Sotiris wrote:
Well, obviously not because that would mean practically disbanding the studios. But it could instigate a series of cost-cutting measures at the studios. Of course, the artists will be the ones to pay the price. Especially at Pixar where they are not under a union contract and are reportedly paid less than the ones at WDAS and DreamWorks.
I'm not ruling out the possibility of cost cutting measures being introduced. I just don't see Planes being the one to change their minds since the difference between DisneyToons and WDAS/Pixar is so drastic. I've already mentioned this but I think it's more likely that they adopt the approach of Blue Sky or Illumination which have been performing nearly as well or better than them financially despite much lower budgets. Illumination, I believe, already outsources some of its animation. Their films still look good as well. And yet, Disney hasn't even followed their model thus far.
Sotiris wrote:
Can you really tell the difference from the trailer? The animation seems very similar to that in Cars. This has also been observed by plenty of people in the blogosphere like on Cartoon Brew. If fans or industry-related people can't really tell the difference, how is the general audience supposed to do so?
I've just watched trailers for Cars 2 and Planes and I can see the difference. Granted, it was nowhere near as drastic as my initial impressions, might have been confirmation bias at work there.
Sotiris wrote:
Whereas if Planes turns out to be a financial failure in theaters, there are not going to be any significant consequences. Because of its small budget, Disney won't need a write-down and its stock price will not be affected especially if the Planes merchandise and home video release perform well. Also, there can't be any layoffs at DisneyToon Studios since the animation is subcontracted. They can still continue producing Planes sequels for the DTV market or focus on the Disney Fairies franchise or on a different property. In other words, no harm done.
I believe that a failure would do a bit of harm. Of course, there is the association with Pixar and might sully their name just as Cars 2 did. There has been an increasingly common sentiment that Pixar are in decline and this would only add to that. I've even seen a few comments by people who know that Pixar are not producing it but are still blaming them for allowing their franchise to be whored out in this way.
And there will no doubt be a bunch of people keen to remind everyone that Planes is a Disney film and not a Pixar film. This would then sully WDAS's reputation since a good number of people tend to lump everything Disney produces outside Pixar and Marvel together, as is the case for the DTV sequels, Disney Channel shows etc.
Maybe it won't be that much of a big deal, Disney has taken plenty of batterings already, but I'd still rather see the film succeed.
