Treatment for Your Cast Members
Your training of cast members is very effective. I have hardly, if ever, referred to them as Employees. I still use the Disney Point. I always smile when I answer the phone. I learned a lot about guest services and high-quality presentation from my brief two-and-a-half College Programs at Walt Disney World. I'm sure such training is also present in your other theme parks and your main company. But "Disney Cast Member" doesn't end there. You need to ensure that treatment and training extend to every subsidiary. You guys call yourselves one big happy Disney Family, but it's not always apparent.
First off, you need better work conditions in the overseas sweatshop factories. It's one of the more shameful aspects of your company (and many others). By our North American standards, they're shameful. And yes, maybe by some poor Asian household standards they're beneficial. But you need to step up and actually say "This is wrong. They deserve better. And we can afford it." I know that's far-reaching in such a capitalistic-centered country and worldwide economy. But someone has to step up and change things. Why not Disney?
Hire legal and of-age workers and give them benefits. Children should be playing with a Mickey Mouse toy, not making them. Make the overseas factories a place people want to work at, not a place people have no choice but to work at. It's all about the quality once again. Something the company prides itself in, in both movies and media and commercialism. So why isn't it available at the places where this quality product comes from?
Next, your theme park policies need a serious re-evaluation. Your hiring/firing policies are severely flawed, and I'm not speaking about it from my personal bias. It simply is flawed. You're so quick to fire that you end up so quick to hire in order to replace them. And when there's always such a high turnover rate among College Program cast members, something must be wrong with the system. This is the same system, after all, that hired them in the first place. And they hired so many because they had to fire so many, or they overworked so many that they quit before their program was done. It's not always a stupid college kid's fault. Bad management, bad training, bad guests. Things need to improve within the system instead of always blaming new hires.
In addition, quit giving the shaft to full-timers in order to ensure more hours for the cheap College Program kids. For some full-timers, going from 45 hours a week to 30 hours a week is the difference between paying the bills or getting evicted. They need their role MUCH MORE than a college kid. Not to say college kids should be given the shaft. But they're only temporary workers anyway. You're only ensured to have them for four or seven months at most. Then you go through the hassle of constantly training new ones. The full-timers are full-time for a reason. Without them, your college kids won't know the difference between "Magic Moment" and "Take Five".
Finally, the "no-rehire" policy has to go. Don't permanently tarnish any cast member's prospect of being re-hired with such a stupid policy. And yes, this one is a little bit of personal bias. But seriously, a minor transgression from any college kid during a four-month program is NOT a reflection of who that person is if/when years later they want to work professionally in another division of the company. What if Steve Martin got fired from his magic shop and came back later a successful comedian wanting to collaborate with Disney on a film, only to be told no because that pesky "no-rehire" status can't be overturned?
Suggestion #2: Don't Alienate Longtime Fans
I'm probably the first to always say that fans are the worst part about fandom, because based on my experiences in UD alone, they can get very vicious and passionate in what *they* want and what *they* believe in. But at the same time, such a devotion should be commended. They're investing their time and money into something that they *do* believe in. I don't want to say they should be rewarded for that, but that they shouldn't be taken for granted.
A prime example is the Baby Boomers, the kids who grew up with Disney during the prime of the company's life. They saw the pictures first-hand, they went to the parks with Walt, they watched "Mickey Mouse Club" faithfully every day at 5:00pm on ABC. They are the longest-serving generation of Disney fans, and the ones who have had the most influence on future Disney fans. They were the parents, the grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the big brothers and big sisters, of nearly every future Disney fan ever created.
And Disney treats them like shit. It's pathetic. Marketing and promotion for anything from the Walt-Era that didn't have a Princess or a Poppins is barely visible. When was the last time anyone saw "Davy Crockett" on television? How many people are still aware of Westward Ho, the Wagons? Does anyone still go around singing "Pretty Irish Girl" or "The Monkey's Uncle"? No. Disney has ultimately decided that such things of the past should remain in the past, only faint memories for people who were there, or newly-discovered treasures for fans devoted enough to find them.
It has got to stop.
There is still a viable market for product from the Baby Boomer generation. There is always a viable market for vintage. All that's old eventually becomes new, and Disney should not be such an exception to that. The company is far too focused on what's in the future that they forget their past. And I'm not talking about ensuring that every future film is only done in the vein of Cinderella or Lady and the Tramp or Pinocchio. I'm talking about respecting the past that built the company by ensuring it continues on in the present and in the future.
So, within my first suggestion are mini suggestions on how NOT to alienate the longtime fans:
1. Bring back the Walt Disney Treasures. It was the only good connection an entire generation had to their Disney-infused childhood. And this time, treat it properly. No more "limited edition" nonsense. No more high-price tins. Make it worth collecting for people who want it, but not so far-reaching for people who can't afford it first week. That not only introduces a nasty bragging-rights issue of "I have it, you don't, nyah-nyah" but it also is simply bad marketing. What's the point of appealing to a built-in reliable audience if you're only going to be able to satisfy the first 30,000 who happen to find it in stores? And of those 30,000 how many are genuine fans and how many are simply profiteering off of a fan six months later who'll pay 3x the SRP to get something that should be available to anyone who wants it?
2. Ensure that vintage programming be available. Turner Classic Movies is living proof that people still enjoy material made "way back when" and before their time. And there are various cable or digital shows that are committed to showing vintage programming. I would cite "TV Land" but that's become a shell of its former self. But look at channels like "Sleuth". In its heydey, it had classic shows like "The Rockford Files", "Simon and Simon", "Dragnet", etc. Of course, network fiddling led to it being largely a rerun area for recent shows. But before, it had an audience. A devoted audience. Disney needs that devoted audience, no matter how small. A lot of fans LOVED the Vault Disney programming block. Bring that back. Even if it's nothing but reruns 24/7, it will always have an audience. And if it doesn't, then sell the material. DisneyMoviesOnline.com is a great start, but it needs to appeal to more than just folks who don't want to buy DVDs since they don't need special features.
3. Celebrate your past. A Diamond Edition re-release of a Walt movie doesn't count. Those movies have become timeless because of their own inherent qualities, not necessarily because of the Disney name. So celebrate that Disney has become Disney by celebrating everything else that helped build up those great movies. Theme park events are a good way to start. It brings back a childhood to the parent/grandparent visiting with their children/grandchildren. And it ensures that such a past gets passed down to the next generation.
4. Treat your vintage programming/movies/etc. with the respect it deserves, and the respect it brought your company. Look at how Warner Bros. handled their film catalogue in the 2000s. Themed box sets devoted to actors or filmmakers. Special features that highlight the year a film was made ("Warner Night at the Movies") and/or featurettes (however brief or lengthy) about the film. It may not seem like much, but can mean the world to someone. Most of your movies were preceded by a Disney cartoon during its theatrical run. Include that cartoon. Include vintage trailers. Include "Disneyland" excerpts. I don't know who runs your Home Entertainment division, but they did a very lousy job in the past decade. Only a select few films actually got decent treatment on home video, most others were rush jobs of the wrong aspect ratio, no special features, and little/no remastering. Don't let new Disney fans experience your history like THAT. It brings on a sense of "If it wasn't worth it for the company to present properly, it's probably not worth me to watch." A charming film like Treasure Island, which is noteworthy in many respects (first fully-live action Disney film, first Disney film shot in England, first Disney film of your greatest decade: the 1950s, etc.) had such a lousy DVD that you had to buy Treasure Planet just to get the original film's trailer. Where the hell was the logic in that?
I could go on and on about how you could improve your Home Entertainment division. But I don't need to. You simply need to take a page from other studios. Offer restored/remastered films and television in their original aspect ratio (theatrical, not filmed). Supply retrospective special features when you can. Vintage material is always welcome, be it a "Disneyland" excerpt, a theatrical cartoon or live-action short, photo galleries, even on-set footage with retrospective commentary. Don't be afraid of trailers. They're the easiest special feature to put on the disc. Just remember: the difference between "try" and "triumph" is a little "umph!" Add that little umph, it's always appreciated.
5. Get open and honest interviews with people who worked with your company over the years. Bank those interviews for future use. You never know when you'll need them. A prime example is when Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow finally came to DVD in 2008. Patrick McGoohan died a couple months after its release. You were lucky to have gotten him to speak about the film when he did. A film like Song of the South isn't so lucky. Practically nobody is left who worked on the production. If/when that ever gets released, who's available to talk about it first-hand? All the information would have to come second-hand from old Disney historians. And let's face it, Leonard Maltin, Paula Sigman, John Canemaker, et al won't be around forever either.
Look at the Archive of American Television. They interview hundreds of television personalities, people who MADE the television business what it is. These interviews are HOURS long. And they contain a wealth of information that may not otherwise be revealed elsewhere, be it a book or a documentary, or whatnot. It's a way of preserving history, and continues on the oral tradition of storytelling that has been around for thousands of years.
Preserve your history. Interview those that were there, while they're still here. This business of getting them only when you need to for the next documentary will bite you in the butt one day.
Amazingly, all the above is more or less about the Baby Boomer generation, but applies to every generation of Disney fans. You always find ways to shove them aside in order to kiss ass to the new crop. Quit shoving us aside. Otherwise, twenty years from now, you'll get the same complaints from the kids who grew up on "The Suite Life" and "That's So Raven" and want to know why Disney Channel doesn't show *their* shows anymore.
Suggestion #3: Don't Turn Every Pretty Young Thing into a Triple Threat
Quite frankly, not every "actor" under 25 can act, sing, and dance. Just because you promote them as triple threats doesn't mean they are. Stop trying to make them be one. Focus on what they're actually talented at and build on that.
You have managed to find good talent over the years, but you overuse them to death. The main reason most people don't like them is because Disney markets them in such a way to make them unlikeable to anyone outside the target demographic, and they give them crappy projects to work on. It drives factions of fans crazy, even if it placates the ones who like them. Why the hell did you greenlight "Pair of Kings"? It sounds absolutely atrocious, and if is the only way you figured you can hold on to Mitchell Musso and Doc Shaw, that's rather pathetic. Would've been easier to simply make a "Hannah Montana" spin-off with Musso and Emily Osment, featuring Doc Shaw as the plucky new sidekick. Ask Judd Apatow or Kevin Williamson for advice on writing teenagers in television.
I would say more, but honestly, what else is there to say? Besides, you'll dump them after they finish puberty and move on to the next one. I don't blame them for growing old and leaving you. You've turned "Disney Child Star" into a nasty stigma on an actor.
Suggestion #4: Equal Treatment of Hand-Drawn & CGI Animation, at both Disney AND Pixar
This will likely be a very unpopular suggestion, but one that I think should be necessary. Open up a hand-drawn animation unit at Pixar. Thus, it would allow BOTH Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios to produce hand-drawn animated and CGI animated features. Toggle the releases too so that it's always one Disney & one Pixar each year, regardless of the medium (e.g.: 2014 sees Disney CGI/Pixar CGI, 2015 sees Disney CGI/Pixar hand-drawn, 2016 sees Disney hand-drawn/Pixar CGI). Films can be made in whichever medium the filmmakers want, there shouldn't be a "only hand-drawn at Disney, only CGI at Pixar." That's already creating an unnecessary and uneasy tension between the two studios. I'm not sure how long such a relationship could last, but put both studios on equal footing.
While we're discussing animated films, these next suggestions are entirely selfish and things I've always wanted Disney to do, because I trust that the group of filmmakers there can do these stories justice much better than any other company. Make animated features based on Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit, the Grimm fairy tale "The Elves and the Shoemaker", and the Japanese folk tale "Momotarō" (Peach Boy). Whether they're hand-drawn or CGI is up to the directors. But all three are wonderful stories that have potential to be great animated films.
Sticking with animation for awhile, I think it'd be best to retain DisneyToon Studios after the Tinker Bell films. Use it as a "training" animation studio that creates animated television shows and theatrical shorts. It's the training ground for new and young animators, much like how the theatrical shorts were training ground for animators in Walt's time. In addition, ensure that every theatrical feature is preceded by a short subject film, be it animated or live-action. It brings back a tradition from cinema of yore, whilst also ensuring that there is more product for people to see. And talking about the theatres brings me to my next suggestion...
Suggestion #5: Take Better-Decided Chances at the Box Office
The company plays it safe way too often, even when they do take chances. Look at the Jerry Bruckheimer Flops of 2010. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was meant to be the next POTC that too much time was spent making it look like amazing eye candy and not enough on making it a good movie. The Sorcerer's Apprentice was based on the original story and not one of the most beloved segments of Fantasia, but not many people understood that and thus most compared it unfavorably to the original. On top of that, it was a mediocre film that at least had good performances (Even Nic Cage surprised me).
Secretariat on the other hand looks to be the films that Disney should still be making. Mid-to-low-budget with a reliable cast and what looks to be a strong story. Walt did this all the time. Audiences thrived on his live-action features in the 50s and 60s, even the bad ones (yes, there is such a thing as a bad Walt-Era film). Because there was that quality, that story and characters come first before the need to bring in the money. Alas, such a method of filmmaking is few and far between thanks to the advent of the blockbuster. But it can still be an effective method. A tentpole picture that is big-budget, and a slew of mid-to-low-budget films that either make or break themselves at the box-office. But above all, ensure that the films are worth watching, regardless its budget and/or star power.
Quit the bullshit of appealing to teenage boys. Your audience is far wider than that (and that goes for every Hollywood studio). At the same time, even if your audience isn't teenage boys, don't turn a movie into the anti-teenage-boy film. Hannah Montana: The Movie appealed to only one demographic, but ten years earlier you guys were making The Straight Story (by David Lynch!). Twenty years earlier you were making the likes of Shipwrecked, The Rescuers Down Under, White Fang. You actually had variety. What happened?!?
Film-going is a multi-generational experience. Ensure that everyone has a good time when they go, not just a certain faction of the audience. Remember, a profitable audience is one with a lot of butts in the seats. Don't discriminate those butts by age or gender. While desired age/gender of the intended butts can be a part of the creative process when developing the film, it should not be the primary part of it.
Suggestion #6: Don't Base Everything On Marketing
It's a sad day in Disney history when fans found out about the new Winnie the Pooh movie not from Walt Disney Animation Studios, but by their marketing department who were getting ready with new product and merchandise.
Films should get made based on how well the story is and how well it can bring in an audience willing to watch that story. NOT how well it can sell merchandise. Your film IS the merchandise. Everything else is ancillary, the icing on the cake, the cherry on top. A film's success should be based on the film, not on its merchandise, even if it is helpful.
I still can't believe you won't make The Proposal 2 simply because there were no Sandra Bullock Hand Towels to sell, or whatnot.
Suggestion #7: Make "Disney Channel" Multi-Generational Again
Disney Channel changes its image with every generation, so much so that former viewers scoff at new shows and whine for *their* Disney Channel to come back. This can be remedied by ensuring that Disney Channel, while always having to re-invent itself whenever a new generation is introduced, still has appeal for the child viewers who grew up. I'm not saying rerun old programs 24/7 (Vault Disney Channel can easily do that
). But make Disney Channel worth watching for both the parent and the child and the twentysomething cousin babysitting one day. Don't pander it entirely to tweens, especially when it's the tweens' parents that have to buy the tie-in merchandise. There's not much else to say, because this should be common sense, especially at a company so focused on family-friendly entertainment.
Suggestion #8: Don't Always Do It For The Money
You need to outright tell your shareholders: "We are a company that cares about the bottom dollar, but we also want to ensure high quality in what that bottom dollar goes to. Therefore, decisions will be based on creativity more than financial gain, and sometimes we will make expensive gambles that simply don't pay off. But sometimes we'll also make expensive gambles that pay off tenfold. If you like it, thanks for supporting us. If you don't like it, sell back your stock."
It could easily be possible that if you had a CEO with the balls to say this and stand by, it would actually impress your shareholders and even get more people to buy Disney stock. But it is a ballsy thing to do, and I don't really expect this to happen. Still, it's nice to dream.
Suggestion #9: A Bunch of Selfish Requests
Release The Watcher in the Woods: The Director's Cut to theatres in 2015 to commemorate the film's 35th Anniversary. Ensure that John Hough gets the ending done the way he wanted to back in 1980.
With news that Newsies is in pre-production on Broadway, I can scratch that off my list. But I'd certainly love for the film to hit Blu-Ray in 2012 in order to promote the new musical, whilst also providing a new retrospective documentary with the filmmakers and newsies twenty years later. And if you can, get Bill Pullman join the Broadway cast for the first six months as reporter Bryan Denton. He can still pull it off. I've also got a Disney jukebox musical I've been writing in my spare time. Wouldn't mind if you had a look at that.
Regarding your home media output, that needs a serious shake-up as I already said above. For starters, you can put Aaron Willcott (disneyfella on UD) and Scott Something (AlwaysOAR on UD) in charge of the technical presentation of the live-action catalogue releases on home video (DVD, Blu-Ray, whatever comes next). They know more about OAR than the idiot that deemed 1.66:1 as "Family Friendly Widescreen" on several of your DVDs some years ago. In addition, they'll ensure that the theatrical presentation is preserved (not just in OAR, but in theatrical shorts/cartoon presented with them), and actually consult resources that ensure that. Pressbooks, remember them?
Also, it'd be great if you created a Disney "Restoration Team" website that allows them to discuss the restorations of both their live-action films and their pre-CAPS animated films. These are professionals who know what they're doing and have years of experience as well as endless archives from Disney. If that doesn't silence the rabid fans who insist they know better because they have a laserdisc, nothing will. Plus, it'll be a great open forum for fans to suggest extras, especially when it may be something that Disney isn't even aware of themselves. Who knows Disney better than the fans? I remember a couple years ago when Bill Cotter posted he was interviewed for the then-forthcoming "Zorro" Treasures. He asked for suggestions from UDers on things that could be included in the Treasures (if time and budget allowed), and there were various suggestions including things that Disney themselves weren't aware of!
Finally, end the Animated Classics caste system where the big moneymakers get lavish treatment, the middle moneymakers get fairly decent treatment, while the rest get crap.
Every film (be it live-action, animated, CGI, stop-motion, mo-cap, shadow puppets, finger paints, etc.) is equal and deserving of a Special Edition treatment on home video. There should be no need for pseudo-important collection names based on elements like Gold, Lead, Copper, Jet, Diamond, Radium, Sapphire, Silver, and Steel (Sapphire and Steel have been assigned! ).
Blu-Ray and DVD should be equal too. Simply to shut up the fanboys on both sides.
albert
Suggestion #1: Better Treatment for Your Cast Members
Your training of cast members is very effective. I have hardly, if ever, referred to them as Employees. I still use the Disney Point. I always smile when I answer the phone. I learned a lot about guest services and high-quality presentation from my brief two-and-a-half College Programs at Walt Disney World. I'm sure such training is also present in your other theme parks and your main company. But "Disney Cast Member" doesn't end there. You need to ensure that treatment and training extend to every subsidiary. You guys call yourselves one big happy Disney Family, but it's not always apparent.
First off, you need better work conditions in the overseas sweatshop factories. It's one of the more shameful aspects of your company (and many others). By our North American standards, they're shameful. And yes, maybe by some poor Asian household standards they're beneficial. But you need to step up and actually say "This is wrong. They deserve better. And we can afford it." I know that's far-reaching in such a capitalistic-centered country and worldwide economy. But someone has to step up and change things. Why not Disney?
Hire legal and of-age workers and give them benefits. Children should be playing with a Mickey Mouse toy, not making them. Make the overseas factories a place people want to work at, not a place people have no choice but to work at. It's all about the quality once again. Something the company prides itself in, in both movies and media and commercialism. So why isn't it available at the places where this quality product comes from?
Next, your theme park policies need a serious re-evaluation. Your hiring/firing policies are severely flawed, and I'm not speaking about it from my personal bias. It simply is flawed. You're so quick to fire that you end up so quick to hire in order to replace them. And when there's always such a high turnover rate among College Program cast members, something must be wrong with the system. This is the same system, after all, that hired them in the first place. And they hired so many because they had to fire so many, or they overworked so many that they quit before their program was done. It's not always a stupid college kid's fault. Bad management, bad training, bad guests. Things need to improve within the system instead of always blaming new hires.
In addition, quit giving the shaft to full-timers in order to ensure more hours for the cheap College Program kids. For some full-timers, going from 45 hours a week to 30 hours a week is the difference between paying the bills or getting evicted. They need their role MUCH MORE than a college kid. Not to say college kids should be given the shaft. But they're only temporary workers anyway. You're only ensured to have them for four or seven months at most. Then you go through the hassle of constantly training new ones. The full-timers are full-time for a reason. Without them, your college kids won't know the difference between "Magic Moment" and "Take Five".
Finally, the "no-rehire" policy has to go. Don't permanently tarnish any cast member's prospect of being re-hired with such a stupid policy. And yes, this one is a little bit of personal bias. But seriously, a minor transgression from any college kid during a four-month program is NOT a reflection of who that person is if/when years later they want to work professionally in another division of the company. What if Steve Martin got fired from his magic shop and came back later a successful comedian wanting to collaborate with Disney on a film, only to be told no because that pesky "no-rehire" status can't be overturned?
Suggestion #2: Don't Alienate Longtime Fans
I'm probably the first to always say that fans are the worst part about fandom, because based on my experiences in UD alone, they can get very vicious and passionate in what *they* want and what *they* believe in. But at the same time, such a devotion should be commended. They're investing their time and money into something that they *do* believe in. I don't want to say they should be rewarded for that, but that they shouldn't be taken for granted.
A prime example is the Baby Boomers, the kids who grew up with Disney during the prime of the company's life. They saw the pictures first-hand, they went to the parks with Walt, they watched "Mickey Mouse Club" faithfully every day at 5:00pm on ABC. They are the longest-serving generation of Disney fans, and the ones who have had the most influence on future Disney fans. They were the parents, the grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the big brothers and big sisters, of nearly every future Disney fan ever created.
And Disney treats them like shit. It's pathetic. Marketing and promotion for anything from the Walt-Era that didn't have a Princess or a Poppins is barely visible. When was the last time anyone saw "Davy Crockett" on television? How many people are still aware of Westward Ho, the Wagons? Does anyone still go around singing "Pretty Irish Girl" or "The Monkey's Uncle"? No. Disney has ultimately decided that such things of the past should remain in the past, only faint memories for people who were there, or newly-discovered treasures for fans devoted enough to find them.
It has got to stop.
There is still a viable market for product from the Baby Boomer generation. There is always a viable market for vintage. All that's old eventually becomes new, and Disney should not be such an exception to that. The company is far too focused on what's in the future that they forget their past. And I'm not talking about ensuring that every future film is only done in the vein of Cinderella or Lady and the Tramp or Pinocchio. I'm talking about respecting the past that built the company by ensuring it continues on in the present and in the future.
So, within my first suggestion are mini suggestions on how NOT to alienate the longtime fans:
1. Bring back the Walt Disney Treasures. It was the only good connection an entire generation had to their Disney-infused childhood. And this time, treat it properly. No more "limited edition" nonsense. No more high-price tins. Make it worth collecting for people who want it, but not so far-reaching for people who can't afford it first week. That not only introduces a nasty bragging-rights issue of "I have it, you don't, nyah-nyah" but it also is simply bad marketing. What's the point of appealing to a built-in reliable audience if you're only going to be able to satisfy the first 30,000 who happen to find it in stores? And of those 30,000 how many are genuine fans and how many are simply profiteering off of a fan six months later who'll pay 3x the SRP to get something that should be available to anyone who wants it?
2. Ensure that vintage programming be available. Turner Classic Movies is living proof that people still enjoy material made "way back when" and before their time. And there are various cable or digital shows that are committed to showing vintage programming. I would cite "TV Land" but that's become a shell of its former self. But look at channels like "Sleuth". In its heydey, it had classic shows like "The Rockford Files", "Simon and Simon", "Dragnet", etc. Of course, network fiddling led to it being largely a rerun area for recent shows. But before, it had an audience. A devoted audience. Disney needs that devoted audience, no matter how small. A lot of fans LOVED the Vault Disney programming block. Bring that back. Even if it's nothing but reruns 24/7, it will always have an audience. And if it doesn't, then sell the material. DisneyMoviesOnline.com is a great start, but it needs to appeal to more than just folks who don't want to buy DVDs since they don't need special features.
3. Celebrate your past. A Diamond Edition re-release of a Walt movie doesn't count. Those movies have become timeless because of their own inherent qualities, not necessarily because of the Disney name. So celebrate that Disney has become Disney by celebrating everything else that helped build up those great movies. Theme park events are a good way to start. It brings back a childhood to the parent/grandparent visiting with their children/grandchildren. And it ensures that such a past gets passed down to the next generation.
4. Treat your vintage programming/movies/etc. with the respect it deserves, and the respect it brought your company. Look at how Warner Bros. handled their film catalogue in the 2000s. Themed box sets devoted to actors or filmmakers. Special features that highlight the year a film was made ("Warner Night at the Movies") and/or featurettes (however brief or lengthy) about the film. It may not seem like much, but can mean the world to someone. Most of your movies were preceded by a Disney cartoon during its theatrical run. Include that cartoon. Include vintage trailers. Include "Disneyland" excerpts. I don't know who runs your Home Entertainment division, but they did a very lousy job in the past decade. Only a select few films actually got decent treatment on home video, most others were rush jobs of the wrong aspect ratio, no special features, and little/no remastering. Don't let new Disney fans experience your history like THAT. It brings on a sense of "If it wasn't worth it for the company to present properly, it's probably not worth me to watch." A charming film like Treasure Island, which is noteworthy in many respects (first fully-live action Disney film, first Disney film shot in England, first Disney film of your greatest decade: the 1950s, etc.) had such a lousy DVD that you had to buy Treasure Planet just to get the original film's trailer. Where the hell was the logic in that?
I could go on and on about how you could improve your Home Entertainment division. But I don't need to. You simply need to take a page from other studios. Offer restored/remastered films and television in their original aspect ratio (theatrical, not filmed). Supply retrospective special features when you can. Vintage material is always welcome, be it a "Disneyland" excerpt, a theatrical cartoon or live-action short, photo galleries, even on-set footage with retrospective commentary. Don't be afraid of trailers. They're the easiest special feature to put on the disc. Just remember: the difference between "try" and "triumph" is a little "umph!" Add that little umph, it's always appreciated.
5. Get open and honest interviews with people who worked with your company over the years. Bank those interviews for future use. You never know when you'll need them. A prime example is when Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow finally came to DVD in 2008. Patrick McGoohan died a couple months after its release. You were lucky to have gotten him to speak about the film when he did. A film like Song of the South isn't so lucky. Practically nobody is left who worked on the production. If/when that ever gets released, who's available to talk about it first-hand? All the information would have to come second-hand from old Disney historians. And let's face it, Leonard Maltin, Paula Sigman, John Canemaker, et al won't be around forever either.
Look at the Archive of American Television. They interview hundreds of television personalities, people who MADE the television business what it is. These interviews are HOURS long. And they contain a wealth of information that may not otherwise be revealed elsewhere, be it a book or a documentary, or whatnot. It's a way of preserving history, and continues on the oral tradition of storytelling that has been around for thousands of years.
Preserve your history. Interview those that were there, while they're still here. This business of getting them only when you need to for the next documentary will bite you in the butt one day.
Amazingly, all the above is more or less about the Baby Boomer generation, but applies to every generation of Disney fans. You always find ways to shove them aside in order to kiss ass to the new crop. Quit shoving us aside. Otherwise, twenty years from now, you'll get the same complaints from the kids who grew up on "The Suite Life" and "That's So Raven" and want to know why Disney Channel doesn't show *their* shows anymore.
Suggestion #3: Don't Turn Every Pretty Young Thing into a Triple Threat
Quite frankly, not every "actor" under 25 can act, sing, and dance. Just because you promote them as triple threats doesn't mean they are. Stop trying to make them be one. Focus on what they're actually talented at and build on that.
You have managed to find good talent over the years, but you overuse them to death. The main reason most people don't like them is because Disney markets them in such a way to make them unlikeable to anyone outside the target demographic, and they give them crappy projects to work on. It drives factions of fans crazy, even if it placates the ones who like them. Why the hell did you greenlight "Pair of Kings"? It sounds absolutely atrocious, and if is the only way you figured you can hold on to Mitchell Musso and Doc Shaw, that's rather pathetic. Would've been easier to simply make a "Hannah Montana" spin-off with Musso and Emily Osment, featuring Doc Shaw as the plucky new sidekick. Ask Judd Apatow or Kevin Williamson for advice on writing teenagers in television.
I would say more, but honestly, what else is there to say? Besides, you'll dump them after they finish puberty and move on to the next one. I don't blame them for growing old and leaving you. You've turned "Disney Child Star" into a nasty stigma on an actor.
Suggestion #4: Equal Treatment of Hand-Drawn & CGI Animation, at both Disney AND Pixar
This will likely be a very unpopular suggestion, but one that I think should be necessary. Open up a hand-drawn animation unit at Pixar. Thus, it would allow BOTH Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios to produce hand-drawn animated and CGI animated features. Toggle the releases too so that it's always one Disney & one Pixar each year, regardless of the medium (e.g.: 2014 sees Disney CGI/Pixar CGI, 2015 sees Disney CGI/Pixar hand-drawn, 2016 sees Disney hand-drawn/Pixar CGI). Films can be made in whichever medium the filmmakers want, there shouldn't be a "only hand-drawn at Disney, only CGI at Pixar." That's already creating an unnecessary and uneasy tension between the two studios. I'm not sure how long such a relationship could last, but put both studios on equal footing.
While we're discussing animated films, these next suggestions are entirely selfish and things I've always wanted Disney to do, because I trust that the group of filmmakers there can do these stories justice much better than any other company. Make animated features based on Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit, the Grimm fairy tale "The Elves and the Shoemaker", and the Japanese folk tale "Momotarō" (Peach Boy). Whether they're hand-drawn or CGI is up to the directors. But all three are wonderful stories that have potential to be great animated films.
Sticking with animation for awhile, I think it'd be best to retain DisneyToon Studios after the Tinker Bell films. Use it as a "training" animation studio that creates animated television shows and theatrical shorts. It's the training ground for new and young animators, much like how the theatrical shorts were training ground for animators in Walt's time. In addition, ensure that every theatrical feature is preceded by a short subject film, be it animated or live-action. It brings back a tradition from cinema of yore, whilst also ensuring that there is more product for people to see. And talking about the theatres brings me to my next suggestion...
Suggestion #5: Take Better-Decided Chances at the Box Office
The company plays it safe way too often, even when they do take chances. Look at the Jerry Bruckheimer Flops of 2010. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was meant to be the next POTC that too much time was spent making it look like amazing eye candy and not enough on making it a good movie. The Sorcerer's Apprentice was based on the original story and not one of the most beloved segments of Fantasia, but not many people understood that and thus most compared it unfavorably to the original. On top of that, it was a mediocre film that at least had good performances (Even Nic Cage surprised me).
Secretariat on the other hand looks to be the films that Disney should still be making. Mid-to-low-budget with a reliable cast and what looks to be a strong story. Walt did this all the time. Audiences thrived on his live-action features in the 50s and 60s, even the bad ones (yes, there is such a thing as a bad Walt-Era film). Because there was that quality, that story and characters come first before the need to bring in the money. Alas, such a method of filmmaking is few and far between thanks to the advent of the blockbuster. But it can still be an effective method. A tentpole picture that is big-budget, and a slew of mid-to-low-budget films that either make or break themselves at the box-office. But above all, ensure that the films are worth watching, regardless its budget and/or star power.
Quit the bullshit of appealing to teenage boys. Your audience is far wider than that (and that goes for every Hollywood studio). At the same time, even if your audience isn't teenage boys, don't turn a movie into the anti-teenage-boy film. Hannah Montana: The Movie appealed to only one demographic, but ten years earlier you guys were making The Straight Story (by David Lynch!). Twenty years earlier you were making the likes of Shipwrecked, The Rescuers Down Under, White Fang. You actually had variety. What happened?!?
Film-going is a multi-generational experience. Ensure that everyone has a good time when they go, not just a certain faction of the audience. Remember, a profitable audience is one with a lot of butts in the seats. Don't discriminate those butts by age or gender. While desired age/gender of the intended butts can be a part of the creative process when developing the film, it should not be the primary part of it.
Suggestion #6: Don't Base Everything On Marketing
It's a sad day in Disney history when fans found out about the new Winnie the Pooh movie not from Walt Disney Animation Studios, but by their marketing department who were getting ready with new product and merchandise.
Films should get made based on how well the story is and how well it can bring in an audience willing to watch that story. NOT how well it can sell merchandise. Your film IS the merchandise. Everything else is ancillary, the icing on the cake, the cherry on top. A film's success should be based on the film, not on its merchandise, even if it is helpful.
I still can't believe you won't make The Proposal 2 simply because there were no Sandra Bullock Hand Towels to sell, or whatnot.
Suggestion #7: Make "Disney Channel" Multi-Generational Again
Disney Channel changes its image with every generation, so much so that former viewers scoff at new shows and whine for *their* Disney Channel to come back. This can be remedied by ensuring that Disney Channel, while always having to re-invent itself whenever a new generation is introduced, still has appeal for the child viewers who grew up. I'm not saying rerun old programs 24/7 (Vault Disney Channel can easily do that
). But make Disney Channel worth watching for both the parent and the child and the twentysomething cousin babysitting one day. Don't pander it entirely to tweens, especially when it's the tweens' parents that have to buy the tie-in merchandise. There's not much else to say, because this should be common sense, especially at a company so focused on family-friendly entertainment.Suggestion #8: Don't Always Do It For The Money
You need to outright tell your shareholders: "We are a company that cares about the bottom dollar, but we also want to ensure high quality in what that bottom dollar goes to. Therefore, decisions will be based on creativity more than financial gain, and sometimes we will make expensive gambles that simply don't pay off. But sometimes we'll also make expensive gambles that pay off tenfold. If you like it, thanks for supporting us. If you don't like it, sell back your stock."
It could easily be possible that if you had a CEO with the balls to say this and stand by, it would actually impress your shareholders and even get more people to buy Disney stock. But it is a ballsy thing to do, and I don't really expect this to happen. Still, it's nice to dream.
Suggestion #9: A Bunch of Selfish Requests
Release The Watcher in the Woods: The Director's Cut to theatres in 2015 to commemorate the film's 35th Anniversary. Ensure that John Hough gets the ending done the way he wanted to back in 1980.
With news that Newsies is in pre-production on Broadway, I can scratch that off my list. But I'd certainly love for the film to hit Blu-Ray in 2012 in order to promote the new musical, whilst also providing a new retrospective documentary with the filmmakers and newsies twenty years later. And if you can, get Bill Pullman join the Broadway cast for the first six months as reporter Bryan Denton. He can still pull it off. I've also got a Disney jukebox musical I've been writing in my spare time. Wouldn't mind if you had a look at that.
Regarding your home media output, that needs a serious shake-up as I already said above. For starters, you can put Aaron Willcott (disneyfella on UD) and Scott Something (AlwaysOAR on UD) in charge of the technical presentation of the live-action catalogue releases on home video (DVD, Blu-Ray, whatever comes next). They know more about OAR than the idiot that deemed 1.66:1 as "Family Friendly Widescreen" on several of your DVDs some years ago. In addition, they'll ensure that the theatrical presentation is preserved (not just in OAR, but in theatrical shorts/cartoon presented with them), and actually consult resources that ensure that. Pressbooks, remember them?
Also, it'd be great if you created a Disney "Restoration Team" website that allows them to discuss the restorations of both their live-action films and their pre-CAPS animated films. These are professionals who know what they're doing and have years of experience as well as endless archives from Disney. If that doesn't silence the rabid fans who insist they know better because they have a laserdisc, nothing will. Plus, it'll be a great open forum for fans to suggest extras, especially when it may be something that Disney isn't even aware of themselves. Who knows Disney better than the fans? I remember a couple years ago when Bill Cotter posted he was interviewed for the then-forthcoming "Zorro" Treasures. He asked for suggestions from UDers on things that could be included in the Treasures (if time and budget allowed), and there were various suggestions including things that Disney themselves weren't aware of!
Finally, end the Animated Classics caste system where the big moneymakers get lavish treatment, the middle moneymakers get fairly decent treatment, while the rest get crap.
Every film (be it live-action, animated, CGI, stop-motion, mo-cap, shadow puppets, finger paints, etc.) is equal and deserving of a Special Edition treatment on home video. There should be no need for pseudo-important collection names based on elements like Gold, Lead, Copper, Jet, Diamond, Radium, Sapphire, Silver, and Steel (Sapphire and Steel have been assigned!
).Blu-Ray and DVD should be equal too. Simply to shut up the fanboys on both sides.
albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion?
WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
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SillySymphony
- Gold Classic Collection
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Still can't believe I sat here for 20 minutes reading that brilliantly made petition-suggestion-(plea-for-Disney-revival)-essay. 
I have to say that Suggestion #8 is one of hardest obstacles for Disney to conquer. Waking Sleeping Beauty exposed to everybody the skeleton in the closet...the cupboard...and the washing machine.
theCat'sOut/Flowers&Trees/theFlyingMouse/theSkeletonDance/theThreeLittlePigs
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Super Aurora
- Diamond Edition
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- Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:59 am
Escapy and JP animation pretty much covered all the points correctly. But I'll like to make one simple swift brief and blunt advice to them:
Grow some pair of balls..
Grow some pair of balls..
<i>Please limit signatures to 100 pixels high and 500 pixels wide</i>
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merlinjones
- Anniversary Edition
- Posts: 1056
- Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:52 am
I would encourage the company to make Walt Disney's personal works more readily available on DVD and Blu-Ray and CD for the general public. No matter how old -- these shows form the emotional core of the brand that keeps the characters and concepts alive and timeless for future generations.
This includes the cartoons, live-action films, TV movies and episodes that marketers may deem irrelevant or dated. Please find a way for the unreleased Walt Disney library assets to come to the marketplace (including such key titles as Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and Song of the South).
Corporate rights holders have a social obligation to exhibit historic intellectual properties under their copyright -- and with a bit of enthusiasm, these things can be marketed beyond nostalgic baby boomers (alone a big audience for these -- and one in need of Walt's reassuring themes) to fresh audiences -- as it has always been through the history of Disney.
This media empire was built on lasting themes, art and ideas -- a garden that needs tending and perpetuation and a bit of energetic marketing to create fresh awareness - - as the timely teens of today may sell in the short term, but they do not last in the heart.
Don't belittle those who appreciate Walt's work as fringe fans, but seek to grow this base - - as that's where the next John Lasseter or Tim Burton may come from.
(...and bravo to Escapay for that well-considered suggestion list).
This includes the cartoons, live-action films, TV movies and episodes that marketers may deem irrelevant or dated. Please find a way for the unreleased Walt Disney library assets to come to the marketplace (including such key titles as Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and Song of the South).
Corporate rights holders have a social obligation to exhibit historic intellectual properties under their copyright -- and with a bit of enthusiasm, these things can be marketed beyond nostalgic baby boomers (alone a big audience for these -- and one in need of Walt's reassuring themes) to fresh audiences -- as it has always been through the history of Disney.
This media empire was built on lasting themes, art and ideas -- a garden that needs tending and perpetuation and a bit of energetic marketing to create fresh awareness - - as the timely teens of today may sell in the short term, but they do not last in the heart.
Don't belittle those who appreciate Walt's work as fringe fans, but seek to grow this base - - as that's where the next John Lasseter or Tim Burton may come from.
(...and bravo to Escapay for that well-considered suggestion list).
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Wonderlicious
- Diamond Edition
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- Contact:
Weeeeeeeeell, Escapay got it all. Pretty much; I can't think of anything more to say, quite frankly. I'll just recycle a post from here, with a bit of editing and addition here and there.
Wonderlicious wrote:Right, I was in the process of writing a reply to this last night, when I suddenly lost it all.As a result, I'm going to cheat and quote other people's remarks, and add a few of my own. To sum it all up in a nutshell, I'd rather Disney stop being like a brand or glorified toy company and more like an actual production company. The use of brands really constricts what Disney can do as a movie studio; I think we can all agree that stuff like the Tinkerbell films, plus much of the Disney Channel's output, are essentially advertisements for toys and merchandise.
Anyway, here comes my quoting. Additional notes are made in brackets with "W" denoting Wonderlicious.
Mickeyfan1990 wrote:-I would cancel Jonas and would let the Jonas Brothers do what they want.
-Make new animated shorts for <strike>TV and</strike> theaters.AladdinFan wrote:-No more musical movies on Disney Channel
-Less merchandise from Disney Channel
-More merchandise from Disney movies
-Get a good marketing team
...
-Every Disney Animated Classic Movie has a good release on Blu-ray/DVD
-Hollywood Records better promote each artist and have the artists to have control over their music. They only promote The Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, & Demi Lovato. I don't think so.MutantEnemy wrote:-Fire Rick Ross for canceling The Snow Queen. (W: not so much for blocking that movie, but rather for just being a twat)
-Introduce Vault Disney, a channel that caters to 20+ year olds, that features classic Disney films, shorts, documentaries, and television programming.Margos wrote:- Release SotS on DVD. Seriously. It's time.
- Ensure that the WDT line never dies.
- Let WDAS and Pixar run free and wild and make whatever movies they feel like making.
- Do anything else that seems like a good idea and would both promote the growth and development of the Walt Disney Company and preserve its history and legacy for the coming generations.singerguy04 wrote:I would investigate what is going on with Disney's marketing, and why they seem to have such a stranglehold on everything that happens at Disney (WDAS especially). Then fix it immediately.jpanimation wrote:[*]Fix the Disney Channel image by once again offering gender neutral programing
-this includes shutting down Disney XD
-building up the WDTA productions and creating an animation block similar to the Disney Afternoon
(the lack of animated television shows replaced by cheaply made tween sitcoms aimed at girls has contributed to their less-than-stellar image)
...
[*]Review Disney Marketing after every movie
-this is a BIG one
[*]Change 'Tangled' back to Rapunzel
-even after it's already been released, I think people will know
(no one got confused when DreamWorks called How to Train Your Dragon: DreamWork's Dragons during commercials or when they called Shrek Forever After: Shrek The Final Chapter)
[*]Give the DACs outside of the Diamond/Platinum lines some respect
-this means quality restorations and Blu-ray releases of ALL of them
-this also means giving them ALL releases similar to the old collector's editions
(no more single disc barebones releases)
...
[*]Reopen Walt Disney Animation Studios Florida
-try to get former talent back (i.e. Chris Sanders)
-reopen the animation tour
-that includes the old Back to Neverland video with Robin Williams
...
[*]Remove Pirates of the Caribbean movie characters/props from classic attraction
-Barbossa is NOT the captain of the Wicked Wench
-also remove all the politically correct changes implemented
[*]Remove 'Disney' characters from It's A Small World
W: EXACTLY! It essentially turns IASW into a Where's Wally of Disney characters, and the theme of brotherhood is watered down as a result. And in the original Disneyland of all places...
...
[*]Bring back the Wonders of Life pavilion
-I loved Cranium Command
(especially the animated preshow directed by Gary Trousdal and Kirk Wise)
-update the attractions within
(what they're doing to it, wasting away, is a travesty)
W: I agree. I remember going to Epcot when I was 9 and this was one of my favourite pavilions.
...
[*]Reinstate the name Disney*MGM Studios
-Disney Hollywood Studios is a horribly generic name
-I don't give a shit about licensing difficulties, just do it
(W: at the very least, change it to Disney Studios, as Hollywood Studios is a bit of a clichéd name)
...
[*]Remove the sorcerer's hat from in front of The Great Movie Ride
-its not only hiding the beautiful Chinese Theater architecture, but the great ride within
(as a movie buff, I love the attraction)
[*]Change the Dinosaur's name back to Countdown to ExtinctionRacer_prince wrote:-Do away with the Disney Princess line. Only release dolls for the movie being rereleased that year. And release toys for both genders for each new movie coming out that year.
-Go back to rerealsing old DACs after an interval of time, and not just a select few. I'd up 7 years to 10 years, just because there are so many now. And they'd ALL get a release, not just the ones guarenteed to make money.
-Remove Lasseter from Disney Animation. Not that I dislike Lasseter, but both Disney and Pixar deserve a head who can give their full energy to making great films. Put another Disney veteran in charge of Disney Animation. Maybe Deja or Goldberg...
-Dick Ross would be out on his rump so fast, he wouldn't know what hit him.
- Release a CGI and Handrawn movie on alternating years.
...
-Make more diverse Animated films. Not just fairy tales, not just musicals, not just talking animal flicks. Allow the animators to take more risks. Not base the films made soley on how much merchandise they would sell. When musicals are done, use a variety of composers, not just Alan Menken or Randy Newman. Match the composer to the type of film. Personally, I'd love for Danny Elfman to do a Disney musical.
...
-Every Disney Channel star would not have a singing career. There's no need for it. I would also let the Jobros and the Sprouse twins go. Let them work on their own projects, and perfect their craft. Disney only holds them back, and gives them a stigma they can't shake.UmbrellaFish wrote:End the Princess Franchise! They'll loose some money at first, but in the end it will be for the better.Duckburger wrote:- Keep the name "Walt Disney Pictures Presents", "Walt Disney Pictures" or "Walt Disney's" - just stop with the just putting "Disney" there. It's a little detail, but it bothers me so much. And lastly, make the special features on all non-Diamond Edition/non-Pixar releases better. Seriously.And now for a few more additional points:Goliath wrote: - Make sure the 80% of the people who still buy only dvd's get just as good a product as people who buy BluRay (including all bonus features).
(W: I have to agree. Unless it concerns stuff that only Blu-Ray technology can provide, then there should be little excuse)
...
- Cancel planned sequels of Pixar films. (W: at the very least, don't turn Pixar into a sequel house; the fact that Monsters Inc 2 has been announced is somewhat concerning.)
...
- Making sure the Disney Channel will show vintage Disney again.
- Setting up a team to bring back quality Disney animated tv series (instead of the Cartoon Network clones they put out nowadays).
- Release the missing seasons of Disney Afternoon shows on dvd.
- Releasing all Disney Treasures in Europe as well. (W: or at the very least all the animation related ones)
- Improve working conditions in the Disney theme parks.
- Making sure not to do business with shady contractors in Asia anymore; making sure subcontractors abide to decent working conditions, pay decent salaries, allow unions to be formed, and outlaw child and 'slave labour'. (W: YES! This is quite frankly ethics-for-dummies, Disney, so follow it! Workers in Asia are fine, but treating them like dirt is just evil.)
FILM/ANIMATION:
*Keep the animators at WDAS busy, and let them have space to breathe.
*Use the Touchstone brand more often, and make good films under it.
PARKS:
*Rethink some of the plans for the WDW Fantasyland expansion by making it more gender neutral. See my post in the appropriate thread for greater elaboration.
*Make Disney's Hollywood Studios a real production site again, and equally open some production facilities of sorts at Walt Disney Studios in Paris.
*Keep Disneyland Paris in good shape. It's not falling apart by any means, but it seems to get less attention than other parks and there's less reason to go back other than to experience what has already been experienced. As a result, there are so many gimmicky "festivals" (New Generation Festival, Mickey's Magical Party, Toon Circus, extended and prolonged anniversary celebrations etc) to try and get people back. Try to get a new ride, or at the very least a new show, each year instead. Off the top of my head, DLP needs Splash Mountain, Mickey's Philharmagic, Pooh's Honey Hunt/The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Little Mermaid, Muppet Vision 3D and Soarin'. And a bunch of original rides (and not just carnival ones) would work wonders; how about a Europe-exclusive dark ride/animatronic show, based on a film that doesn't have a lot of reference in the parks already (Beauty and the Beast springs to mind). Oh, and make sure that maintenance is kept high.
*Do some touching up at the Walt Disney Studios to get it to the same standard as its Floridian counterpart. It's not terrible, but it doesn't sparkle as much as it possibly could. Get rid of Armagedon with something else, retool the stunt show (perhaps give it a POTC theme?), spruce up Toon Studios (read: get rid of the magic carpets and put a dark ride, even a low-key one, there) Make the park even more like a tribute to classic Hollywood and less like an actual, unglamorous movie studio.
*Sort out Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris. The replacement of the Timekeeper attraction with Buzz Lightyear detracts from the overall theme of it being a tribute to visionaries, as it is slap bang in the middle of a Jules Verne scene. It ought to be moved to the futurist, Hollywood sci-fi section of the land near Star Tours and Captain EO (possibly replacing the makeshift Pizza Planet), with its current location hosting something related to a real theme of visions of the future (perhaps Innoventions, or bringing the Timekeeper back). Also bring back the original musical score of Space Mountain, as well as the original score. The new one is a few lesser experience.
There's probably more that I could add, but I'm too lazy. Night night. x